Agri-Hackathon: HSWT students provide impetus for Agriculture
Students and staff from Versicherungskammer Bayern developed innovative solutions for the Agriculture of tomorrow during a two-day competition in Weidenbach.
Innovative format for creative solutions
During the Agri-Hackathon competition from 11 to 12 December 2025, 14 students and six staff from Versicherungskammer Bayern worked on real issues from the agricultural sector in a dynamic, practice-oriented format. The methodological design was carried out by the CX-Lab of VKB in cooperation with Impact E³(SUN) of HSWT.
The aim of the format was to develop innovative solutions in a short space of time - from analysing the challenges to brainstorming and developing initial prototypes.
Three practical topics from Agriculture: from Insurance 2.0 to AI in the field
A total of three teams dedicated themselves to three tasks:
- Further development of crop insurance
- How companies deal with the attention of farmers
- Risk management in Agriculture
The teams were made up of students from HSWT, Augsburg University of Applied Sciences (HSA) and the University of Hohenheim (UH) and developed impressive results: From new insurance products and digital learning platforms to AI-supported apps that help farmers with risk management - the ideas were as diverse as they were practical. There were no creative limits.
- Basic Shield Agrar team: Florian Hienle (HSWT), Nikola Hrnjak (HSWT), Manuel Bosch (UH), Leonhard Köpf (HSWT).
- Team Hofkompass: Maik Schoer (HSWT), Jakob Weller (HSWT), Emil Kind (HSA), Dilaxsa Inpanathan (HSA) and Abigail Gonzaga (HSA).
- Team ResI: Daniel Schwedhelm (HSWT), Alexander Engelbrecht (HSWT), Timo Pfitzer (HSA), Mihir Narendra Talwalkar (HSA), Vinzenz Schmid (UH).
The participants presented their results to the jury, which was made up of lecturers and staff from HSWT and Versicherungskammer Bayern: Markus Maier (Versicherungskammer Bayern), Prof Dr Wilhelm Pflanz and Pia Traub.
First place went to Team Resl, followed by Basic Shield Agrar and Hofkompass.
The participants were honoured with prize money: There was prize money worth 300 euros for the first place winners. The runners-up were rewarded with 200 euros and the third place winners with 100 euros.
14 students developed solutions to three challenging tasks in just two days. The Agri-Hackathon shows that the next generation of agriculture thinks in a pragmatic and solution-orientated way and can therefore look to the future of agriculture with confidence.
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Participants and jury of the Agri-Hackathon: 1st row (from left to right): Pia Traub, Mihir Natendra Talwalkar, Dilaxsa Inpanathan, Abigail Gonzaga, Emil Kind, Wolfgang Wittmann; 2nd row (f.l.t.r.): Prof Dr Wilhelm Pflanz, Lena Rehmann, Markus Maier, Florian Hienle, Nikola Hrnjak, Manuel Bosch, Alexander Engelbrecht, Timo Pfitzer, Maximilian Deutinger, Maik Schoer, Jakob Weller, Leonhard Köpf; 3rd row (f.l.t.r.): Alexander Langwieser, Simon Kaiser, Vinzenz Schmid, Daniel Schwedhelm © Pia Luisa Traub -
Participants in the Agri-Hackathon explored questions from the agricultural sector and developed innovative solutions. © Pia Luisa Traub -
The participants took on three challenges in three teams. © Pia Luisa Traub
