The 1st ECOIn.Lub Hackathon successfully brought sustainability, creativity and entrepreneurship together at “Hristo Botev” Vocational High School of Interior Design and Woodworking in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Organised within the Erasmus+ ECOIn.Lub project, the event challenged young VET learners to develop practical solutions under the theme “Inclusive Environmental Solutions in the Furniture Industry to Help the Local Community.”
The Hackathon created a dynamic learning environment where students could move beyond the classroom and apply their knowledge to a real environmental challenge: furniture and wood waste. Students from grades 9, 10 and 11 were invited to explore how discarded furniture, wood-processing by-products and other materials could be transformed through redesign, repair, recycling and reuse. The challenge combined environmental awareness with entrepreneurial thinking, encouraging participants to consider the aesthetic, functional and ecological dimensions of their solutions.
From an Environmental Challenge to a Business Idea
Working in three teams, the students developed their own identity, logo and business project, with each concept designed to have the potential for implementation within the local community. Their task went beyond simply designing a sustainable product: participants were asked to identify the environmental problem, analyse the stakeholders affected, propose a viable solution and consider the steps needed for implementation, from collection and production to marketing and sales.
The Hackathon also introduced a strong social entrepreneurship dimension. Students considered how furniture recycling could generate not only environmental benefits but also social value. Among the ideas explored were the refurbishment of discarded wood and plastic, the creation of recycled furniture, employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups, and voucher-based systems encouraging people to return or donate old furniture.
Supported by Education, Industry and the Community
A particularly important feature of the event was the connection between education and the real world. Students were supported by mentors and experts, while guests included representatives from the Ministry of Social Policy, the furniture industry, the Technical University, the school’s Parents’ Committee, VET experts, teachers and media representatives. This multidisciplinary participation gave students the opportunity to receive feedback from professionals and consider how their concepts could move from an educational exercise towards practical implementation.
And the Winning Idea Was…
Following the presentations, the three projects were evaluated by specialists, with the highest-scoring concept taking first place.
🏆 The winning team, “Hammer and Chisel,” focused on a very practical challenge: the inappropriate disposal of wood waste and old furniture. Their concept proposed creating an intermediary system connecting consumers and furniture stores, supported by a voucher mechanism through which old furniture could be collected and directed towards recycling and reuse. The central idea was simple but powerful: old furniture may no longer serve its original purpose, but its materials can be given a new life.
ECOIn.Lub Learning in Action
The Bulgarian Hackathon demonstrates exactly how ECOIn.Lub seeks to connect green skills, eco-entrepreneurship, social responsibility and practical VET education. Importantly, the event was organised by teachers from the vocational school who had themselves participated in training connected with the project’s eco, social and digital entrepreneurship laboratory, creating a direct pathway from project learning to activities implemented with students.
Rather than learning about the circular economy only in theory, students were challenged to identify a problem, design a solution, develop a business model and consider its real-world impact. The experience showed how education can bridge creative design, environmental thinking and entrepreneurship while giving young people an active role in developing solutions for their communities.
The 1st ECOIn.Lub Hackathon in Bulgaria was therefore much more than a competition. It was an opportunity for young people to experience what it means to become eco-innovators and responsible entrepreneurs, transforming waste into opportunity and ideas into solutions for a more circular and inclusive future.
From waste to value. From learning to action. From young ideas to sustainable solutions. 🌱♻️
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