Co-Hosting the CAT-Tech Collab Hackathon

Young AI Leaders Austria co-hosted the CAT-Tech Collab Hackathon with Catalyst Now—the first joint initiative between Catalyst’s social innovators and the Linz hub’s emerging AI and tech talent.

What happened

Cat Tech Collab connects students seeking real-world experience with NGOs that need digital solutions to scale impact. Instead of hypothetical cases, teams tackle authentic problem statements tied to the SDGs, with roughly three weeks of development time aimed at usable prototypes.

Students and developers of all levels were invited; mentors from faculty, research, and local tech groups supported architecture and engineering quality; organisations submitted challenges from operations to data workflows.

Why it matters

When developers and NGOs build together, technology becomes impact infrastructure—not demo theatre. The format pairs social innovation networks with hands-on AI talent in Linz and beyond.