Events & News
At Tremend, growing is our default setting, and connecting the dots is a practice embedded within our DNA. That’s what we’ve tried to accomplish with Pixel Hackathon, the first product-oriented competition organized in Eastern Europe, specially designed to build stronger collaboration between professionals in fields like Business Analysis, User Experience, User Interface, Product Management, and Product Strategy.
Pixel is a premiere in Romania. The first hackathon whose focus was to create miniature incubators to formulate product visions and prototypes that have the potential to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Held on October 8-9, at Tremend’s headquarters in Bucharest, the event featured over 40 professionals from the UX Design and Product Owner/Business Analysis practices, who enrolled in a 24-hour challenge for finding reliable and innovative solutions addressing two important Sustainable Development Goals formulated by the United Nations: responsible consumption, and affordable and clean energy.
Pixel was endorsed this year by four official partners: Mastercard, Raiffeisen Bank, NEPI Rockcastle, and Profi. Each partner brought to the table a challenge that affects society and the communities they serve. These real-life dilemmas are:
- Mastercard: Raising cardholders’ awareness of their personal CO2 footprint, by showing them the impact of their acquisitions and helping them to offset or lower their carbon footprint.
- Raiffeisen Bank: Financial education of bank’s customers towards responsible consumption. Smart choices for smart consumption.
- NEPI Rockcastle: Maximize the results and streamline the processes related to the used clothing management initiatives started by the NEPI Rockcastle Group, improving the experience for consumers and volunteers.
- Profi: Food waste reduction by involving the customers and local communities in increasing the consumption or use of products close to the expiration date.
“Pixel was a unique experience, the first hackathon I participated in, where the focus was on vision deliverables, business analysis, and experience (design), without the development component (software or hardware). The ingredients of success consisted of the current topics and of general interest, the expertise of the participants, and the involvement of the mentors, together leading to 2 days full of energy, and constructive and innovative ideas. From the jury’s perspective, the presentations and the teams’ successes in such a short time were truly inspirational.” Mădălina Burci, Omni-channel Leader, NEPI Rockcastle.
“The Pixel Hackathon experience was an exciting journey, with many “first steps”. I am glad I was part of this great start, and, of course, I am open to repeat this experience. I hope that over the years, the Pixel Hackathon will be a road followed by many brave teams ready to solve these challenging briefs. Green banking is very close to my heart, and I hope that people will start to see that it is our duty to bring the dimension of sustainability into our daily business. I am grateful to be part of a team where sustainability principles are embedded in all policies and decision-making processes. We would like to thank everyone involved in solving our challenge, and we will start to build on the ideas we discovered in this competition and grow from idea to product.” Raul Stadler, Chief Digital Transformation Officer, Raiffeisen Bank Romania.
The winning team was one of the teams that received the Mastercard challenge. They designed Leafy, a modern app that offers multiple tips for decreasing the personal footprint and allows users to have their own scores and compete with friends in an extended community.
“Our team was created at the last minute, we had never worked together before the event but instantly bonded. Inspired by the brief, we were able to come up with a complex solution and lots of features for helping reduce the CO2 footprint. We had so much fun while putting all our ideas together. Taking advantage of Mastercard’s Carbon Calculator, we created a concept that raises awareness and educates users, brings recommendations, engages users in activities, and rewards them every time they make a green purchase. Our ideas ended up winning the competition. We are really excited about the results and hope that one day we and our friends will be using Leafy in real life.” states the members of the winning team.
“Individuals, companies, and governments alike are making the transition to a sustainable living in all its aspects – economic viability, environmental protection, and social equity. And technology is a great enabler to support this transition. Through solutions like Leafy, the app developed by the winning team, it will be easier for anyone to learn about their carbon footprint and about meaningful ways on how to reduce it.”, said Mihaela Ciupală, Director Business Development Digital, Mastercard Romania.
Following the first edition of the Pixel Hackathon, we, at Tremend, plan to organize this event for the next five years, to promote the importance of ideation and concept vision among Product Experts and aims to engage even more contestants. On the same note, we will create similar events with the purpose of building a stronger community of Business Analysis, User Experience, User Interface, and Product Management professionals. For more details regarding this, follow us on our website, and our social media networks.
