EVENT
RUN-EU INNOTHON at UGAL: Trends and Perspectives in Smart Cities & Smart Villages
17 March 2026
Between 2 and 3 April 2026, the “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați (UGAL) organises the local RUN-EU Innothon ‘Trends and Perspectives in Smart Cities & Smart Villages’.
The event will take place face-to-face, in two consecutive days, bringing together pre-university and university students in a shared innovative experience.
The participants will collaborate, exchange ideas, and co-design practical solutions to build smarter, more sustainable regional communities.
The topics of the teams’ projects should be aligned with the Galati regional urban areas, such as traffic optimisation, Danube port logistics, smart public transport, urban air quality, energy efficient solutions, circular economy, and rural areas, such as smart irrigation solutions, smart farming solutions, livestock monitoring and other related subjects.
The teams will include pre-university students, guided and mentored by at least one university student, fostering stronger collaboration and meaningful knowledge exchange between participants. This mixed structure encourages peer learning, mentorship, and the development of complementary skills, combining academic insight with fresh perspectives and creativity.
2 April 2026 · Thursday
The event will begin on 2 April 2026 with an interactive entrepreneurship session in which students will explore how innovative ideas can be transformed into viable, sustainable projects tailored to the needs of the Galati region. Participants will learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurial thinking, value proposition design, and how to align solutions with real community challenges.
This will be followed by a ‘Smart Cities & Smart Villages’ session led by a representative of the Galati municipality, offering practical, real-world insights into ongoing digitalisation and smart development initiatives in the region.
3 April 2026 • Friday
On 3 April, the teams will be engaged in a Design Thinking process, that will lead to the creation of a pitch on the proposed topics, that will be presented in a small challenge, for highlighting how innovation, technologies, and citizen engagement are contributing to transforming Galati and its surrounding rural areas into more efficient, sustainable, inclusive, and connected communities.
The Innothon will be actively supported by regional stakeholders, including the General Association of the Engineers in Romania, Galati Branch, the Galati municipality, and private organisations that support innovation.
RUN-EU Innothon at UGAL
‘Trends and Perspectives in Smart Cities & Smart Villages’
Date
2 & 3 April 2026
Time
10h00–16h00 & 10h00–13h30
Mode
Face-to-Face
Target group
Pre-university and undergraduate/master’s students
Previous knowledge required
Basic knowledge of innovation and entrepreneurship
It will focus on
- Regional urban topics: traffic optimisation, Danube port logistics, smart public transport, urban air quality, energy-efficient solutions, and the circular economy.
- Regional rural topics: smart irrigation and smart farming solutions, livestock monitoring and other related subjects.
Coordination
UGAL, Romania