Sustainable Innovation in Gran Canaria: Students from UAS Technikum Wien at Smart Green Island Makeathon 2026
07 April, 2026
Students from UAS Technikum Wien worked in international teams on Gran Canaria to develop solutions to sustainability challenges. At the same time, the Faculty of Industrial Engineering presented its latest research findings at EUROCAST.
Following successful participation in recent years, students from the Vienna University of Applied Sciences (FH Technikum Wien) once again took part in the Smart Green Island Makeathon in Gran Canaria this year. A total of 870 participants (young talents, lecturers, coaches, sponsors) from 40 universities gathered for five days to collaboratively tackle project challenges focused on sustainability, waste prevention and separation, and the circular economy.
Five students from the Bachelor’s in Mechatronics / Robotics, Bachelor’s in International International Business and Engineering, and Master’s in Robotics Engineering programs took part in three different challenges. The various challenges were conducted in cooperation with the companies Lorenz and MVTec. Real-world problems, such as the automatic detection and collection of plastic waste, as well as the safe transport of products (water meters), had to be solved within four days.
In the process, the students gained valuable experience in interdisciplinary and intercultural teamwork, collaborated in teams with students from other international universities, and were able to demonstrate their technical expertise.
In addition to the Makeathon, the Faculty of Industrial Engineering was also present at the event with research presentations. With three contributions from three areas of expertise—SOMP (Stiffness-Optimized Motion Planning), Digital Learning Factory as a Workshop Format: Low-Threshold Introduction to Industry 4.0, and Generic HVAC Model Evaluation for Predictive Maintenance Application, the faculty was prominently represented at EUROCAST 2026.
All three contributions were successfully presented and discussed before an interested audience of experts—thus paving the way for the respective full papers. In-depth discussions with researchers from TU Munich, Kempten University of Applied Sciences, as well as University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and University of Applied Sciences Salzburg also open up new perspectives for research.
Further Information:
Smart Green Island Makeathon on Gran Canaria
Bachelor’s Program in Mechatronics / Robotics
Bachelor’s Program in International International Business and Engineering
Master’s Program in Robotics Engineering
Makeathon: Prototypes developed in Las Palmas within four days (2023)
Mobile robot for a greener island: That was the ITQ Makeathon (2019)
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