Can you tell a bit about your team?

My name is Matush from Slovakia, I studied computer sciences before and now studying UXD as well as two of my other teammates Roxanna and Julia, they are all international UXD students in The Netherlands. We also have Steven, our lead developer from CMD (The Dutch variant of UXD) and Tim, a teacher of UXD and CMD. We represent New Designers, which is a student run agency within The Hague University. We come from all sorts of backgrounds, developers, business, creative and some previous experience in science.

Why did you decide to join this edition?

We found out about it on the website, Tim asked us if anyone would like to join and we all really wanted to try out a Hackathon. I personally have experienced a Hackathon before in my previous study, but the rest hasn’t. We were really curious about joining and what kind of concepts would be created if we would lock ourselves up for 48 hours.

Why did you decide to join this challenge?

We picked this challenge, especially this topic because we are really close to it by heart. We went to the struggle itself not even one and half a year ago finding an apartment as international students. We really felt like this issue had to be addressed.

What was your biggest challenge during the hackathon?

Probably keeping our focus, because we went through a whole emotional rollercoaster from being confident on day 1 en on day 2 we started doubting our solution and not being convinced it did not have the wow factor. But in the end we overcame this by creating a good overview by focussing on what we can do now and what we can work on in the future.

What was your biggest highlight during the hackathon?

I think when we realised how good our team was working together, especially after day 2 we had people fully working on design, while I was working on the algorithm and someone else was building and Tim was helping with content and structure, the feeling that we clicked together so well was amazing, nobody had to carry the team, we each focussed on what we were good at and divided all the responsibilities.

What did you experience doing an online hackathon for the first time?

In a way, it was easier to communicate with mentors and challenge owners because they could use the chat to quickly respond. The organization of the event was good. Our team went through an emotional roller-coaster, but we pulled through also thanks to the guidance from the organizers.

What are your plans for the upcoming time with the winning concept?

We're now looking to validate our business model, to see the options in the market. We're really excited to work with our challenge owner to carry this out further, for example through OM Testlab. We're now looking into involving other people, such as data scientists or developers. We're also looking for subsidies to make the idea real, since we believe the idea is strong and we don't want this concept to die out.

Do you have any tips for participants that will join in 2022?

Be prepared for ups and downs and trust your team. We worked very cohesively and there wasn't anyone carrying the team - everyone did their job. We trusted each other with the tasks at hand and listened to each other's ideas. But most importantly - HAVE FUN!

Do we see your team competing next hackathon again?

After winning, one of the first things that we said was that we're joining next year! We really had a great time, and this type of event makes you think outside of the box more and find out just how much you can do in such a short time. If we have the option and time to participate next year, we want to!

Can you explain your winning hack?

TrustHousing — the first student housing scamming detection and prevention system.

We help international students who are easy targets for scammers, due to lack of experience and knowledge of the Dutch housing market. The product is a browser extension and website service all powered by our own TrustMark™ algorithm. The algorithm detects red flags in online conversations and housing ads. Our platform also offers a guide into the Dutch housing market and a safe place to close the deal with landlords. Students now have an expert that is always inside their device to help them safely find a home in the Netherlands."