Springineering Challenge 2026

Welcome to Springineering Challenge 2026!

Register here by 13 April 2026 10:00

When
Monday, 13 April 2026 | 12:30–16:00

Where
Tellus Stage and nearby areas, University of Oulu (Linnanmaa Campus)

What
Live demos, interactive project stands, guided tours, audience voting and Awards Ceremony

Who should attend?

• Curious students exploring technology and expertise building
• Companies and entrepreneurs interested in innovations, student-built solutions and talent
• Professionals and service providers looking for fresh ideas and perspectives
• Staff and tech enthusiasts eager to see practical, student‑driven innovation

At the event, you can:

• Explore live demos and interactive project stands created by student teams
• Try out the solutions yourself and discuss with the teams how and why they were built
• Take part in guided tours that highlight different themes and help you discover inspiring projects
• Join conversations and informal discussions with students, staff, and company representatives
• Participate in audience voting and help recognise standout demos
• Wrap up the day together at the Awards Ceremony

Programme
12:30 Registration begins, please collect your badge (Green Coat racks, in front of Tellus)
12:30-13:30 Coffee/tea & cookies (Tellus)
12:30-13:00 Company Talks for students and educators (Tellus Stage)
13:00-13:30 Guided Tours 1-4 (see descriptions of the tours below, please come to the Info Desk 5-10 minutes before to join your tour)
13:30 Official opening of the Demos and Awards Event (Tellus Stage)
13:30-15:40 Student teams' interactive demos and pitches for the Evaluator Squad, 5 minutes per team (Tellus)
15:30 Audience voting concludes
15:30 Coffee/tea & cookies (Tellus)
15:45-15:55 Awards Ceremony, announcement of the Springineering Challenge 2026 winners (Tellus Stage)
16:00 Event ends

Refreshing coffee/tea and delightful cookies served at 12:30 as well as at 15:30.

Guided Tours

Guided Tour 1 - Built, not bought.
See how ideas become real, working solutions.
This tour is perfect if you enjoy hands‑on demos and want to understand how students actually build things — from first idea to finished prototype. Teams explain their work in plain language and show what they learned along the way.

Guided Tour 2 - From pieces to bits.
How complex systems work — explained clearly.
If you’re curious about networks, AI, infrastructure or scale, this tour shows how many moving parts are connected into working systems.

Guided Tour 3 – Reliable by design.
How reliable and safe systems are built.
This tour highlights the capabilities that turn ideas into solutions you can trust: thoughtful testing, careful verification, safety‑first design, and responsibility — essential strengths in healthcare, electronics, and regulated industries.

Guided Tour 4 - Solutions for everyday life.
Technology designed around people.
This tour showcases solutions created to support human wellbeing, learning, employability, and everyday life. Expect friendly conversations, relatable use cases, and hands‑on interaction that makes technology feel approachable and meaningful.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Shaping the Digital Future

The Springineering Challenge is organised by the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) at the University of Oulu, a faculty that promotes ICT‑powered, human‑centred, and sustainable technology development. ITEE brings together education, research, and real‑world collaboration to address societal needs and shape the digital future.

Springineering Challenge 2026 showcases this approach in practice. Student teams apply cutting‑edge technologies, problem solving, and hands‑on development to create solutions that connect technology, people, and real‑world challenges. The event reflects how the faculty is at the forefront of technological development by encouraging experimentation, responsibility, and close interaction between students, industry, and society. The event is realised within the EU co-funded IKAPO project.

Two Months of Building – One Day to Shine

Students have worked on their projects for approximately two months as part of >10 different course implementations. At Springineering Challenge 2026, they put their best work forward and compete for the title of the best solutions by presenting their projects to the audience and an industry jury.

All projects are interactive in one way or another. You won’t just be watching from the sidelines – you can try the solutions yourself, ask questions, and discuss directly with the teams how and why the solutions were built.

Hardware‑focused Projects

In the hardware‑focused projects, you can explore and test fully working prototypes and physical systems. These include, for example:

• embedded systems
• wearable solutions
• smart energy management devices
• rehabilitation technology and biosignal measurement
• FPGA and RF systems, as well as electronics design and testing

In many projects, both the jury and visitors can interact with the devices directly and see in real time how sensors, control, and signal processing work in practice.

Software‑focused Projects

Software‑focused projects dive into current and future technologies such as:

• artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
• cloud and edge solutions
• distributed systems and Open RAN networks
• data analytics
• VR/XR applications and mobile and web services

Here too, interaction is key: visitors can try out the software, test simulations, explore AI models, and discuss with the teams how the solutions were built and where they could be applied.

What all projects have in common is that they are designed to be experienced, understood, and discussed. At Springineering, technology is not abstract – it is visible, tangible, and sparks ideas and conversation.