Springineering Challenge 2026

Whether you’re a student ready to challenge yourself or a company eager to connect with ICT and engineering talent, Springineering Challenge 2026 is your platform for innovation, collaboration, and discovery.

Springineering Challenge 2026 Demos & Awards event on 13 April at 13:30-16:00 is free of charge for all attendees, including students and professionals. Prior registration is required for the event catering.

The top three teams in the Springineering Challenge 2026 will be awarded 800€, 500€, and 300€, and every Challenger gets a moment in the spotlight — pitching and demonstrating their solution directly to company experts and industry professionals.

The Challenge is realised within the EU co-funded IKAPO project.

For Students (Challengers)

Step up as a Challenger:

• Accelerate your learning in a high-energy engineering sprint.
• Solve real-world problems solo or with a team and build your portfolio.
• Earn academic credits (see courses below).
• Win prizes (€800, €500, €300 for Top 3 teams) and gain public recognition.
• Network with companies and receive actionable feedback.
• Boost your visibility and credibility with external expert input.

For Companies (Explorers & Evaluators)

Join as an Explorer:

• Explore real student projects and engage with teams.
• Spot emerging ICT and engineering talent.
• Exchange ideas, give feedback, and engage in meaningful interaction with students and academics.
• Influence learning and shape the development of skills in the field.

Join as an Evaluator:

Evaluators are appreciated company representatives and industry professionals who help make the Springineering Challenge a rewarding experience for students. As an Evaluator, you:

• Receive project descriptions in advance and get a friendly introduction to the student teams’ work.
• Join the Evaluator Squad for Demo Day, including a relaxed lunch with supervisors and the event team.
• Attend live pitches and demos, offering thoughtful feedback and encouragement to student teams via the event app.
• Share your insights, help students grow and guide them in responding to industry needs.
• Meet and discuss with future professionals—sometimes a simple conversation can spark new opportunities.
• Share your company’s story: Your logo and information are featured in event promotions, helping you connect with enthusiastic participants.

Timeline & Key Activities

Pre-event (Before 13 April 2026)

Students (Challengers)

• Project creation runs from 9 February 16:00 to 13 April 9:00.
• Choose your project and supervisor, join supervisor meetings
• Register your team as Challengers by Friday, 20 February 23:59 [Registration Form]
• Submit your project name and description by 13 March
• Prepare your PDF promo by 8 April 23:59

Companies

• Review project briefs in the event app
• Prepare and provide company materials
• Join the Evaluator Squad for Demo Day

During the Event on 13 April 2026

Students (Challengers)

• Demo Day—building starts at 11:00. For your demo, you will have a table + 2 chairs, electricity and a screen if needed.
• Challengers' lunch at 12:00.
• Pitches and demos take place at 13:30–16:00 (Tellus Stage & Backstage).
• Pitch and demo your solution, get valuable feedback, and compete for prizes and public recognition.
• Winners are announced at ~15:30.

Companies

• Evaluators' lunch at 12:30.
• Attend demos and pitches and interact with students.
• Get to know growing talent through direct interaction.
• Give feedback and scores via the event app (Evaluators select the Top 3, Explorers can vote for their favourites)

After the Event

Students (Challengers)

• Finalize your project report/BSc thesis, incorporating company expert feedback.
• Use your demo and promo materials for job applications and networking.
• Connect with companies for traineeships, jobs, or further collaboration.

Companies

• Meet with ITEE experts, share insights and discuss collaboration possibilities tailored for your company’s needs.
• Reach out to promising students for recruitment or collaboration.

Student Projects' Linkages with Courses

Each project is directly linked to a course, allowing participants to earn academic credits while working on practical solutions. For most courses, students can propose their own project topics, tailoring the challenge to their interests. Throughout the challenge, students collaborate closely with their supervisors, receiving guidance and feedback to ensure high-quality outcomes.

Note that you can work with any supervisor at the Faculty besides the ones we have listed below, and we can also include other applicable courses as needed!

Companies also have the opportunity to suggest real-world challenges they would like to see solved. Ideas can be sent to cooperate.itee@oulu.fi.

Courses in alphabetical order:

BSc Thesis, 8 ECTS

• Supervisor: Timo Rahkonen for electronics focus, others depending on the topic

521284S Biomedical Engineering Project, 5 ECTS

• Supervisor/Course instructor: Depending on project topic

521290S Distributed Systems, 5 ECTS

• Supervisor/Course instructor: Lauri Lovén

521300S Electronics Design and Construction Exercise, 6 ECTS

• Approach: Independent design of electronics to given purpose.
• Supervisor: Timo Rahkonen

Electronics research exercise, 5 ECTS

• Supervisor: Timo Rahkonen

521423S Embedded System Project, 5 ECTS

• Approach: Functional prototype
• Supervisor: Siva Ariram, Marko Kauppinen, Antti Tikanmäki or Jaakko Huikari

521904A Fab Lab Project Management, 5 ECTS

• Supervisor: Behnaz Norouzi, Gleb Bulygin, Ivan Sanchez Milar or Jani Ylioja

TE00AS43 Hardware Hacking and Reverse Engineering, 5 ECTS

• Approach: We hacked a smart device and built a safer version.
• Supervisor: Christian Schuss

521293A Introduction to XR Systems, 5 ECTS

• Approach: VR experience (final project of the course)
• Supervisor: Paula Alavesa

521046A Mobile Computing, 5 ECTS

• Approach: Mobile app (final project of the course)
• Supervisor: Elmeri Uotila

TE00AS44 Real-time Embedded Systems, 5 ECTS

• Approach: We give companies the tools to achieve true real‑time automation.
• Supervisor: Christian Schuss

SEIS Project Course, 5 ECTS

• Supervisor: Depending on project topic

521322S Telecommunication Engineering Project, 5 ECTS

• Supervisors: Joonas Kokkoniemi, Timo Bräysy

For more information, please contact itee-community@unioulu.oulu.fi