Name: "AI Vibe Hackathon #2 - New Tools \u0026 Best Practices"
Start: "2025-11-20T09:00:00"
End: "2025-11-21T16:30:00"
Location: "ZDI Ideenlabor, Würzburg"

AI Vibe Hackathon #2 – New Tools & Best Practices

On November 20–21, 2025, the second AI Vibe Hackathon took place in Würzburg. Building on the success of the first event, 55 participants gathered to develop functional alpha versions in just 36 hours — some even tested directly with real users during the event.

Highlights

55 participants from a diverse range of backgrounds
Multiple functional alpha versions built in just two days
Intense technical discussions on practical AI applications
Alexander Aulbach (Mayflower) shared valuable insights on LLM context and outer-loop/inner-loop patterns
Collaboration over competition — everyone left as a winner

Winners

It never ceases to amaze how quickly creativity combined with AI turns into usable products!

🥇 1st Place: Ocucídia Maxaieie – Cookini App
After finishing second at the first hackathon, Ocucídia rebuilt her idea from scratch using feedback from the Würzburg Accelerator and delivered an impressive result. The vision: the DuoLingo/Babbel of cooking — learning to cook in a playful, AI-assisted way.

🥈 2nd Place (tied):

Philipp Sodmann & Dominik Benchert – AIMergency Room
Learning intensive medicine through AI role-playing with simulated patients. An LLM-based training tool for realistic emergency room simulations for young doctors. Their key concern: many medical AI tools lead to deskilling — they want to make doctors more competent, not dependent.
Raphael Lott – Ocelo
Project management for music labels and creatives.

🥉 3rd Place (tied):

Michael Baumgart – Barcamp Manager
Built until 20 seconds before the presentation — and then the app ran flawlessly.
Mahshid Danesh, Dr. rer. nat – Social Health & Wellbeing App
A Walk & Talk App for mental health and social wellbeing.

Special Moments

Day 1:

Introduction to AI support levels and practical AI applications
Alexander Aulbach from Mayflower GmbH shared valuable insights on LLM Context and Engineering Best Practices
Individual support for participants at every level
Open-end hacking in the evening with the ZDI Founders’ Networking Event

Day 2:

Intense work and refinement of projects
Energized by breakfast thanks to our generous sponsors
Impressive demo sessions starting at 1:30 PM

What Participants Valued Most

Modular thinking: Breaking complex ideas into small building blocks and shaping them step by step into a product
Tool exposure: Discovering and immediately applying new AI tools like Lovable, Cursor, and Windsurf
Vibe-coding efficiency: From concept to implementation — significantly faster than traditional methods
Open exchange: People spoke honestly about their experiences and shared their knowledge
Psychological safety: An atmosphere where you could ask questions and experiment freely

When & Where?

Date: November 20–21, 2025
Venue: ZDI Ideenlabor, Rottendorfer Straße 71, Würzburg
Attendance: Free of charge

What is the AI Vibe Hackathon?

Whether you’re just starting with AI or already working with it professionally — the AI Vibe Hackathon meets you where you are. Over two intense days, you turn your idea into a working prototype — solo or in a team, with or without programming experience.

The AI Journey – For All Levels

🏄‍♂️ Discovery & Prototyping
Experimenting, mockups, sketching ideas, unleashing creativity

🚲 MVPs & Web Apps
First functional products, no-code/low-code, personal websites and mini-apps

🚗 Agentic AI Coding
AI-assisted development with autonomy, from feature tickets to pull requests, vibe coding with MCP tools (filesystem, Playwright, n8n)

✈️ Augmented Teams
AI becomes part of team processes, integrated into DevOps, product, and support

🚀 Context & Environment Engineering
Strategic transformation, toolchains, org-wide agents & contexts

Schedule

The hackathon is intentionally kept flexible and individual: no rigid agenda, but plenty of space for hacking, sessions, and spontaneous presentations.

Thursday: 9:00 AM – approx. 6:00 PM official programme
Followed by: Open-End Hacking + ZDI Founders’ Networking Event & after-work drinks
Friday: 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM joint work, networking & sessions
Friday: 1:30 PM Demo sessions begin

There will be various presentations, sessions, and exchange formats — the exact schedule is shaped together on-site.

What to Bring

Laptop with your preferred tools
Ideas or problems you want to solve
Openness to new tools and approaches
Team spirit – collaboration over competition

Catering

Coffee, tea, and drinks throughout the day
Lunch on both days
Snacks & fruit
Dinner on the first evening

Venue

ZDI Ideenlabor
Rottendorfer Straße 71
97074 Würzburg

A modern co-working space featuring:

Fast internet
Large work tables
Breakout rooms
Presentation technology

Getting There

By car: Parking available on-site
By public transport: Tram line 3, stop “Rottendorfer Straße”

Questions?

Voices of Participants

The AI Vibe Hackathon #2 showed just how diverse the perspectives and experiences of participants can be. Here some of them share their detailed impressions:

Philipp Sodmann & Dominik Benchert – Medicine & Computer Science

Project: AIMergency Room – Intensive Care Training with AI

“The AI Vibe Hackathon was a really great experience for us. We managed to work intensely on one idea for two full days and actually have a working prototype at the end.
Especially when you’ve had an idea for a long time but never find the time to actually implement it, this format is extremely valuable. The hackathon forces you into a minimalist approach — but that’s exactly what gives you something to hold at the end. And only then can you really decide where the idea goes next.
The atmosphere was also totally relaxed and open. You easily start conversations, meet interesting people, and work in an environment that motivates rather than stresses.
What we especially appreciated was deliberately setting aside these two days and saying: I’m stepping out of everyday life — now I’m building something. That was our biggest takeaway.”

Key Takeaway: “Finally two days of focus — and a working MVP at the end.”

Michael Baumgart – Freelance Software Architect & Frontend Lead

Project: Barcamp Manager

“I really wanted to vibe-code — and that’s exactly what I got to do here. It worked really well: sit down, build, ask questions, and be in exchange with others at the same time.
My app was literally finished seconds before the presentation, but it ran flawlessly. That mix of time pressure, focus, and support was extremely motivating. At the end you had something that worked — you take away not just ideas, but a real result.
Especially valuable for me was also the exposure to new tools. I didn’t know some of them before and will now test them further — with the goal of producing productive code from them.
Overall the hackathon was very enriching, both professionally and in terms of the exchange. I’ll definitely be back next time.”

Key Takeaway: “Built until 20 seconds before the presentation — and then the app ran.”

Raphael Lott – Musician, Producer & Educator

Project: Ocelo – Project Management for Music Labels

“I came to the AI Vibe Hackathon through personal contacts and immediately felt at home. Finally getting together with people who work and think similarly was very enriching for me.
My biggest learning was the modular approach: don’t immediately think of ideas as one big whole, but break them down into individual building blocks, create context, and develop a product from them step by step. This shift in perspective was extremely helpful for me.
I had some prior exposure to AI projects, but almost no practical coding experience. And yet I could learn a great deal here and actively contribute.
I was particularly inspired by the pitches at the end. Seeing in such a short time how differently people use AI tools and what ideas emerge from it was impressive. Overall a very open, creative, and motivating event.”

Key Takeaway: “Breaking complex ideas into building blocks — that was my biggest learning.”

Mahshid Danesh, Dr. rer. nat – Protein Scientist

Project: Social Health & Wellbeing App

“The AI Vibe Hackathon was a really nice and motivating experience. One of the most valuable parts was how we were supported in transforming our ideas and designs into something usable — something we could actually test with real users.
I also really appreciated the networking aspect. It was inspiring to meet people whose mindset aligned with mine — people who are innovative, entrepreneurial, and eager to build. I learned a lot not only from the organizers and the structure of the hackathon, but also from the other participants.
At first, I expected a very step-by-step teaching approach, and that surprised me when it wasn’t the case. But I quickly realized this was actually a strength. Instead of following rigid instructions, we learned how to work independently, experiment with different tools, and decide what best fit our own ideas. The organizers guided us without limiting us.
The atmosphere was very comfortable and supportive — a space where you could focus, ask questions, collaborate, and really build. The two-day time limit created intense focus and energy, which pushed us to actually do something meaningful instead of just listening to talks.
I would absolutely recommend the AI Vibe Hackathon.”

Key Takeaway: “Two days were enough to create real momentum.”

Sebastian Piszczan – Quality Control Specialist

“I thought the hackathon was brilliant. In a short time you could take away a lot of knowledge — especially about how AI agents work and that the key lies in choosing the right agent and giving it the right tasks.
I implemented a small project myself: a simple skate game that was created in less than five minutes, completely without classical coding. That showed me very clearly how quickly you can start building with the right tools.
I also particularly liked the fact that everyone presented their projects at the end. That meant you could see not just your own results, but also those of others — and there were some really good, tangible outcomes. Overall a very rounded and motivating event.”

Key Takeaway: “Under five minutes to the first working prototype — no coding required.”

Finn – Student from Würzburg

“I actually only discovered the hackathon the day before, just by googling ‘Hackathon Würzburg’. I was all the more surprised at how well organized the event was and how diverse the people who came together were.
I particularly enjoyed the constant exchange with other participants. It wasn’t just about working on a project — it was also about sharing ideas, learning from each other, and talking about common interests.
I also learned a lot about how others use AI and what possibilities now exist — for example, that with certain tools you can build not just simple websites but entire apps.
The atmosphere was also very pleasant: good conversations, good food, sponsors who supported the event meaningfully. Overall a very positive experience.”

Key Takeaway: “Found it via Google — and came away completely convinced.”

Joachim Kalinowski – Computer Scientist, ISO & DPO @ Fraunhofer ISC

“I really enjoyed the event. I had actually planned to code more, but ended up getting very deeply into networking and technical discussions — and that was excellent.
As a computer scientist, I’m used to thinking through concepts in detail before implementing them. That process used to be lengthy. With vibe-coding it goes much faster — you save an enormous amount of time and get into action sooner. That was the biggest benefit of this hackathon for me.
I was particularly surprised by the diversity of participants: people from completely different industries with very different interests — from music to app development to new product ideas.
The format was deliberately not too rigid, the atmosphere relaxed and open. That’s exactly what made the exchange possible. I’m very glad I came.”

Key Takeaway: “Vibe-coding saves an enormous amount of time.”

Ocucídia Maxaieie – M.A. Integrated Innovation Management

Project: Cookini App (1st Place)

“I really enjoyed the AI Vibe Hackathon. You can tell a lot of effort goes into giving participants useful tools and a good overview of current AI tools.
This was already my second hackathon. From the first one I took away a huge amount, and this time I was able to deepen and refine many things further. I now use the tools I discovered here regularly in my studies and for various projects.
I also particularly appreciate the community: through LinkedIn and the meetups, you already know some faces, which makes the atmosphere very pleasant. The networking and professional exchange are a big added value for me.
I also found the introduction and presentation of AI tools at the beginning very helpful — especially for welcoming new participants well. Overall a very well organized and appreciative event.”

Key Takeaway: “A real tool upgrade for studies and projects.”

“I find formats like this very valuable because they enable exchange and make visible what can be created in a short time. For me, the demos and pitches are always the most exciting part — that’s where you see the breadth of thinking styles and results.
At the same time, it also becomes clear: if you want to turn prototypes into professional products, you still need solid software engineering — stable infrastructure, secure interfaces, and methodical processes. That combination is what’s exciting: iterate quickly at the top, build cleanly at the bottom.
What really surprises me is the development in quality: compared to a year ago, what vibe-coding produces today is significantly better. With a structured approach, results are achievable that you wouldn’t have expected before.”

Key Takeaway: “The quality of vibe-coding has improved massively in one year.”

Thank You to All Participants!

The second AI Vibe Hackathon has once again shown: the community for AI-assisted development in Würzburg is vibrant, creative, and growing steadily. We look forward to the next event!

AI Vibe Hackathon #2 - New Tools & Best Practices