About

Hack-4-SAGES is a collaborative learning initiative built around a Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach, where students gain knowledge and skills by working on real-world scientific challenges. In this case, participants will use digital twins to explore one of science's most profound questions: How did life originate on Earth, and how widespread might it be in the universe?

The project brings together four ENHANCE Alliance partner universities in a joint educational effort that blends astrobiology, systems modeling, and interdisciplinary teamwork through a thematically focused, research-driven hackathon.

The core didactic innovation of Hack-4-SAGES lies in its unique focus: participants will use digital twins to simulate planetary environments, including surface chemistry, atmosphere, and geological dynamics, and model how life might arise, adapt, or fail to persist under varying planetary conditions. These student-developed virtual models will address real scientific hypotheses at the interface of Earth system science, planetary evolution, and biological emergence.

The hackathon is structured in four pedagogical phases:

  • Team-building phase: Students form diverse teams across institutions. Due to the virtual and inclusive nature of the event, this phase is extended to provide time and guidance for effective cross-institutional collaboration. 
  • Pre-qualification phase: Teams submit project ideas related to the origins or prevalence of life using digital twin models of planetary systems. The most promising proposals are selected to participate in the main event. 
  • Hackathon phase: 30 teams of 3–4 students are selected. The hackathon runs over three consecutive days (about 8 hours/day) fully online to ensure accessibility. Half of the teams come from ENHANCE Allicance partner universities, and half from outside the Alliance, with a focus on participants from underserved regions and the Global South. All teams have access to collaborative workspaces. ENHANCE Alliance university teams preferably work on the premises of their institutions and are provided meals during the event. 
  • Post-hackathon refinement phase: Three winning teams receive extended mentorship. We plan for presentations of refined projects at the Annual Meeting of the Origins Federation organised by the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Live at ETH Zurich in September 2026.

Awards will be granted in three categories:

  • Emergence of Life: best simulation exploring life’s origin from prebiotic conditions;
  • Habitability & Prevalence: best model analyzing how planetary parameters influence biosignature potential;
  • Educational Innovation: best approach for using digital twins in planetary biology.

Hack-4-SAGE aims to inspire undergraduate students to explore the origins and prevalence of life in the universe through the use of digital twin technology, which is a powerful but underutilized tool within the ENHANCE Alliance’s educational landscape.

By simulating planetary environments and modeling how life might emerge or persist under different conditions, students will engage in interdisciplinary, research-driven teamwork that blends various fields. This hands-on hackathon format embodies the principles of PBL, where students construct knowledge through active exploration of real-world scientific problems. It promotes scientific creativity, systems thinking, and collaborative learning.

The project promotes early exposure to digital twins for students who may not encounter them in their regular curricula, while also encouraging early-career researchers to participate as co-developers, mentors, and organizers. In doing so, Hack-4-SAGES fosters a multi-level learning ecosystem that supports long-term capacity-building in digital science education across ENHANCE Alliance institutions and beyond.

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