Nuremberg | Claude Impact Lab Hackathon

🚀 Claude Impact Lab Hackathon #1 Build AI for good — a one-day social-impact hackathon in Nuremberg 📅 Thursday, 23 July 2026 · 13:30–21:30 📍 ZOLLHOF, Nuremberg ⚠️ ONLY APPLY IF YOU CAN COMMIT TO THE FULL DAY ⚠️ Limited spots (60 people) and a waiting list. This is a hackathon — teams build together, so a no-show leaves a team a person down. RSVP and don't show → you lose priority for future events. Community over flakiness. What is this? One day. 3 challenges. Real AI prototypes for real social problems. The Claude Impact Lab brings founders, makers, and first-time builders together to tackle impact challenges from our partners at Yunus Social Innovation (YSI) — and ship something that matters by the end of the night. Not sure you're "technical enough"? Good. We want you here. (More on that below.) ZOLLHOF Track — Integration & Recognition The real case: In 2012, Germany passed the "Recognition Act" (Anerkennungsgesetz). The goal was simple: make it faster and easier to recognize foreign professional qualifications. The idea was well-intentioned — many skilled workers should have been able to work in their profession sooner. Years later, the results tell a different story. Many migrants still work below their qualification level. Engineers drive taxis. Doctors work as care assistants. The reason: processes are scattered across many authorities, states, and websites. Information is often only available in German, and no one guides people step by step. The lesson: a good law is not enough. Without personal guidance and a clear overview, the potential goes unused. The challenge: Every year, thousands of people come to Germany wanting to integrate and work. They face a maze of authorities, forms, and deadlines. Information on integration and recognition is scattered across many sources: BAMF, the IQ Network, the anabin database, local offices. There is no personal guidance that considers someone's individual situation — profession, family status, language, arrival date. That makes simple questions hard to answer: What should I do next? Will my qualification be recognized in Germany? How long will it take, and what will it cost? Your task: Use AI to turn scattered information into clear, personalized guidance. The format is open: chatbot, assistant, dashboard, or something else. Possible building blocks: Integration Navigator: A multilingual assistant (Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Turkish, English, German) that explains the integration journey — with personalized next steps, required documents, deadlines, and nearby offices. YSI Track — AI-Powered Impact Intelligence The real case: In 2006, a well-known shoe brand promised to donate a pair to a child in need for every pair sold. It became world-famous as smart do-good business. Years later, researchers found little evidence it improved health or education — and in some places the free donations undercut local shoemakers. The lesson: good intentions don't guarantee good outcomes. The only way to know if a project helps is to measure it. The challenge: Every year, governments, foundations, and companies spend billions on programmes meant to improve lives — education, healthcare, climate resilience, jobs. They collect huge amounts of data to check if it works: surveys, reports, spreadsheets, interviews. But the data is a mess. There's no shared definition of what impact means or how to measure it, and it's scattered across formats and years even within one organization. That makes basic questions almost impossible to answer: Which programmes work best for a given challenge? What patterns recur across initiatives and organizations? Which projects show early warning signs — or early success? Your task: Use AI to turn messy, scattered data into something clear and useful — a tool that helps organizations understand their own impact instead of drowning in it. Format is up to you: dashboard, chatbot, report generator, or something else. Real, anonymized impact data will be provided. Wildcard Track: Participants can come up with their own challenge that drives social impact or bring one with them How it works Who should come? Anyone who wants to build AI for good — founders, side-project hackers, students, designers, researchers, and curious first-timers. All skill levels welcome. And this matters: we especially want people with lived experience of these problems, not only engineers. The best work on bias and impact happens when the people affected are building the solution — not just being built for. If a challenge speaks to you, you belong here, whatever your background. English & German-speaking. Bring your laptop. The prize 🏆 The winning team walks away with: No strings attached — winners are free to take their idea forward, or not. If you do want to keep going, we'll help you. How we judge Perks Rules ✅ RSVP = show up (no-shows lose future priority) ✅ Build for impact ✅ Share knowledge openly ✅ Help others when they're stuck ✅ Bring an open mind — and your laptop About ZOLLHOF We're hosting at one of Germany's fastest-growing tech incubators. ZOLLHOF has supported 100+ startups since 2017 (70% still thriving) and was recently named one of Europe's leading startup hubs by the Financial Times. Located in a renovated historic customs building next to Nuremberg Central Station, with 2,800m² of flexible workspace. Part of the €30M ZOLLHOF Factory initiative backed by Siemens, Schaeffler, and other major corporates to make Northern Bavaria a leading startup destination. Sponsored by the official Anthropic Claude Community programme & supported by YSI. See you there! 🚀