Experience innovation and AI up close!
Would you like to tackle real-world challenges together with others and develop innovative ideas for a more sustainable future? During the two-day »Too Much Waste!« Prompt-a-thon on 25 and 26 November 2026, you will work as a team on a concrete startup idea. Along the way, you will try out methods from innovation management and learn how digital tools and AI can support you throughout the innovation process.
You will work on one of three challenges:
- ReWear – Rethinking Fashion: How can we make sustainable clothing consumption easier, more attractive and more practical for everyday life – and rethink second-hand, repair, swapping or upcycling?
- Sort Smart – Waste Separation for Everyone: How can we make waste separation easier to understand, more inclusive and simpler? Develop solutions that help people dispose of waste correctly and keep valuable resources in the cycle.
- WasteLess – Saving Food, Using Resources: How can we reduce food waste and make meaningful use of surplus food? We are looking for ideas that keep food in the cycle for longer and make better use of resources along the value chain.
While working on your challenge, you will use AI tools for research, ideation, concept development and visualization. Experienced mentors and experts will guide you through the innovation process, provide professional input and challenge your ideas. At the end of the second day, you will take your solution to the stage and pitch it to a jury!
You want to participate in the Prompt-a-thon?
The registration deadline for the »Too Much Waste!« Prompt-a-thon is 25 October 2026. Registration takes place via our online form.
What is a Prompt-a-thon?
A Prompt-a-thon is an event where teams use AI tools, primarily by creating prompts (instructions for the AI), to develop innovative solutions and ideas. Similar to a hackathon, but with a focus on language models like ChatGPT, participants work on creative or problem-oriented projects within a set time frame. The emphasis is on the creative use of AI rather than programming skills.
When and where is the »Future City« Prompt-a-thon taking place?
The »Too Much Waste!« Prompt-a-thon will take place on 25 and 26 November 2026 at mon ami Weimar, Goetheplatz 11, 99423 Weimar. Over two days, you will develop innovative ideas in interdisciplinary teams around the topics of waste prevention, resource conservation and sustainable consumption.
To prepare for the Prompt-a-thon, we invite you to two digital workshops. There, you will get to know important methods that will support you later when working on your challenge.
- On 10 November 2026, together with experts from NT.AG, everything will revolve around Prompting & Visualization. You will try out how effective prompting works and how you can use AI to quickly make your ideas visible and easy to understand.
- On 17 November 2026, you will get to know Design Thinking as a concept and learn from the neudeli coaches how the approach can help you tackle challenges in a structured and user-centered way.
During the two-day Prompt-a-thon on 25 and 26 November, you will put what you have learned directly into practice: You will work in a team on one of the three challenges, develop your solution idea and bring it to the stage at the end.
- A joint digital wrap-up on 15 December 2026 with the neudeli coaches will conclude the programme and provide space for reflection, feedback and exchange.
Dates at a glance:
- 10 November 2026, 16:00–18:00: Preparatory workshop »Prompting & Visualization« with experts from NT.AG (digital via Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84158721286)
- 17 November 2026, 16:00–18:00: Preparatory Workshop »How to Design Thinking« with Josephine and Charlene from the neudeli team (digital via Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84158721286)
- 25 November 2026, 10:00–16:30: Day 1 of the »Too Much Waste!« Prompt-a-thon, mon ami Weimar, Goetheplatz 11, 99423 Weimar
- 26 November 2026, 10:00–19:30: Day 2 of the »Too Much Waste!« Prompt-a-thon with Final Pitch, mon ami Weimar, Goetheplatz 11, 99423 Weimar
- 15 December 2026, 16:00–17:30: Wrap-up with Josephine and Charlene from the neudeli team (digital via Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84158721286)
Optional Supporting Programme on 23 & 24 November 2026:
The »Too Much Waste!« Prompt-a-thon is part of a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), for which we invite international students from partner universities of the BAUHAUS4EU Alliance to Weimar. As part of the Prompt-a-thon, a joint supporting programme with excursions, workshops and a Come Together will therefore take place on 23 and 24 November.
Students from Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and other universities in Thuringia are warmly invited to take part in the accompanying programme on an optional basis. To kick things off, a Welcome Event will take place at Bauhaus.Atelier on Monday, 23 November 2026, at 6:00 p.m. Over snacks and drinks, participants will have the opportunity to meet the international students and connect with one another in a relaxed atmosphere before the Prompt-a-thon begins. Participation in the Welcome Event is voluntary for students from universities in Thuringia.
Who can participate in the »Future City« Prompt-a-thon?
Students (Bachelor’s/Master’s) from all faculties of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar as well as students from all other universities in Thuringia are warmly invited to participate in the Prompt-a-thon.
As part of a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), we also expect international students from partner universities of the BAUHAUS4EU Alliance. In this way, the Prompt-a-thon brings together different disciplines, universities and international perspectives.
Do I need any special prior knowledge?
How does the Prompt-a-thon work, and is there catering?
During the two-day Prompt-a-thon, you will work with your team (4–6 people) on one of three challenges related to sustainable fashion consumption, waste separation and food waste. The coaches from Gründungswerkstatt neudeli will guide you and your team through the process and introduce suitable methods to help you develop a concrete solution idea step by step from a challenge. You will also be supported by experts and mentors who will provide professional input and guide you in the use of AI tools.
Catering will also be provided: snacks, meals, coffee and cold drinks will be available on site.
What should I bring to the Prompt-a-thon?
How can I have my participation in the Prompt-a-thon recognized as academic credit?
For your participation in the Prompt-a-thon to be recognized as part of the Bauhaus.Module and awarded 3 ECTS credits, you are required to attend both preparatory workshops, the two-day Prompt-a-thon, and the joint wrap-up session.
The assessment is based on your active participation and contribution during the Prompt-a-thon, as well as the joint presentation (pitch) of your team’s developed startup idea at the end of the Prompt-a-thon on 26 November 2026. No additional written assignment or reflection is required.
How can I register for the Prompt-a-thon?
Registration is open until 25 October 2026 through our online form. For organizational reasons, the number of participants is limited to a maximum of 35. Places will be allocated in the order in which complete registrations are received. Once all places are filled, we will operate a waiting list.
Our Partners
The »Too Much Waste!« Prompt-a-thon organised by the neudeli Startup Hub is supported by NT Neue Technologie AG, the Chairs of Resource Management and Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, ReeG GmbH, the Thuringian University Startup Network (StarTH), the Thuringian Energy and GreenTech Agency (ThEGA), the City of Weimar, and the BAUHAUS4EU European University Alliance.