Jugend hackt

What Jugend hackt does

Jugend hackt is a non-profit educational program founded in 2013 that serves technologically interested youth aged 12-18 across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). Operated under the umbrella of Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e.V. together with mediale pfade.org – Verein für Medienbildung, the program delivers a structured portfolio of free or low-cost activities including weekend hackathons at approximately ten locations, ongoing workshop Labs, a year-long Long Term Support (LTS) mentorship program for sustained project development, and the Vernetzte Welten international exchange with the Goethe-Institut. Participation is largely free; events request a voluntary €20 contribution and travel reimbursements up to €130, with laptop lending available to remove participation barriers. The program's pedagogical approach emphasizes ethical technology use, social impact (under the motto "Mit Code die Welt verbessern"), and self-directed topic selection by participants rather than competitive coding.

Underlying technology is largely conventional and open-source: an online community built on Zulip, a Lightning Talks content library archived on YouTube and media.ccc.de covering topics from Git and Flutter to LoRaWAN and accessibility, and hands-on tools for hardware making and digital fabrication in Labs. Mentorship is the central operational dependency — the program relies on approximately 100 volunteer mentors, including prominent contributors from the Chaos Computer Club network. The core team of roughly nine staff coordinates program management, events, communications, and LTS pedagogy.

The business model is donation- and sponsorship-driven rather than commercial. Funding flows through individual donations, Fördermitgliedschaften (supporting memberships, including corporate supporter tiers), grants, and event sponsorships. Distribution is direct-to-participant through events, Labs, and digital platforms; there is no paid product line, paid tier, or venture capital involvement. Strategic partners include the Goethe-Institut (international exchange) and the Chaos Computer Club ecosystem (mentorship and content credibility).

Name

Jugend hackt

Legal name

Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e.V.

Website

https://jugendhackt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Jugend hackt is a German non-profit educational program, founded in 2013, that delivers free hackathons, Labs, and year-long project mentorship to youth aged 12-18 across the DACH region. Operated under Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e.V., it relies on donations, sponsorships, and ~100 volunteer mentors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Technology Education

akta.pro primary industry

Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills) (EDAMALAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

eLearning & Microlearning Module Development (EDAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Youth coding education
• Hackathon programs
• Digital making workshops
• Mentor-supported learning
• Nonprofit tech education

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fördermitgliedschaften (Supporting Memberships): The organization relies on donations and supporting memberships (Fördermitgliedschaften) to fund operations. Supporters receive inside stories and special thank-you gifts. Available for engaged companies as well.
2. Voluntary Participant Contributions: Events request a voluntary contribution of 20 euros from participants. This is not mandatory to enable broad accessibility.
3. Lab Workshops (Free): Workshops and other events in Jugend hackt Labs are free of charge for participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Jugend hackt is a non-profit educational program that enables young people aged 12-18 to develop coding, hardware, and digital fabrication skills through weekend hackathons, ongoing Lab workshops, and a year-long Long Term Support mentorship program. Under the motto "Mit Code die Welt verbessern" (Improve the world with code), participants work with volunteer mentors to build prototypes and tools addressing social issues they select themselves, supplemented by an online community and international exchanges.

Product overview

Jugend hackt is a German-language educational program for technically and programming-interested youth aged 12-18, operated by Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e.V. and mediale pfade.org. The program offers a portfolio of four interconnected products: Hackathons (weekend coding events at ~10 locations), Labs (ongoing workshop spaces), Vernetzte Welten (international exchanges with Goethe-Institut), and Long Term Support (year-long project mentorship). The offering also includes an online community platform, learning resources, and Lightning Talk archives covering diverse technology topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jugend hackt Hackathons (Events) Weekend hackathon events where young people aged 12-18 develop technical and creative solutions for societal topics they care about, guided by the motto "Mit Code die Welt verbessern". Events take place at approximately ten locations in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with at least five hackathons in five different cities per year (e.g., Mannheim, Köln, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg for 2026).
• Jugend hackt Labs Ongoing workshop spaces and regular meetups at physical Lab locations (e.g., Heilbronn, Mannheim) where interested young people can work together on technical ideas for a better world with play, fun, and creativity. Labs host workshops, talks, and collaborative tinkering sessions on a continuous basis, generally without registration.
• Long Term Support (LTS) Year-long project program where ideas receive extended time to grow from initial concepts into real projects, prototypes, and small tools. Participants work in teams with dedicated mentor support, meeting both in-person at kickoff and sprint events and online.
• Vernetzte Welten (Connected Worlds) International exchange program organized jointly with the Goethe-Institut, enabling youth who have previously participated in Jugend hackt events to travel to other countries and develop technical solutions for cultural and language exchange with local youth.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants develop working prototypes and projects in 1-3 day hackathons
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe primary organizational operator of Jugend hackt. Provides organizational infrastructure, staff, and programmatic support. Located at Singerstr. 109, 10179 Berlin.
• mediale pfade.org – Verein für MedienbildungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-implementing NGO for Jugend hackt, specializing in media education. Contributes organizational expertise and regional coordination.
• Goethe-InstitutmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint organizer of 'Vernetzte Welten' (Connected Worlds) exchange program, enabling international travel and cultural exchange for youth participants.
• Zulip (Open Source)coreTechnology or IntegrationOpen-source chat platform used as the online community tool for all Jugend hackt participants and mentors to communicate and network.
• Chaos Computer Club (CCC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrong affiliation with CCC network. Mentors from CCC (including starbug, Linus Neumann, Frank Rieger) contribute Lightning Talks and mentoring. Connection to Chaos Communication Camp and Congress events.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hack Club: US non-profit network of high school coding clubs that emphasizes hackathons, open-source projects, and a vibrant online community. Closely aligned on hackathon culture, age band, and maker ethos.
• HackerSchool: Berlin-based non-profit running free coding workshops and camps for youth, with a similar mentor-driven, weekend-event model in Germany. Directly comparable in mission, audience (12-18), and non-commercial structure.
• Black Girls CODE: Non-profit providing technology education for Black girls and youth of color. Comparable mission around inclusive youth tech education with workshops, hackathons, and mentor networks.
• Code.org: US-based non-profit expanding access to computer science in K-12 schools. Closest global analog in mission (free K-12 CS education, equity focus, large volunteer/educator network) though delivery is more curriculum-centric than event-driven.
• Technovation: Global non-profit running AI/app-building programs for girls, including in Europe. Comparable as an outcomes-driven, mentor-supported youth tech education program targeting social impact.
• Girls Who Code: US non-profit focused on closing the gender gap in tech through clubs, summer programs, and alumni network. Comparable in youth CS education programming and a strong mentor/role-model pipeline.
• CoderDojo: Global volunteer-led network of free coding clubs for youth aged 7–17. Shares the volunteer-mentor model, free participation, and youth-tech focus; differs in club-vs-hackathon primary format.

Broad incumbents

• Codecademy: Large paid coding-education platform (now Skillsoft) that reaches many self-directed youth learners. Comparable audience and content area, but commercial, self-paced, and not event-driven; serves as a broader incumbent in the same end market.
• Khan Academy: Major free non-profit education platform with a significant computer programming curriculum. Comparable free, online learning model and youth reach, though much broader in scope beyond CS.

Regional players

• Calliope mini: German educational initiative promoting a microcontroller-based STEM learning tool for schools. Comparable DACH geographic focus and STEM-education-for-youth mission, with a hardware rather than hackathon orientation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/jugendhackt
• Facebookfacebook.com/jugendhackt
• Instagraminstagram.com/jugendhackt
• TikToktiktok.com/@jugendhackt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jugendhackt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jugend hackt