The CloudFest Hackathon 2025, held from March 15-17 at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, showcased remarkable innovation and collaboration within the tech community. This year’s event not only pushed the boundaries of open-source development but also reinforced a commitment to inclusivity and social impact.
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And to celebrate, here are the winners this year.
Celebrating Excellence: Award Categories
The hackathon featured several award categories, each designed to recognize and celebrate excellence in various aspects of open-source development:
- Tech Visionary Award > Peer-to-Peer Federated RAG Framework: Sponsored by Hostinger, this award honored the team whose project demonstrated the most innovative technical implementation and creative use of technology.
- Dream Team Award > Peer-to-Peer Federated RAG Framework: Sponsored by Omnisend, this accolade was bestowed upon the team that showcased exceptional teamwork, collaboration, and communication throughout the hackathon.
- Social Media Master Award > WP-CLI as an MCP Host: With sponsorship from Kinsta, this award highlighted the team that generated the most buzz on social media during the event.
- Pitch Perfect Award > CMS Freedom and Securing the Supply Chain for OSS: Sponsored by Codeable, this recognition was given to the team that delivered the most compelling and engaging project presentation.
- Breaking Barriers Award > Accessible Infographics: Sponsored by Automattic, this award acknowledged the team that implemented inclusive design principles effectively, breaking down barriers for both development teams and end-users.
- #CFHack2025 Overall Winner > Accessible Infographics: Sponsored by Greyd, this prestigious title was awarded to the team that emerged as the ultimate champion of the CloudFest Hackathon 2025.
The Esteemed Jury
A distinguished panel of judges and some very cool people who are industry experts and community leaders, were tasked with evaluating the projects. The jury included:
- Lucas Radke, Product Manager at Automattic/WordPress VIP and President of the Jury
- Laura Kyongo, Partnerships and Placements Lead at Groundbreaker Talents
- Olivier Dobberkau, President of the TYPO3 Association
- Vytautas Dilba, Tech Partnerships Lead at Omnisend
- Darius Sveikauskas, Co-Founder & CEO of Patchstack
- Marvin Altemeier, Requirements Manager at Hetzner
- Carole Olinger, Head of CloudFest Hackathon
- Thierry Muller, Head of Scaled Activation – Engineering at Google
- Alain Schlesser, Principal Architect at Yoast
Looking Ahead
The CloudFest Hackathon 2025 not only celebrated technological advancements but also underscored the power of community and the importance of fostering an inclusive environment in the tech industry. As the event concluded, participants and organizers alike looked forward to continuing this tradition of innovation, collaboration, and social responsibility in the years to come.
