The students’ final challenge of the school term was to build the bank of the future by creating mobile phone apps that can be used to simplify different areas of the financial world.  

Sergio Coronado, founder of LTS, said that getting out of the classroom is very important to the education of his students.

“Going out of the class for me means going into the industry, the businesses,” Coronado said in an interview with Digital Luxembourg published 13 July on Youtube. “Since we were teaching them about financial technology, of course we need a strong collaboration with fintech which is why we came to the Lhoft.”

After being split into teams, the students began their work on Friday night and, aside from the essentials, didn’t stop until Sunday afternoon. They were placed in rooms inside the Lhoft where they were given plenty of food and drinks, but they were also prepared to work for as long as necessary to complete their projects.

Alex Panican, head of partnerships and ecosystem at the Lhoft, said he felt inspired by the kids.

“Even as an entrepreneur myself,” Panican said, “I was really inspired by the next generation. They are just amazing.”

Throughout the weekend, the students were mentored by various experts in the field of fintech.

On Sunday afternoon, the students presented their projects, in English, to a group of professionals who ranked their ideas. The stakes were high for the students as real cash prizes were awarded to the winning groups.

The group that created Visicred, a platform that can simplify planning loans, came out on top and won €1,600.

All of the students, however, will be able to use the skills they learned during the hackathon in their future endeavours.

“It’s one memory that I will be able to take with me all my life,” Lucy, a LTS student, told Digital Luxembourg.

Luxembourg Tech School is an extracurricular programme for students aged 15-20.