GATE REI Digital Creative Hack

The GATE REI Digital Creative Hack is a day of creative work on real briefs. It calls on students, recent graduates and young creatives with a passion for digital communication, social media, design and illustration: you pick a challenge in the morning, deliver a finished piece by the evening, and those who stand out come back to present it to a jury of experts.

The cultural and creative industries are one of the most concrete routes into employment and self-employment for people entering the job market. GATE REI builds programmes that attract young talent and connect it with startups and companies through learning by doing: this hackathon is one of those programmes, compressed into a single day.

Why take part

• Work on concrete briefs, not exercises
• Build practical and transferable skills
• Put your creative and design thinking to the test
• Add real work to your portfolio
• Get access to a six-month paid internship at GATE REI
• Meet professionals from the cultural and creative industries

The three challenges

Each participant picks one.

Social Media & Video Making

• A two-week mini editorial plan for Instagram and LinkedIn
• Three pieces across posts and stories: a 3-slide carousel (1080×1350), a still image (1080×1350) and a story (1080×1920), with copy written differently for each platform
• The edit of two short videos, between 15 and 30 seconds (1080×1920), using the footage provided or your own, AI tools included

Visual & Graphic Design

• Two graphics: an A5 flyer and a horizontal banner for a website or newsletter (800×300)
• A poster for billboards (70×100)
• A mock-up of the website home page
• The adaptation of the materials across platforms, with two social versions: Instagram feed (1080×1350) and stories or reels (1080×1920)

Humanizing Illustration

• A complete character design, in three poses or facial expressions
• The character’s name and logo

The goal is to humanise a concept: to use drawing — digital or traditional — to give it empathy, values and a personality.

Rules of engagement

Any tool you like. Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, Procreate, Final Cut, a graphics tablet, pen and paper: work with whatever you work best with.

Time counts. There is one day only, and delivering a finished piece by the deadline is a judging criterion, not an organisational detail.

When and where

The hackathon runs on Wednesday 30 September 2026, from 10:30 to 18:00, at the Laboratorio Aperto di Piacenza, Piazza Casali 10.

The shortlist is announced on 3 October 2026. The final stage is on 7 October 2026 at 10:30, again at the Laboratorio Aperto di Piacenza: a ten-minute pitch in front of a jury of experts.

How to apply

Applications go through an online form: fill in your application. For any question, write to [email protected].

The GATE REI Digital Creative Hack is organised with Open Lab srl and the Laboratorio Aperto di Piacenza.