EuPaC

The EuPaC Hackathon brings together students and researchers to explore publicly available cultural heritage datasets related to European history. The event takes place in Plzeň, Czech Republic, from May 21 to 24, 2025. Over three days, participants collaborate in teams of 7–10 members on case studies based on preselected datasets following their own interests, combining domain expertise with computational methods. Each team is supported by a domain expert and a computational expert. On the final day, teams present their findings as academic posters.

The primary goal of the event is to foster an international research community that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries while promoting EUPeace values, such as the free circulation of knowledge and inclusion. The analyses emphasize best practices in open science, including adherence to the FAIR data principles.

The event is organized by CCS-Lab (University of West Bohemia) in collaboration with Marburg University and Justus Liebig University Giessen. It is proudly supported by the EUPeace University Alliance.

Who can participate

Full participation in the hackathon is limited to those who have gone through the application process (see the Call for Participation). The event welcomes students and researchers from all disciplinary and institutional backgrounds — from the humanities to engineering, including fields like history, art history, cultural heritage, philosophy, and computer science.

The key requirement is a willingness to step outside the comfort zone of your own discipline and engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary teamwork. Participants have been selected by a committee representing the three organizing institutions.

For applicants from Marburg University and Justus Liebig University Giessen, a limited number of spots include coverage of travel and accommodation expenses.

All accepted participants are expected to take part in the entire event.

The final session on Saturday morning is open to the public.

Important Dates

Call for participation opens: January 6, 2024

Call for participation closes: February 9, 2025~~January 31, 2025~~

Announcement of acceptance: February 21, 2025

Preparatory online meeting for all accepted participants: April 23

Hackathon event: May 21-24, 2025

Datasets

NOSCEMUS (https://wiki.uibk.ac.at/noscemus): a corpus of ~1,000 works of Early Modern scientific literature in Latin. For the hackathon, we will have access to these texts in a machine readable and morphologically preprocessed format, accompanied with rich metadata. The corpus invites us to dive into semantic history of many important scientific concepts, including the concept of science (lat. scientia) itself.
GRAPHIKPORTAL (https://www.graphikportal.org/): an online platform for discovering, cataloging, and accessing historical visual materials such as prints, drawings, and photographs. It aggregates collections from numerous institutions, offering advanced search and filter options for metadata and high-resolution images. Aimed at researchers, educators, and the public, it facilitates scholarly exploration of visual culture and art history. For the hackathon, we use data from the Graphikportal.lab platform, currently under active development, where selected records are published in the LIDO XML format via a dedicated gitlab environment.
SCRIPTUM (https://scriptum.cz/): a database of Czech Samizdat and Exile Literature. For the hackathon, we have access to more than 10,000 documents from this dataset in a machine-readable format. For instance, the dataset invites analyses highlighting the significance of information circulation amidst political oppression.
LIST (https://zenodo.org/records/10473706): a database of ~500,000 Latin inscriptions with machine-readable spatial and temporal metadata and a number of additional attributes. For the hackathon, the dataset invites many forms of spatio-temporal, textual or network analyses, exploring transregional cultural patterns of exchange during the Roman Empire.

To get started with the data, visit the following GitHub repository: https://github.com/CCS-ZCU/EuPaC_shared

Venue

The EuPaC Hackathon event takes place in the main building of the University Library at the University of West Bohemia (Knihovna Bory, Univerzitní knihovna).

Address: Univerzitní 2746, 30100 Plzeň, Czech Republic

Detailed Schedule

Wednesday, May 21

Before 15:00 – Arrival of foreign participants
15:00–15:30 – Registration & refreshments
15:30-16:00 – Welcome & Opening words
16:00–18:00 – Group work (kick-off)
18:30 – Opening reception at the venue

Thursday, May 22

9:00–12:00 – Group work
12:00–13:30 – Lunch break
13:30–16:30 – Group work
16:30–17:00 – Short joint wrap-up: progress reports from each group
17:30 – Dinner at the venue

Friday, May 23

9:00–12:00 – Group work
12:00–13:30 – Lunch break
13:30–16:00 – Group work
16:00–16:30 – Short joint wrap-up: progress reports from each group
16:30–17:30 – Final group session: poster finalization & printing
18:00 – Social event: tram ride from the campus to the city center & walking tour of selected churches participating in Night of Churches

Saturday, May 24

10:00–11:00 – Case studies showcase
11:00–12:00 – Concluding discussion
12:00–13:30 – Farewell lunch

Costs and catering

Participation is free.

All accepted participants are provided with free refreshments and meals throughout the event. In addition to beverages and snacks available during the sessions, the catering includes:

An opening reception dinner on Wednesday
A regular dinner on Thursday
Lunch on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Travel and Accommodation

Plzeň is located approximately 100 km west of Prague and is easily accessible by public transport (train or bus) or by car via the E50 highway (Prague–Nuremberg). It is also easily reachable directly from Germany, particularly from Nuremberg, Regensburg, or Munich. For example, a direct train runs between Munich and Prague, stopping in Plzeň.

If you are traveling by plane to Prague Airport, take bus 100 to the Zličín stop (17 minutes; ~1 €). From there, you can transfer to a direct bus to Plzeň operated by Flixbus or RegioJet (60 minutes; ~5 €). We recommend purchasing your bus ticket in advance.

🗺️ How to get from Plzeň hlavní nádraží (main train station) to Knihovna Bory, ZČU

Go from the railway station building to the tram stop “Hlavní nádraží”– Located right in front of the train station building; follow the signs for Tramvaj (tram).– Google Maps: Hlavní nádraží tram stop
Board tram 1 or 2– Tram 1 (direction Bolevec) or Tram 2 (direction Skvrňany)– Ride 1 stop to Hlavní pošta
Walk to “Sady Pětatřicátníků”– About 50 meters from the previous stop– Google Maps: Sady Pětatřicátníků tram stop
Take tram 4 (direction Bory)– Ride to Technická stop
Walk approx. 400 meters to the Library (Knihovna Bory)– Google Maps: Knihovna Bory – Západočeská univerzita– To reach the main entrance, walk around the building, keeping it on your left side

🎫 Ticket Info:

Buy a 60-minute transfer ticket for 28 CZK (~1.1 €)
Use your contactless card at the yellow terminal inside the first tram
Ticket is valid for all transfers within 60 minutes
PMDP Ticket Information (EN)

🚖 In a Hurry? Use Uber or Bolt

If you’re short on time or carrying heavy luggage, you can use Uber or Bolt directly from the train station.

Cost: approximately 175 CZK / 7 €
Travel time: ~10–15 minutes depending on traffic
Both apps are widely used and reliable in Plzeň.

🌐 Internet Connection – Eduroam Wi-Fi

The Knihovna Bory library is well-covered by the Eduroam Wi-Fi network. This allows students and staff from most universities worldwide to connect to the internet using their institutional login credentials.

Most universities provide Eduroam accounts — check with your home institution’s IT department.
Setup usually involves installing a configuration profile or following platform-specific instructions (Windows/macOS/Linux/iOS/Android).
Learn more: eduroam.org

If you need a guest account, the library staff may be able to assist.

Contact

For more info, contact the main organizers: Vojtěch Kaše (kase@ff.zcu.cz), Jana Švadlenková (jsvadlen@ff.zcu.cz)