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Let studentsbuild things.

MARA for universities and career services: make your university one of the first in Italy to build the career day on students’ work.

Bring partner companies’ practical challenges to your university.See how

This is what
we were used to.

Illustrative scenario

Trusted by

H-FARM College
H-ACK
CX
Startup Center
H-ACK

Tested on a real hackathon.

participants
157
teams
30
Discover more

A challenge takesa few minutes.

The company pastes the job description, MARA AI writes the challenge. It fits even a career day already on the calendar.

A challengefor every occasion.

Examples written with MARA AI, read the way participants see them. The companies are fictional.

Week 2Individual
Bramble Studio

Find the Signal

Win back the under-25s for a regional water brand

A family-run mineral water brand from the Alps sells well to families in northern Italian supermarkets, but buyers under 25 barely know it. The marketing team has a small budget and no data on this group. They need someone who can listen to young people, read the market and propose a campaign that fits the brand instead of copying trends.

Taking part

Format
Individual
Submission deadline
Week 2

Joining opens your workspace, the full brief and company materials.

The stand, plus a challengefor your students only.

Add practical challenges to your career-day packages. MARA brings together briefs, materials, questions and submissions.

  • Access managed by your university

    Generate a code for each partner company: each code enables one company only. Your students sign up with their university email.

  • Prepare the challenge with the company

    You can write the challenge for a partner company. It goes live after the company approves it.

  • Follow participation

    Send announcements to students and see which challenges they join and which certificates they earn.

Demo of the MARA app: a university creates a partner code for Harrow Logistics and copies it to send it.

Every student arrives with a portfolio,not just a CV.

Every challenge handed in stays on the student’s profile. The company sees how they work, not just what they studied.

Giulia Conti

Giulia Conti

Management Engineering

About

I like turning a pile of tickets, interviews or delivery logs into one recommendation a team can act on this quarter.

Education

Università di Castelmare

Master's · Year 2

Worked with

Northwind AnalyticsAlder HealthFenwick & Co.Bramble Studio
The Last Mile

Northwind Analytics

Shortlisted

Submitted work

Prototype

Project abstract

We mapped 1,200 failed deliveries from the last quarter: two in three happen on the same twelve rural routes, between 2pm and 5pm, when nobody is home.

We propose evening slots on those routes, chosen by the customer at checkout, with a six-week pilot in one region to measure the effect on returns.

From the first year:try it to find out.

Marketing, sales, finance, branding, data analysis, strategy: one challenge to find out what they really enjoy, before choosing.

The first step

MARA

Plan the next move for the productFenwick & Co.

A new format, in Italy

The career day where the talk is about work done.In Italy, it can start at your university.

Almost everywhere today, the career day is a queue of CVs. Universities that start now do not follow a model: they write it, and show it first to students and companies.

01

First, not last

Your university becomes the one where companies arrive with a real problem and students with a solution. Something that sets you apart, to tell students, families and partners.

02

A road already opened

MARA was born from H-FARM College’s challenges. H-ACK by H-FARM ran end to end on MARA.

See the case study

03

Those who start first set the model

Challenges fit into the career service’s calendar, before the career day or during the year. The first universities choose the format others will follow.

More value from your relationships

The university brings its partners.MARA provides the platform.

A programme of challenges for the university’s partner companies and students. Number of challenges, calendar and support are agreed together.

The university

Chooses the companies to involve, presents the programme to students and runs the calendar. The relationship with partner companies stays its own.

Partner companies

Bring the cases, check briefs and materials and name who will follow questions and projects.

Provides the platform to create, distribute and run the challenges. Training, setup and assistance are agreed together.

Where does it fit?

Before a career day, so students arrive with a project to discuss. Or during the year, in labs or project work with companies.

Case study · H-FARM Campus · 11–12 April 2026

H-ACK Robots in Action

A 24-hour hackathon run end to end on MARA: teams, tasks and final submissions on one platform.

  1. 01

    The Robot Companion

    A robot that supports elderly people who live alone in their daily life.

  2. 02

    Smart Campus & Operations

    A robot that helps run a large campus like H-FARM’s, day to day.

  3. 03

    Wild Card · Future Vision

    A use of robotics that today looks like science fiction.

The prize

A day with Jakidale and mentorship from H-FARM AI, Startup Center and H-EALTH for the projects judged feasible.

Read the article (opens in a new tab)

Three moments:preparation, work, feedback.

The calendar depends on the challenges and the time students can give them. Dates are agreed before the programme is announced.

  1. 01

    Before opening

    The university confirms the companies and students involved. Companies complete challenges and materials. Access and support are set up with MARA.

  2. 02

    During the challenges

    Students build their projects and companies answer questions. The university coordinates any meetings and activities.

  3. 03

    After submission

    Companies read the work and give feedback. Meetings and prizes take place. The university and MARA note what to improve for the next edition.

MARA is software, not an intermediary: it does not put students forward to companies or rank them. Evaluations and decisions stay with the companies.

Make your universitya pioneer in Italy.

Tell us about your career service and partner companies: we’ll get back to you to talk it through.

We work these out together

  • Programme: which companies, how many challenges, which students, when
  • Contacts: who coordinates for the university and who follows projects in each company
  • Materials: what data to share and what can go into the portfolio
  • Feedback: reviews, meetings, prizes and certificates
  • Terms: what the programme includes and what it costs
MARA — marachallenge.cominfo@marachallenge.com