Briefing 2025

Download challenge text in English | Stiahnuť text výzvy v slovenčine

Starting Point

The City of Bratislava is exploring various AI pilots. Some aim at improving citizen services, while others target internal efficiency. Throughout this journey, we’ve realized just how crucial responsible data management and protection are.

Another issue we need to address is protecting personal data in contracts that we are legally obliged to publish. So far, this process has been cumbersome and time‑consuming.

Our Challenge

We’re looking for innovative ways to anonymize sensitive and personal data in line with GDPR. We want to be able to use this data for AI applications and/or publish it without compromising privacy.

Expected Outcomes:
During our collaboration, we hope to explore and test multiple approaches that could lead to a deployable solution. Whether fully operational or still a prototype, your concept should fit within our existing ecosystem of Microsoft tools, since that’s what ensures we can support and maintain the solution long‑term.

What We’ve Tried So Far:
We have experimented with Microsoft Syntex and Microsoft Presidio + Python. These gave us a starting point — but we’re eager to see how you can take us to the next level, or surprise us with a completely new perspective.

Why We’re Setting Some Boundaries:
We’ve learned that boundaries can actually spark creativity. Here’s why our “playground” is defined the way it is:

  • Capacity: Our technical team is small – we want to focus on ideas we can realistically implement and support.

  • Compatibility: Our infrastructure is built around Microsoft tools; keeping it that way means we can sustain the solution beyond the challenge.

  • Experience: From the city's own hackathon – Climathon, we know that open‑ended projects can lose momentum if we can’t provide enough hands‑on support.

  • Slovak as common language: We’ve managed to convince a great bunch of colleagues to join our effort and support the future team. These awesome people can show their true expertise in Slovak. Over a beer, they’d surely brush up their English too, but as professionals, they feel most comfortable working in Slovak.

So yes – our framework may feel a bit limited, but we see it as an invitation to create something truly useful, implementable, and lasting.

Perspectives

Support During the Process:
If we decide to collaborate, we’d like to make it official.
We can offer you or your team a student contract for the duration of our joint work. Why?

  • You’ll need access to our internal systems.

  • We want to recognize your effort.

  • You can work up to 10 hours per week, and while the pay is modest, you can also turn your work into a bachelor’s or master’s thesis, if your university allows it.

  • This opportunity is open to Slovak speaking participants with Slovak health insurance, simply because our support staff and processes are in Slovak – and some rules are just set in stone.

  • Volunteers are welcome too (with Slovak language still being a must).

You won’t be working alone!
We’ll provide guidance and feedback from:

  • our Head of Microsoft Tools,

  • occasionally the Head of Digital Services, who also teaches applied mathematics and laid the foundations for the city parking system with his bare hands,

  • Zuzana and Peter – read on to find out who they are.

You’ll also join a small peer learning community of students already working with us.

Timeline and Process

We’ll be presenting our challenge at the IMM Kick‑off in Bratislava at the beginning of December 2025. If we click, we can start working together right after the holidays, once everyone returns from their winter wonderlands.

We will take some time to fine tune the details, do the last chemistry check and off we go.

The co‑creation phase typically lasts five months, with regular check‑ins, communication and feedback.

Our Call to Action

Dear Makers, We can’t wait to meet you and co‑create something meaningful together. Join us at the kick‑off or sign up to collaborate on our challenge – let’s anonymize data, not creativity!

About Us

Who We Are:
We’re the Division of Digital Services at the City of Bratislava, dedicated to bringing smarter, citizen‑friendly technologies to life.

The Team:

You – the creative force joining us to shape practical, human‑centered solutions for the city.

Lukáš Polesňák – Head of Digital Services; we’ll check in with him regularly to align our progress with the city’s broader digital vision.

Richard Szabo – leads our Microsoft tools ecosystem and will be our go‑to collaborator, ensuring our work integrates smoothly into our daily operations.

 
 

Zuzana Šefčík Aschenbrennerová & Peter Beňo – you’ll see plenty of us! You will also meet us at the IMM Kick-off. Zuzana steers and coordinates the city’s initiatives around AI and the Digital Twin, while Peter — the heart and soul of our AI team — transforms ideas into meaningful, real‑world results.

 

We’re excited to learn from you, collaborate with you, and co‑create solutions that make Bratislava a little smarter!

Download challenge text in English | Stiahnuť text výzvy v slovenčine

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About City of Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, a dynamic Central European city on the River Danube at the foot of the Little Carpathians—uniquely positioned on the borders with Austria and Hungary and only ~50 km from Vienna. As the country’s political and economic hub, Bratislava leads national decision-making and hosts a vibrant knowledge economy, while the Danube remains a defining natural symbol of the city. The city is advancing an ambitious sustainability agenda, including a 2030 plan targeting major greenhouse-gas reductions and climate resilience across transport, energy, and public space.

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