A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL IMPACT
From bicycle repairs to digital platforms
ALTEN is proud to contribute to Hjulverkstan, a community initiative run by Save the Children (Rädda Barnen). For many young people, a bicycle is more than a mode of transport; it is freedom, independence, and a way to belong. This belief drives the project’s support for children and families in underserved urban areas through free bicycle repairs, lending, and cycling education.
Hjulverkstan was born in 2018 in Hjällbo, Gothenburg, from a simple, spontaneous act: a Save the Children group leader helping young people fix their bikes in a public square. What started with a few tools quickly revealed a deeper reality: many children lacked access to a functioning bicycle, limiting their mobility, participation, and sense of inclusion. This local initiative places bicycle workshops in underserved urban areas, not only as a bicycle service, but as a vehicle for social impact.
Today, Hjulverkstan operates in five locations across Gothenburg. Each workshop is not only a place to fix bikes, but also a safe meeting point, a first workplace for young people, and a hub where trust, skills, and pride are built, one repair at a time. As the initiative grew, so did the need for a digital foundation that could sustain it:
- A website to represent the movement and reach the audiences, manageable in multiple languages, with proper SEO
- A digital system to manage inventory, track bikes, log repairs and rentals, replacing paper-based processes, and enabling multi-city scaling
The challenge
Behind the human stories, Hjulverkstan’s expansion brought practical challenges. Workshops relied on paper-based processes, local knowledge, and manual coordination. At the same time, the initiative lacked a strong digital presence to tell its story, reach partners, and support growth across multiple locations.
Save the Children knew that digitalisation was essential, but they did not come with a fixed specification.
Where it began with ALTEN
The project began some years ago at ALTEN under a manager who championed soft-impact work. Today, the initiative continues to deliver value by keeping developers engaged, offering a real-world open-source recruitment test, and creating a safe space for experimentation, especially in the AI era. It also attracts motivated, builder-minded talent, and even contributions from consultants can boost collaboration and growth.
A platform bridging two worlds
Rather than building isolated tools, the project set out to create one integrated digital platform serving two distinct but connected needs:
- A public-facing website to communicate Hjulverkstan’s mission, support multiple languages, and help the movement grow.
- An internal operations system used daily in the workshops to manage bike inventory, repairs, lending, and availability across locations.
The two are deeply connected: the internal application also functions as the content management system for the public website. This keeps the solution simple, reduces maintenance overhead, and ensures consistency between operations and communication. The result is not just software, but a digital backbone enabling Hjulverkstan to grow without losing control, transparency, or human focus.
Full technical responsibility
Jona, Engineer and Technical Lead in our in-house AADS department, has guided the project from its earliest stages. His approach centres on uncovering how things truly work beneath the surface, combining scientific precision with an almost artistic way of thinking, where critical insight shapes system design.
He describes his work as “bringing digital products to life”, and the Hjulverkstan platform is a clear example of that philosophy. As Technical Lead, he has:
- Held the architectural vision from day one
- Made foundational technology and infrastructure decisions
- Worked hands-on across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and DevOps
- Shaped requirements directly with Save the Children in a collaborative, trust-based relationship
- Onboarded and mentored developers and interns contributing to the project
“It’s not a work package inside a large system. It’s a whole product, and the freedom to understand every layer is
incredibly motivating.” – Jona
A living space for mentoring and growth
Over the past two years, more than ten interns and junior developers have contributed to the project, making mentoring one of its most important dimensions. The platform is deliberately designed as a space where individuals can learn by contributing to a real product with real users, take on responsibility at their own pace, and explore both technical and personal growth.
“The biggest growth isn’t technical. It’s learning how to enable others, give space, and build trust. When that happens, better solutions naturally follow.” – Jona
Designed for simplicity
Technically, the platform is intentionally modest in size but broad in scope. It combines:
- Java and Spring on the backend
- React on the frontend
- A lightweight, custom approach to server-side rendering and static site generation for strong SEO
- AWS infrastructure, managed through infrastructure-as-code
Rather than relying heavily on large frameworks, the project prioritises clarity, readability, and understanding how things work. This approach supports maintainability while creating a strong learning environment for everyone involved.
Open source as a cultural choice
The decision to make the project open source was intentional.
Within ALTEN, it has turned Hjulverkstan into a shared reference point, a place where consultants between client assignments can collaborate, experiment, and build something meaningful without compliance barriers. It has also become:
- A hands-on learning sandbox, especially valuable in a fast‑evolving tech landscape
- A real-world recruitment touchpoint, where candidates can contribute to an actual product instead of solving hypothetical tasks
From digital tools to real-world impact
Today, the Hjulverkstan platform is helping Save the Children scale its impact with confidence. It supports everyday operations, enables clear communication, and lays the groundwork for future expansion. Most importantly, it allows social workers and young employees to focus on what truly matters: people, inclusion, and opportunity.
For ALTEN, the project shows how engineering expertise can be applied beyond traditional client delivery, as product leadership, mentorship, and long-term societal value.
Hjulverkstan started with a few tools and a willingness to help. Thanks to collaboration, trust, and thoughtful engineering, it is now supported by a digital foundation built to grow, without losing sight of why it exists, and with an intrinsic motivation to understand systems properly.
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