IDEASHACK 2026
Online Sprint: April 24 – May 08, 2026
Grand Finale: June 19, 2026 | Demo Day in Warsaw
Register now（https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQnYNZC0ZeB-fQuNBHZmu7HjFcTyyATK1adEcsSpz6TSHOFQ/viewform）
IDEASHACK 2026 is a pan-European hybrid hackathon powered by the ELIAS project（https://elias-ai.eu/）
(European Lighthouse of AI for Sustainability).
We bridge the gap between groundbreaking academic research and real-world business impact, bringing together innovative teams from across Europe.
Task
IDEASHACK’s mission is to design a platform that bridges the gap between researchers and industry.
We need tools that can effectively „map” what happens in labs and universities to what businesses actually need. Help us turn scientific achievements into implementation-ready solutions by creating a smarter way to connect competencies with market opportunities.
Participants
We’re looking for AI enthusiasts, start-up seekers, and bridge-builders between academia and business.
Eligibility: Open to all individuals (including students, PhD candidates, professionals, innovators) residing in the EEA, Switzerland, or the UK.
Capacity: To keep the experience high-quality, we are limiting the event to 20 teams.
All interested individuals are welcome to apply!
How to join?
Build your squad: Teams should have between 2 and 5 participants.
Individual action: Each member must fill out the registration form（https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQnYNZC0ZeB-fQuNBHZmu7HjFcTyyATK1adEcsSpz6TSHOFQ/viewform） separately.
Leading the way: Every team must designate one person as the Team Leader.
Prizes & Awards
Total Prize Pool: €12,000
🏆 1st Place: €5,000
🥈 2nd Place: €4,000
🥉 3rd Place: €3,000
Sign up（https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQnYNZC0ZeB-fQuNBHZmu7HjFcTyyATK1adEcsSpz6TSHOFQ/viewform）
Timeline
March 23 – April 19
Registration Window – Secure your spot!
April 20
Selection Day – Announcement of the 20 participating teams
April 24
Online Kick-off – Launching the challenge
April 27 – May 7
Mentoring Sessions – Polish your concepts with experts
May 8
Final Submission – The deadline! Send your solution before it’s too late
May 15
The Big Reveal – Meet the Top 5 finalists heading to Warsaw
June 19
Grand Final & Demo Day – Live pitching in Warsaw and the official crowning of the winners!
Jury
The projects will be assessed by a panel of high-caliber specialists from the AI, startup, and venture capital sectors. Drawing on decades of collective experience, they will evaluate every idea based on its originality, feasibility, and long-term impact.
Professor Tomasz Trzciński, PhD DSc Eng.
IDEAS Research Institute
Tomasz Trzciński obtained his PhD in machine vision at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 2014, and a double master’s degree at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the Politecnico di Torino. He is a Full Professor at Warsaw University of Technology, where he leads a Computer Vision Lab. He was an Associate Professor at Jagiellonian University of Krakow in years 2020-2023, and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University in 2017 and at Nanyang Technological University in 2019 and 2024. He led a research group „Zero-waste machine learning in computer vision” at IDEAS NCBR from 2022 till 2025. Previously, he worked at Google in 2013, Qualcomm in 2012 and Telefónica in 2010. He frequently serves as a reviewer and area chair in major computer science conferences (CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICML) and journals (TPAMI, IJCV, CVIU).
Mr. Ambassador Fabrice Filliez
Swiss Embassy in Poland
Fabrice Filliez is a career diplomat. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to the Republic of Poland, he served as Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore and the Sultanate of Brunei from 2018 to 2022. Previously, he served in Berne for five years at the Swiss State Secretariat for International Financial Matters with the title of Ambassador in charge of multilateral tax matters. At an earlier stage, he served as Head of the Economic and Finance Section of the Swiss Embassy in London. Other positions during his career included appointments at the Swiss Mission to the European Union in Brussels, at the Directorate for European Affairs in Berne and at the Directorate for Public International Law in Berne, postings where he was actively involved in various Swiss- EU negotiations.
Marek Dziubiński
Medicalgorithmics S.A, Solvemed.ai, CodeScore.ai and DeepMarket.ai
Prominent entrepreneur and scientist who founded Medicalgorithmics S.A, CodeScore, Inc, DeepMarket.ai and co-founded Solvemed, Inc. to bridge the gap between AI research and global industry. With a Ph.D. in computer science, his expertise centers on Digital Signal Processing (DSP)—the mathematical analysis of real-world signals like heartbeats, pupillograms and financial trends.
Marcin Ledworowski
Accenture Polska
Senior Advisor and AI Lead at Accenture Polska with over 25 years of experience in finance and IT. As a former Board Member of Bank Pocztowy, he spearheaded digital innovation, including Poland’s first biometric payment card. Previously held leadership roles at BIK Group and BIG InfoMonitor. Academic lecturer at Kozminski University, WSB University, and the French Management Institute. Co-founder of HomoDigital.pl and an expert in digital transformation and AI.
Paulina Skrzypińska
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
Chief Innovation Officer at BNP Paribas Bank Polska SA, Co-founder and Board Member of Endeavor Poland, and an alumna of the Leadership Academy for Poland. She supports innovative companies in their development and effective scaling. Regardless of her role or organization, she focuses on designing and implementing collaboration models with innovative enterprises, which she considers crucial for the future and economic growth of Poland and Europe. She is actively involved in shaping new policies and programs aimed at driving significant change in this field.
Szymon Czekajewski
EQUINIX
Director of Product Management at Equinix, where he focuses on developing technology products on a global scale. As a father of two and a dog owner, he perfectly understands both creative chaos and the fundamental need for simple, effective solutions. Expert in product strategy and global scaling.
Paweł Huras
Polish Development Fund
Paweł Huras is the Head of the Innovation Development Department at the Polish Development Fund (PFR), where he has spent years shaping the Polish innovation ecosystem by bridging strategic vision with operational excellence. Paweł is the co-creator of several landmark initiatives, including VC Connect—a program guiding startups from initial concept to deployment and investment—and IDA, an initiative focused on the adaptation of dual-use, breakthrough technologies for the defense sector. With extensive experience in incubation and acceleration, he specializes in connecting high-tech teams with venture capital and strategic corporate partners.