Over two days, teams of students collaborated intensively at Fira de Barcelona to tackle real-world challenges in the fields of sustainability, innovation, and cybersecurity. Working alongside professionals from education and across industries, participants developed fresh ideas and solutions, bringing innovation to life on the ISE show floor.
Hackathon Headline Sponsors
In the run-up to the show, the students underwent a pre-selection assessment to identify their unique perspectives and skill sets. Sixty elite students were chosen to take part in the ISE Hackathon.
The Hackathon began at 08:00 on Thursday 5 February 2026 and work was completed by midday on Friday 6 February. There were a series of project presentations starting at 11:00 on the Pitching Stage in Congress Square, followed by an Awards Ceremony at 15:00 where the winning projects and teams were announced.
During ISE 2026 we hosted top university students, industry experts and associations at the ISE 2026 Hackathon.
After a pre-selection assessment to identify their unique perspectives and skill sets, around 60 elite students will be chosen.
For 48 hours the student participants engaged in rapid networking, collaboration, brainstorming, and innovation engineering to solve a business challenge.
Working alongside seasoned professionals from across education and a range of industries, they applied their formidable intellect, talent, creativity and collective brainpower to drive solutions.
The Hackathon culminated in project presentations on the Innovation Park Stage, followed by an awards ceremony for the winning solutions.
Taking place in the VIP area off Hall 8, the ISE Hackathon comprised three tracks of challenges, identified by companies that are looking for smart international students to find innovative solutions to real-life business problems. Students had a great opportunity to connect and showcase their talent to industry leaders.
The ISE Hackathon represents a unique and exclusive opportunity to engage the hearts and minds of all the partners, participants, companies, educational institutions and associations involved in business innovation.
This is an intense and focused impact opportunity whose reach goes beyond the walls and halls of ISE and into ideas that can shape the future.
PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITIES
The following universities were taking part:
HACKATHON TRACK SPONSORS
Cybersecurity Track Sponsor
Sustainability Track Sponsor
Innovation Track Sponsor
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