IDEASHACK 2026 Brings European AI Research Closer to the Market

ByArtur Kołodziejczyk-Skowron

IDEASHACK 2026, a pan-European AI sciencepreneurship hackathon organised by the IDEAS Research Institute, the main host institution of ELLIS Unit Warsaw, has successfully concluded. The initiative was carried out within the ELIAS Project and focused on transforming promising scientific research into solutions with real-world and commercial potential.

The hackathon began with an online launch on 24 April 2026, followed by several weeks of intensive work. Twenty interdisciplinary teams from across Europe developed AI-based tools designed to strengthen cooperation between science and industry and facilitate the transfer of academic knowledge into practical applications.

Five teams advanced to the final stage and presented their projects during Demo Day, held in Warsaw on 19 June 2026. Their solutions were evaluated by a jury bringing together experts from academia, business and venture capital. The three winning teams shared a total prize pool of €12,000:

  • 1st place: Master Builders, awarded €5,000 for ResearchRadar, a platform matching industrial research needs with relevant academic work and assessing its technological maturity;
  • 2nd place: Lockedin, awarded €4,000 for LabConnectors, a solution designed to turn research events into opportunities for partnerships, pilot projects and investment;
  • 3rd place: Fjaka, awarded €3,000 for ScienceBridge, a platform connecting scientific findings from different fields with potential business applications.

IDEASHACK 2026 demonstrated how cooperation between researchers, entrepreneurs and industry can help promising AI ideas move beyond the laboratory. By combining scientific expertise with entrepreneurial thinking, the initiative contributed to the broader ELIAS mission of supporting trustworthy and sustainable AI innovation across Europe.

The event was supported by ORLEN S.A., Strategic Partner of the IDEAS Research Institute, together with Swissnex, Google, the Polish Development Fund and the ELIAS project. It was held under the patronage of the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, with ITwiz serving as Media Partner.


📸&🎥: IDEAS Research Institute