THE HACKATON ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN EDUCATION
Do you want pupils and/or students to receive better feedback? Would you like them to find the right support more quickly, and do you want to make a real impact with AI in education in 2026? During this hackathon, you will actively work for three days on a concrete educational challenge and develop, together with experts, an applicable AI solution.
The University of Twente is organizing the fifth edition of the Hackathon AI in Education on 8, 9 and 10 April 2026. This jubilee edition brings together educational innovation, technology and collaboration. During this edition, 12 multidisciplinary teams from secondary education (VO), vocational education (MBO), higher professional education (HBO) and university education (WO) will work intensively on current educational issues related to AI.
Throughout the hackathon, pupils, students, teachers and other education professionals will develop concrete AI solutions, guided each day by experienced AI and education experts (the Jedi’s). The hackathon takes place in the DesignLab at the University of Twente.
What is a hackaton?
A hackathon is an event where participants work non‑stop on a specific case for a short period of time. The theme of this hackathon is AI in education. Developments in this field are happening at lightning speed and are having a major impact on learning, testing, and feedback. Knowledge of Artificial Intelligence is an advantage for participating in this hackathon, but not required: there will also be experts (Jedi’s) on hand to support the teams.
We invite teachers, school leaders, students, pupils and other interested parties to work in teams of 6–8 people for three days (8, 9 and 10 April 2026) on a concrete educational challenge around feedback and AI. Under the guidance of the Jedi’s, these teams will develop their own AI application for the chosen case. On 10 April 2026, all teams will present their solutions to an expert jury, which will assess the presentations and ultimately select a winner.
Register?
Would you and your team like to actively engage with AI in education? There is room for up to 12 teams. We aim for a good mix of educational sectors. If there are more registrations than available places, we will make a selection. You can register until 20 March using the registration form on the following page. Shortly after the deadline, we will let you know whether your team can participate.
Practical information
When: 8, 9 & 10 April 2026
Where: University of Twente
Time: See programme below
For whom: Teachers, school leaders, managers, students, pupils and other interested participants from PO, VO, MBO and higher education
Costs: Free of charge (catering included; a €50 fee will be charged in case of no-show or late cancellation)
Accommodation: Not included, but participants are free to book their own accommodation (e.g. U-Park Hotel Enschede or De Broeierd Enschede)
Organised by: University of Twente, in collaboration with AID‑E Network, CELT, CEE, DSI, LISA, Pre‑U, Pro‑U, TELT, DesignLab, the CODE research group and the ELAN research group.
Want to know more about AI?
The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) was introduced in 1956 by scientist John McCarthy, who defined AI as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” In today’s society, increasing amounts of data are available. Combined with growing computing power and academic breakthroughs, this has led to significant advances in AI.
With AI, we can discover patterns in large amounts of data that mimic human thinking and rational reasoning. This includes the ability to generalise, reason, interpret and learn from the past.
AI also offers many opportunities for education. It can be used for scheduling, service processes, improving equal opportunities, enhancing knowledge assessment, facilitating place- and time-independent (lifelong) learning, and safeguarding quality.
Want to learn more about Artificial Intelligence? Have a look at this article:
Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial Intelligence in Education: Promises and Implications for Teaching and Learning.
Organisation
The hackathon is organized by the University of Twente, in collaboration with AIC4NL, Npuls, and NOLAI. From the University of Twente, the following are also involved: AID-E network, Pre-U, vakgroep CODE & vakgroep ELAN, CEE & DSI.