Artificial Intelligence took center stage in Heraklion as the FuturEd AI Hackathon, co-organized by the UoC Department of Computer Science (CSD) and the educational technology company Epignosis, transformed the city into a vibrant hub of creativity and problem-solving.

Held on October 2–3 at the CSD Department of the University of Crete (Voutes Campus), the event welcomed the local community and brought together 50 Computer Science students and tech enthusiasts who worked intensively for 30 hours to address real-world challenges in education through AI.

Over the course of two days, 16 teams developed functional applications using AI tools to support learners and educators, from study-assistance chatbots and collaborative learning platforms to gamified educational apps and intelligent knowledge navigators.

Selected from 39 applications and 150 interested participants, the teams showed remarkable commitment and enthusiasm, with every participant completing the demanding marathon.

The projects were presented to a six-member jury, which evaluated them on innovation, functionality, and educational impact. The top three teams received prizes of €3,000, €2,000, and €1,000, respectively.