Complementing the organisers’ stated desire to continually encourage innovation and introduce new features, the first ever ISE Hackathon will take place during this year’s show.
From an initial call for participants that yielded a field of around 150 people, a selection process took place before the show to whittle this down to 60 finalists, drawn primarily from top universities including ESADE, UPC, UPF, Bocconi University, HEC and La Salle.
It’s from ESADE where the ISE Hackathon gains its two chairs, Pablo Vega de Llergo Cornish and Xavier Marlasca Roig, both of whom are professors at the international educational institution, as well as being highly experienced business transformation leaders and consultants.
For the hackathon, they are working in conjunction with Idearia-Lab, a boutique consultancy specialising in business model innovation headquartered in Mexico.
The significant involvement of universities based in and around Barcelona stems from a wish by ISE “to give back to society with regards to promoting people and talent here”, says de Llergo Cornish, who added that the three project tracks – sustainability, innovation and cybersecurity – are based on feedback from a survey conducted at ISE 2024.
Exploring new technologies
The challenges for each track have been informed by suggestions from industry stakeholders including AV companies and system integrators, while de Llergo Cornish indicated that there is a general objective of exploring new technologies in a context of “how they can be used in order to provide value propositions or enhance them”.
For the final selection of participants, a panel drawn from the AV industry and academia looked for students who were “capable of addressing the challenges, are creative and resourceful, and pragmatic as well”, he added. The resulting 60 finalists have been split equally across the three tracks and then into five teams per track.
The teams have a mere 1.5 days to complete their work, with the hackathon starting at 08:00 on Thursday February 6th and wrapping up at midday on Friday February 7th (this included the opportunity to continue over Thursday night in the Fira should teams decide that’s necessary). Later on Friday there will be a series of project presentations on the Pitching Stage in Congress Square, followed by a ceremony at 15:00 to reveal the winners and runners-up.
While all participants will receive a certificate, the winners will also receive trophies, as well as take part in psychometric diagnosis – a career-oriented process of aptitude tests designed to provide insights into a person’s strengths, weaknesses and potential for progression.
Lara Mayer, ISE manager business development & special projects, who is co-ordinating the hackathon on behalf of the show, says it’s an ideal moment to introduce this new feature: “At ISE, we constantly strive to foster innovation and collaboration within the AV and technology industries. Hosting a hackathon this year aligns perfectly with our mission to push the boundaries of creativity and problem-solving. We believe it’s a fantastic opportunity to bring together diverse talent, encourage fresh thinking, and tackle real-world challenges in the AV space. Our expectation is that the hackathon will not only showcase brilliant ideas, but also inspire lasting connections and solutions that resonate beyond the event.”
The winners of the ISE Hackathon will be revealed on the Pitching Stage in Congress Square at 15:00 on Friday.
