Oceania EduX Hackathon 2026

Organised by In³

Oceania Edition · Applied AI × Education Hackathon

Harnessing AI to Address Real Challenges in Education

A hackathon designed for innovators across all disciplines — bridging humanity thinkers and technology builders to explore the future of learning

April 2nd – April 9th, 2026

About Oceania EduX Hackathon 2026

Oceania EduX Hackathon 2026 is a hackathon specially designed not just for tech builders, but also for talents across a wide range of disciplines — including education, research, design, sociology, psychology, and many others.

Its core mission is to harness the power of AI and emerging technologies to address real-world challenges in education and learning, while bridging humanities thinkers and technology builders.

Central Themes

Time-bound Applied Innovation Model

A structured sprint designed to support rigorous problem framing, solution development, and practical feasibility within real-world educational contexts. Participants are guided from identifying a meaningful challenge to building a feasible solution within a focused timeline.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Bringing together technologists, educators, researchers, designers, and domain practitioners to co-design solutions grounded in context, pedagogy, and human needs — rather than tool-led experimentation.

Solution-focused Outcomes

Emphasis on clearly articulated solution concepts, appropriate use of AI in education, and feasible implementation pathways, shared through an open showcase and review process. Coding is not the primary focus; meaningful and well-designed educational solutions are.

Exploration Areas

You will be selecting one of these tracks for your project

AI & Personalised Learning

Explore how AI can enable truly personalised learning experiences — adapting to each learner's pace, style, and background to provide customised support that makes education genuinely individual.

Assessment Innovation

Rethink how educational assessment works — moving beyond standardised tests towards more authentic and meaningful ways of measuring learning outcomes, making assessment itself a part of learning.

Search Engine Tools for Educators

Build tools that help educators more efficiently discover, filter, and apply educational resources — improving lesson preparation and content creation so that quality materials are genuinely accessible.

Technology and Creative Education

Explore how technology can enhance creative education — across art, music, writing, and design — allowing creativity and technology to mutually empower each other and spark new forms of learning and expression.

AI and Cognitive Science

Combine insights from cognitive science to explore how AI can better understand and support human learning processes and cognitive development — building educational tools that align with how the brain actually learns.

Participation Details

Benefits of Participation

Prize Pool: AUD $3,000+
Hands-on AI × EdTech Experience
Expert Mentorship (Microsoft & ecosystem partners)
Pathway to Microsoft Startup Program + US$5,000 Azure Credits
Internship Opportunities from challenge setters / partners
Experience with Most Frontier Technology
Interdisciplinary Networking
Presentation Opportunities within Cambridge communities

Who Can Join?

Everyone is welcome — both inside and outside Sydney — as long as at least one member of your team can present onsite on 9 April 2026 at University of Technology Sydney.

Apply individually or as a team
Team formation will be supported on and before Opening Day (2 April)
Interdisciplinary balance is encouraged
All backgrounds welcome: education, humanities, psychology, design, engineering, computer science, and more!

Supplementary Team Formation Support

March 27 — Team Formation Support Form Released: Participants who fill in the form can appear on Talent Square for profile browsing and networking
April 2 — In-person Team Formation during Opening Ceremony at Microsoft Office Sydney
April 3 (8 PM) — Optional Randomised Team Formation Support

Submission Requirements

2–3 minute video of your working prototype / demo
Pitch deck for a 4-minute presentation explaining your educational idea and how your solution addresses the challenge
Use of AI vibe coding tools is encouraged
Judging will focus on the application value and impact of your solution, not the specific tools used

Judging

Judging focuses on educational application and relevance to the challenge
Coding is not the primary focus
AI-assisted vibe coding is highly encouraged
Demo Day judging follows an expo-style format, with roaming expert judges interacting with teams

Intellectual Property

Your team owns 100% of your project
Organisers may request permission to display selected work for non-commercialised purposes
Photos of the event may be used for media purposes
Participants can contact the organisers if they have any concerns

Event Timeline

Apr 2

Thu · Opening Ceremony
Hybrid · 2:30–5:00 PM
Microsoft Office Sydney

Apr 3

Fri · Track Selection &
Team Formation Deadline
11:59 PM

Apr 2–8

Innovation Sprint
Hybrid / Flexible Work Period

Apr 9

Thu · Final Expo & Showcase
Onsite · 1:30–6:00 PM
Building 11, UTS

Location: Sydney

Opening Day: Microsoft Office Sydney

Final Demo Day: Building 11, University of Technology Sydney

Onsite attendance required: 2 April (Opening Ceremony) and 9 April (Final Showcase) — at least one team member must attend in person.

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