Location and date
- May 11th · 10am – May 12th · 8 pm
- Eugenides Foundation, Leof. Andrea Siggrou 387, 175 64, Athens, Greece
Organizer
Program & Innovation Enabler
Hosted at
With the support of
About the Hackathon
The E-NICHE Hackathon 2026 is a 48-hour process designed to showcase innovative ideas, technologies/prototypes, and methodologies that address challenges in chemical ecology (CE), which the E-NICHE partners’ set.
Calling innovators from all around Europe, the Hackathon aims to strengthen academia-industry connections and support CE innovators to present and potentially commercialize their technologies & ideas.
The Hackathon will be held on 11-12 May 2026 as a side-event of the “2nd International Conference on Green Innovation and Circular Economy” (GR-I-CE) in Athens, Greece.
It will be supported for E-NICHE participants by funds from the COST action CA22102 (https://e-niche.eu/) program and E-NICHE Sponsors.
Outline of the Program
The Hackathon is structured in two complementary parts: a theoretical session combined with practical exercise on design thinking with AI, followed by hands-on work with mentors to form an idea or prototype addressing chemical ecology challenges and create a short presentation (pitch deck) for it, which will be presented and evaluated on the second day’s evening.
Monday, May 11th
Welcome session and ice-breaker game, followed by a bootcamp training on design thinking and prototyping using AI tools and 1:1 parallel mentoring sessions with Innovation Experts to shape the core essence of your idea/prototype/methodology and how this could positively impact or treat the challenges set.
Tuesday, May 12th
Begin the day by fine-tuning your solution with the Innovation Experts and start shaping your presentation to prepare for the finals held in the evening. Connect with industry experts, present your idea/prototype/methodology, and compete to win prizes and benefits.
After selection, a more detailed program will be sent out to each participant.
Benefits – Why participate
Calling all researchers, PhD students, postdocs, senior scientists, students, or established teams enrolled in EU Universities & Research Centres and CE innovators in general who wish to develop an innovative idea or showcase an already established idea/technology and/or methodology that applies to the Hackathon’s challenges.
- Reimbursement of travel & accommodation expenses: The best 10 applications from E-NICHE participants (after review*) will be reimbursed of their costs of their on-site participation following the COST Action rules (travel and daily allowances for the 2 day training) at the Hackathon to be held this May in Athens, Greece.
- Capacity-Building: Participate in trainings, work on real-world problems, and build skills to enhance your portfolio and future career.
- Gain access to the 2nd International Conference on Green Innovation and Circular Economy (GR-I-CE)
- Networking & Funding: Connect with industry stakeholders, present your idea, and claim potential funding for the development of your solution.
(*) Participants will be notified by April 15th at the latest whether they are one of the best ten to have travel and daily allowance funding
Selection Process and Deadlines
To apply to the Hackathon, please send to e-niche-hackathon@agro.duth.gr a single PDF (up to 1 page) including your:
- Details (Full Name, Email, Country of Residency),
- Background (studies, potential experience in the field),
- Motivational letter – Why do you want to participate
- Optional: Do you have an established idea/technology and/or methodology? Tell us about it and how this could treat a CE challenge. Don’t you have one? Then, no problem, we can help you shape one during the Hackathon – just mention what CE challenge you would like to find a solution.
Please note that your application for the Hackathon is not a definitive acceptance. The selection will be at the discretion of the Training Course organizer. For all attendees, please note that if you are selected, you will have to arrange travel and accommodation by yourself. If eligible according to the eCOST rules, you will be reimbursed after the event.
E-NICHE application deadline: April 10th, 2026
