EurHackNL 2026

We organised EurHackNL on 18-19 May 2026 at Erasmus University Rotterdam: the largest student AI hackathon in the Netherlands.

We worked to bring together 500+ participants from universities across the country and abroad, including Erasmus University Rotterdam, UvA, Leiden University, TU Delft, Vrije Universiteit, TU Eindhoven, KU Leuven, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Wageningen University, University of Groningen, TU Munich, University of Twente, Tilburg University, TU Berlin, and more.

Unlike traditional hackathons, this event focused on creating real, tangible products using AI-powered no-code tools, enabling hundreds of students from diverse backgrounds, both technical and non-technical, to compete and turn their ideas into fully functional prototypes within just a few hours.

In other words, we fostered an ecosystem of innovation, starting with the emerging generation.

Our Partners

We were proud to be backed by an incredible group of partners, including BCG Platinion, BCG X, DEPT, Lovable, Miro, BDO, ElevenLabs, Picnic, Framer, Cursor, Upstream, EventLabs, HelloPrint, Founders for Founders, and Modaal, whose support helped make the event possible.

Challenge Tracks

Together with our challenge partners, we ran four tracks:

  • AI for Business — led by BCG X and BCG Platinion
  • AI for Finance — led by BDO
  • AI for Live Events — led by EventLabs
  • Bring Your Own Startup — for participants developing their own entrepreneurial ideas

Day 1 — Monday, 18 May

Registration opened at 11:00, followed by the hackathon kickoff at 12:00 with welcome remarks and a networking activity in the Aula at EUR, hosted by Erasmus Tech Community and Erasmus AI Society, alongside Lovable Ambassadors Dmitrii Abramov and Elena Avramenko.

BCG’s Nicolas Ruitenbeek spoke on the importance of AI fluency in careers, after which industry experts from DEPT and Framer ran hands-on masterclasses:

  • Rick van Sintmaartensdijk (DEPT) — Product Growth
  • David Pukha (Framer) — The YC Start-up Scene

At 15:30, the challenges were presented by BCG X and BCG Platinion, BDO’s Ivo van Dongen, EventLabs’ Rajarshi Chakraborty, and the Bring Your Own Startup track, before building began at 16:00.

In the evening, we hosted a panel discussion on AI and the Future of Careers at the Excelsior Business Lounge, featuring guest speakers:

  • Daniele Tonella, CTO @ ING
  • David Knibbe, CEO @ NN Group
  • Hiek van der Scheer, Chief Data Officer @ ABN AMRO
  • Holger Hürtgen, Distinguished Partner & AI Leader @ McKinsey
  • Surajeet Ghosh, Chief AI Officer @ Heineken

Day 2 — Tuesday, 19 May

Teams spent the morning finishing their builds before reconvening at 12:00 and submitting their final solutions by 13:00.

Between 13:00 and 16:00, we ran mini masterclasses and pitch practice sessions, including:

  • A storytelling workshop from Irina Musuc (InnerLead Lab)
  • A fireside chat with Aleks Shamis, co-founder & Managing Partner @ s16vc
  • A session from Elena Avramenko (Modaal.dev) on building a mobile business without code

DEPT also hosted a CV and portfolio review booth.

After a break, we announced the top teams at 17:00, held our live final judging round from 17:30 to 18:30, and closed the event with an award ceremony from 18:30 to 19:00.