Public AI Hackathon
Info & question: achraf@ns2agi.com
Build for the public.
On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, North Star teams up with the Province of Antwerp and AP Hogeschool for the Public AI Hackathon.
One full day in Antwerp to turn real public-sector problems into working AI solutions.
📍 AP Hogeschool, Campus Spoor Noord
🕘 09:00 to 18:30
🍕 Lunch, drinks and food provided
👥 Come with a team or find one on the day
Please arrive around 09:00. The official kickoff starts at 09:30.
The day.
09:00 · Doors open & check-in
Coffee, badges and finding your bench.
09:30 · Kickoff & challenge briefing
Local economy officers present the real problems behind each track.
10:00 · Teams form & building starts
Pick a track, shape the problem and start shipping.
12:30 · Lunch
Provided on site.
13:00 · Build continues + mentoring
Local officers and technical mentors will be available throughout the afternoon.
16:30 · Submissions close * Judging begins
Final commits in and demos prepared.
17:00 · Provincial deputy joins
The provincial deputy joins the jury as judging starts.
18:00 · Awards 🏆
Winners announced.
18:30 · Drinks & networking
Wrap up the day with the people you built alongside.
What are we building?
The two challenges come directly from interviews with local economy officers across 10 Antwerp municipalities.
You will discover the challenges at the hackathon.
The people who deal with these problems every day will be in the room with you to answer questions, give feedback and help you understand what a useful solution actually looks like.
Real challenges. Real users. One day to build.
What’s in it for builders?
Real problems with real users
Mentorship from people working in the field
Food and drinks throughout the day
AI tools and credits for every participant
€25K+ in prizes, AI tools and credits
The strongest solutions will be presented to all 58 local governments in the Province of Antwerp this autumn
Prizes 🏆
Challenge 1 winner
€1,000 in OpenAI credits
3 months of ChatGPT Pro for every team member
Challenge 2 winner
€1,000 in OpenAI credits
3 months of ChatGPT Pro for every team member
Additional prize tracks powered by ElevenLabs:
AI Choice: 3 months of ElevenLabs Pro per team member
Best Project Built with ElevenLabs: 3 months of ElevenLabs Pro Scale per team member
Everyone gets credits.
Every participant receives:
€100 in Codex credits
€50 in OpenAI API credits
1 month of ElevenLabs Creator
€25 in Supabase credits
Supported by Supabase with €25 in credits for participating builders.
Who should join?
Developers, designers, AI builders, product people, students, public-sector professionals and curious problem-solvers.
You do not need:
A team
A finished idea
Public-sector experience
To be an AI expert
Come with people you already want to build with, or come solo and find your team on the day.
All we ask is that you show up ready to build.
Get the challenge. Find your team. Build something that matters.