ENT AI Hackathon: Where ideas become innovations

“ENT AI Hackathon is more than just a competition – it was an opportunity to collaborate, share knowledge and test the capabilities of AI technology in real business scenarios. We are proud to have brought together a large number of talented experts and enabled them to develop creative solutions,” said Hrvoje Kolarić, Head of the company’s strategic AI program.

During the competition, teams intensively developed and implemented ideas applicable to business using everything generative artificial intelligence has to offer. Along with the focus on innovation, special emphasis was placed on education and collaboration, and participants also had the opportunity to participate in a practical workshop dedicated to the use of AI tools.

A number of innovative solutions were presented, including AI assistants that analyze the internal knowledge base from unstructured documents and AI agents that help manage risks when upgrading software and integrating third-party software components (3PP).

The winners of the competition were selected by an expert jury consisting of: Tihomir Fabeta, Director of Digital Society, Hrvoje Benčić, Director of Customer Solutions and Services, Damir Bušić, Director of Finance, Sourcing and Commercial Management, Andrej Gregurić, Director of Research, and Zoran Kokolj, Manager in R&D. During the evaluation, they were guided by the criteria of clarity of presentation, business value of the solution and duration of the presentation.

The winner of the ENT AI Hackathon is the team whose solution was applied in software development, earning them the main cash prize. The winning team consisted of Adrian Lokner Lađević, Marko Miškić, Ana Mijoč and Mislav Hager from the Research and Development (R&D) organizational unit.

“We are very honored that our solution was recognized as the best at the ENT AI Hackathon! We would like to especially thank the Organizing Committee for their excellent support and impeccable organization, and congratulate all the other teams for their creative ideas and hard work. Hackathons are a great opportunity to acquire new knowledge, develop teamwork and present innovative solutions, and we hope that there will be even more of them in the future,” said the winners.

They added that the background of this success is the support of their colleagues within the company: “A big thank you to all our internal team members who have taken on our day-to-day tasks, allowing us to fully dedicate ourselves to the development of the solution. Without them, this success would not have been possible.”

Second place was won by the team that developed a solution for business process optimization, consisting of Ivan Puljiz, Petar Afrić, Antonija Žukina and Darko Margetić from the Digital Society organizational unit.

In third place was the team that designed an AI assistant for company information, and its members were Bernardo Kolauti, Dorian Ljubenko, Domagoj Gabrić and Krešimir Cindrić from R&D.

AI is not a magic wand, but a tool for real change
“The key message of this hackathon is that AI is not a magic wand, but a tool that goes beyond data and algorithms alone. It is about transforming the way we work and live, about solving real problems and creating positive changes in society. This hackathon represents a small part of that wider vision and I believe that this is just the beginning. The ideas that emerged here should continue to live and grow in our company,” emphasized Ivan Lupić, Head of Business Development in New Areas.

In order to ensure the long-term impact of these innovations, it is crucial to recognize ideas that contribute to operational excellence and savings within the company’s Program for Change Management and Digital Transformation and to properly valorize them. We believe that in this way we will not only improve internal processes, but also increase the satisfaction of our customers.

This hackathon just confirms that the ideas and work of our colleagues are proof that artificial intelligence can bring concrete and useful changes in business. We are looking forward to a new hackathon at Ericsson Nikola Tesla in the future.