Barcelona | When 90 students, 24 finalist teams, and a handful of industry experts gather at dawn in Barcelona, innovation sparks before the show floor even wakes up. At the ISE 2026 Hackathon, Agentic AI collided with digital signage to redefine how citizens and customers experience the world around them.
ISE 2026 Hackathon: Where Agentic AI Meets Digital Signage
ISE Thursday morning, 8:00h: The show floor is still silent, halls not yet alive with the usual ISE buzz. But one conference room of the Fira de Barcelona is already at full capacity. Ninety students fill the space, energized, nervous, and excited as the second edition of the ISE Hackathon officially begins with the announcement of this year’s challenges.
What started as an educational side initiative has quickly evolved into one of the most dynamic formats at ISE. In 2026, 100 teams from 17 top universities – including besides Spanish universities also students from Bocconi (Milan), HEC (Paris), and Bath (UK) – submitted solutions for the preliminary round. Only 24 teams secured a coveted spot in Barcelona for the finals.
Over two intense days, students work side-by-side with industry professionals, tackling real-world problems in sustainability, cybersecurity, and innovation. For the students, ISE becomes more than a tradeshow – it becomes a proving ground for their career. For the ProAV industry, it is an opportunity to get the interest of the next generation of talent and ideas.
Agentic AI Meets Digital Signage
Within the Innovation Track, the spotlight once again turns to digital signage. The 2026 challenge: How can Agentic AI create more intelligent, contextual, inclusive, and trustworthy digital signage solutions – and unlock new business cases?
Six teams had just 26 hours to turn their ideas into working concepts. Sleep became optional. Most participants powered through the night, catching barely an hour of rest on the sofas ISE provided for the participants.
Guidance came from an expert jury that doubled as a coaching team: professors from participating universities, a serial tech entrepreneur, and invidis as the industry’s digital signage specialists. Throughout the process, they challenged students to sharpen their thinking, validate assumptions, and apply ProAV knowledge to real-world use cases. Visiting exhibitors stands and ISE conferences were part of the on-site research programme.
A VIP Space Transformed into an Innovation Lab
Hosted in the VIP area off Hall 8, the hackathon covered the three challenge tracks – each developed together with companies seeking fresh, creative solutions to genuine business problems. This year’s sponsors were Philips, Hikvision and the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation.
For students, the hackathon was an unique opportunity to collaborate directly with industry leaders, pitch new concepts, and network for future career paths.
The outcomes are often surprising and refreshing. Some ideas born at past ISE hackathons have evolved into prototypes, research projects, and even real commercial pilots.
2026 Innovation Track: Citizen Experience & Customer Experience
This year’s Digital Signage Innovation Track focuses on identifying a Problem or Need (PoN) faced by ProAV users. Each team must develop a solution leveraging ProAV-enhanced Agentic AI, proving how AI-driven agents can elevate digital signage to the next level.
Teams could select one of two paths:
1. Government Agencies – Better Citizen Experience
Here, concepts explore how public-sector environments – from city halls to transport hubs – can use Agentic AI to streamline services, guide citizens more intuitively, and provide information inclusively.
2. B2C Organizations – Better Customer Experience
These concepts aim at retail, hospitality, or entertainment scenarios where intelligent, self-directed AI agents can create personalized, seamless customer journeys.
Across both tracks, teams were encouraged to demonstrate how Agentic AI can understand real-time context, offer more inclusive interactions, ensure trust and data transparency, and solve practical operational challenges. The result: a set of creative, implementable concepts that reflect where digital signage and AI are heading – and how the ProAV industry can evolve with them.
The Winning Project
The winning project LUCIA was developed by “CETTizens of Innovation” – a team of students from UB CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy. The students addressed a problem very relevant for non-EU residents in Spain: the complex annual process of applying and renewing the resident permit. The process requires multiple visit to government offices, while precious time slots are more or less only available on the black market for 50-500 Euro.
The winning team of Serena Wilson, Xavier Súñer, Mariona Sillaurren and Librada Morales developed LUCIA – an accessible designed space fitted with a video-based kiosk, sensors and an exterior LED screen wrap for public messages and DooH. LUCIA would democratize 24/7 access to the resident permit process and could be located in downtown location rather than selected government offices.
Runner up projects
- Okham – an instore tech assistance platform to complement human sales staff for a AI driven instore experience. The combined mobile app and digital signage based platform would bring more tech know-how to the sales floor.
- CuidAI – an intelligent home care solution for rural areas based on a smart ring, mobile app and AV devices like tv, smart speakers and additional sensors. The Agentic AI and AV Care System would help to scale scare home care resources.
- Crowd Flow Management – Barcelona Stadium crowd control for an improved visitor experience. Large interactive digital signage for wayguiding, entertainment in combination with mobile app.
- Orion – airport interactive kiosk providing travellers a one-stop platform in case of irregular operations. Travellers would be able to rebook flights, track delayed baggage, book hotels and transportation
- Classroom of the Future – to dramatically improve the education level in public schools the team developed an AI-based learning platform for students, teachers and parents.
