ESDST’2026

Résumé

In a context marked by the digital transition and the emergence of artificial intelligence in educational settings, hackathons are emerging as tools capable of transforming learning, assessment, and educational organization. This paper presents a collective reflection on H12 Innovation, designed as a space for active learning, innovation, and educational change management. The goal is to demonstrate how an educational hackathon, supported by digital tools and an AI component, can structure participant engagement, facilitate event management, and highlight the skills utilized during the experience.

Our report is based on a descriptive and reflective approach grounded in

observations of the H12 Innovation event, an analysis of interactions among organizers, mentors, judges, and participants, and an examination of the monitoring procedures implemented during the hackathon. In this context, Arena of Coders, a solution developed by students as part of an integrated mobile project, was deployed as an operational tool to support certain key stages of the program, notably checkpoints, submissions, and pitches. An artificial intelligence component was

also deployed to support the identification of observable manifestations of certain cross-cutting skills, particularly during the presentation, exchange, and collaboration phases. The value of this approach lies less in the technical sophistication of the tool than in its ability to enhance monitoring, improve traceability, and support a more nuanced understanding of participants’

activities.

Experience shows that H12 Innovation, supported by Arena of Coders and an AI

component, helped improve the coordination of the hackathon, streamline the monitoring of teams, and strengthen the educational aspect of the event. The system facilitated greater visibility of the teams’ work, more continuous monitoring of the work stages, and a more structured observation of interactions. It also helped highlight essential cross-functional skills such as communication, collaboration, argumentation, adaptability, and time management. The integration

of AI appears here as a promising lever for enriching support and documenting certain learning indicators within a context of authentic assessment.

This paper argues that H12 Innovation serves as an example of an educational hackathon capable of integrating pedagogical innovation, change management, digital technologies, and early applications of artificial intelligence. It also highlights Arena of Coders as a tool to support the implementation of an innovative educational program, while demonstrating that AI can enhance the pedagogical analysis of an event without replacing human judgment. Beyond

this specific case, our analysis opens up perspectives on the transferability of such initiatives to other training contexts and on the conditions for the thoughtful integration of AI into learning environments.