On April 29, San Sebastián de los Reyes hosted a historic day for its educational community. During the Hackathon Final Day event, organized by Microsoft and the training company Factoría F5, two local teams achieved first place in distinct generative artificial intelligence competitions. This double win is an unusual accomplishment for a single municipality, with participants including both high school students and a group of teachers.
The Intermunicipal Gen AI Hackathon Young TECH League is an educational circuit that has brought together over 300 young people aged 14 to 17 from Algete, Meco, and San Sebastián de los Reyes. These students have collaborated on developing innovative proposals to address urban and social challenges, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal number 11, which promotes more sustainable cities and communities.
Before the competition, both students and their teachers received specialized training in generative artificial intelligence tools, learning to integrate them into idea creation and daily classroom practices. The participating municipal councils acted as mentors and judges, and Microsoft volunteers supported the students during the municipal phases leading up to the final.
The team from IES Atenea in San Sebastián de los Reyes won the youth league with their project Corredor Vivo S3R. This initiative proposes capturing energy generated by human movement to power public services such as street lighting or urban space cooling. The jury praised the originality, social impact, use of generative AI, and clarity of the presentation.
Concurrently, the Madrid phase of the EuroGenAI Hackathon League for Social Good was held, a European competition focused on technological solutions for clean water and affordable energy. Over 100 participants, including students, teachers, and professionals, formed more than 20 teams, receiving mentorship from the Microsoft MVP community.
One of the winning teams was JM Sanse, composed of teachers from IES Joan Miró in San Sebastián de los Reyes. Their project, EcoHub Miró, aims to transform schoolyards into outdoor classrooms equipped with IoT sensors and real-time data, creating a self-sufficient STEM laboratory powered by solar panels and designed for replication in other schools.
As winners of the Spanish phase, the team of teachers from IES Joan Miró will travel to Milan on May 18 and 19 to compete in the grand international final of the EuroGenAI Hackathon League, where they will face teams selected in Italy, concluding a competition that blends technological innovation, sustainability, and inclusion on a European scale.
