AICC is proud to be an official Belfast Hub Partner for the TechIreland National AI Challenge 2026, bringing together developers, innovators, business professionals, researchers and AI enthusiasts to create AI-powered solutions to real-world problems.
AICC is proud to be an official Belfast Hub Partner for the TechIreland National AI Challenge 2026.
The National AI Challenge brings together developers, innovators, business professionals, researchers and AI enthusiasts to create AI-powered solutions to real-world problems.
Whether you have an idea you would like to develop, a business challenge that could benefit from AI, or technical skills you would like to contribute, the challenge offers an opportunity to collaborate with people from industry, the research community and the investment ecosystem.
You do not need to be an AI expert or have a complete team to participate. Applicants with ideas can be matched with technical team members, while developers and AI practitioners can join teams that would benefit from their expertise.
Participants will work remotely over two weeks to develop and test an AI-powered solution across a range of challenge areas.
Teams will have the opportunity to explore cutting-edge AI platforms and models, including Google Vertex AI, OpenAI’s GPT and reasoning models, Anthropic Claude and other leading technologies.
The Belfast teams will then present their solutions at an in-person Demo Day hosted by AICC at Ormeau Labs, Belfast. Successful teams will progress to the TechIreland National AI Meet 2026 in Galway.
The challenge is open to people from a wide range of backgrounds, including:
Participants should bring curiosity, a willingness to collaborate and an interest in using AI to address meaningful problems.
Think you have an idea worth exploring, or skills that could help a team build something impactful? REGISTER NOW!
The National AI Challenge is coordinated by TechIreland in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the European Digital Innovation Hubs Network. It is hosted by innovation hubs across Ireland in collaboration with AI platform providers, industry and technology associations, and sectoral and research ecosystem partners.
Innovation thrives through connection. Whether you're an SME, researcher, or professional exploring AI, we’re here to help.
