The proposed IUPAP Hackathonino wil ltake place during IPAC2026 from May 17 to 20, 2026 in Deauville France and serve as a proof of concept for an annual event held at IPAC conferences. It builds on IPAC’s unique environment, which already brings together academia and industry, and promote co-creation and innovation around shared industrial and scientific challenges. Organized under IUPAP WG14, with support from Accelerator Science and Technology Industry Permanent Forum (AIPF),  Big Science Sweden , CERN, MIT, and others, it will be coordinated closely with the IPAC organizing team.

Around 30–50 students will form multidisciplinary teams to address societal challenges using accelerator-based concepts and tools. The initiative offers strong impact with modest investment: participants will work on their own laptops, supported by mentoring from accelerator scientists at major research infrastructures and, where possible, industry experts. Over the first three days of IPAC2026, student teams will develop and present their solutions, with several winning teams receiving awards.