We recently joined the Belgian Navy Hackathon 2 — and it was exactly the kind of challenge we love: real problems, real people, real impact.
Organized by Innovation for Defence and hosted in Zeebrugge, the two-day hackathon brought together a mix of Navy experts, industry players, researchers, and tech teams to tackle some of today’s toughest maritime and defence challenges.
From day one, it was all about collaboration. Multidisciplinary teams worked side by side to turn ideas into practical solutions — whether around technology, maritime data analytics, or how different players in the maritime ecosystem can work better together.
One topic stood out: resilient maritime data. With so many stakeholders generating data, the real challenge isn’t just collecting it — it’s making it usable, shareable, and actionable. Better data integration and AI-driven insights mean better decisions, especially in critical areas like maritime security, environmental monitoring, and incident response.
We teamed up with VLIZ – Flanders Marine Institute, the Belgian Navy, and Elia Group — and we’re proud to say our approach was recognized with a win in the Data Challenge.
But beyond the win, what really mattered was the experience.
"We’re proud to have won the Data Challenge with Team 7. More importantly, the hackathon brought real value: connecting with maritime professionals, understanding today’s challenges firsthand, and turning ideas into concrete concepts together".
Bart Adams, CTO
Events like this show what’s possible when defence and civilian innovation truly connect. Fast-paced, hands-on, and collaborative — exactly how meaningful innovation should happen.
At xyzt.ai, we see this every day: organizations are looking for better ways to turn complex spatiotemporal data into actionable insights, improve maritime situational awareness, and support faster, more informed decision-making with AI-powered analytics.
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