INICS Team Kick-off
HackIT!4EU
Pan-European 3D Cultural Heritage Hackathon
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 • Test-Run Day • 09:00 - 16:00
May 27-28, Limassol, Cyprus
We're going to win this.
Today's Goals
- ⚙ Validate tools — Paperclip + Hermes + Telegram end-to-end
- 👥 Know our judges — Deep empathy with the people scoring us
- 🎯 Lock strategy — What we build, why, how we pitch
- 🔧 Build something — Ship a working increment by 15:00
- 🎤 Practice pitch — 2-minute demo rehearsal
Agenda
The Challenge
🌎 Facts
- Event: HackIT!4EU
- Dates: May 27-28, 2026
- Location: Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol
- Context: EuroMed2026 / Digital Heritage Summit
- Auspices: Cyprus EU Presidency
⚠ Hard Constraints
- MUST use ≥1 Twin it! Part II 3D model
- License: CC-BY-SA mandatory
- May add Europeana + other data
- Format: app, VR/AR, game, tour, viz
- BYOD — bring your own devices
Four Thematic Pillars
Sustainable Tourism
Heritage as economic driver
Heritage Preservation
Protecting cultural memory
Tech Innovation
Novel approaches to heritage
Research & Education
Knowledge transfer
Who's Behind This
UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage • Europeana Foundation • EU Commission (DG CONNECT) • Cyprus Presidency • Heritage Malta
Meet the Judges
These are the people who decide if we win.
Let's understand what makes them tick.
Prof. Marinos Ioannides
UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage • Primary Organizer • Likely Head Judge
"From Digital Twin to Memory Twin — a new horizon for cultural heritage"
68 EU projects • EUR 15.7M in funding • The only UNESCO Chair on DCH worldwide. Wears a blazer over a CUT polo, gestures at point clouds, and genuinely believes technology can save cultural memory.
Ioannides — Empathy Map
Ioannides — What Would Make Him Say "Yes!"
| Job to Be Done | What Exists Today | Our Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Encode cultural memory INTO 3D models | Manual metadata, academic papers | AI-enriched contextual layers — Memory Twins made real, not just theorized |
| Show the world that 3D digitization ROI is real | Static galleries, conference slides | Live web experience that makes EU investment tangible and explorable |
| Find depth, not gimmicks | Shallow hackathon demos | Technical sophistication + heritage sensitivity combined |
Harry Verwayen
Executive Director, Europeana Foundation • Co-Organizer • Data Provider
"We have 50 million objects. Why aren't more people building amazing things with them?"
20+ years in cultural heritage digital sector. Clean sneakers, well-fitted shirt. Lights up when someone shows a novel API use he hadn't imagined. Spent decades convincing institutions to open data — now wants proof it was worth it.
Europeana — Empathy Map
Europeana — What Would Make Them Say "Yes!"
| Job to Be Done | What Exists Today | Our Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Prove open heritage data enables innovation | Annual reports, isolated case studies | Deep API integration — Search + Record + SPARQL used together creatively |
| Show pan-European heritage connections | Static curated galleries | Cross-border explorer linking 3D models across multiple EU member states |
| Make 3D data usable, not just archivable | 3D Weaver (single model), Sketchfab embeds | Web-native viewer with rich Europeana metadata as context layer |
"Klaus" — DG CONNECT
EU Commission Policy Sponsor • Funding Authority • Likely Jury Presence
"Can I put this in a press release? Can we tell the Commissioner this is what the investment built?"
Dark suit, EU flag pin. Back-to-back meetings between Brussels and member states. Needs concrete success stories for the quarterly report. Evaluates projects by: "Does this prove EU digital heritage investment creates citizen value?"
DG CONNECT — Empathy Map
DG CONNECT — What Would Make Them Say "Yes!"
| Job to Be Done | What Exists Today | Our Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Justify Twin it! investment with visible impact | Conference talks, download stats | Public-facing tool — "This is what your tax euros built" made tangible |
| Show "European added value" | Policy papers arguing abstractly | Cross-border experience using data from multiple EU states together |
| Connect heritage to sustainable tourism | Generic tourism apps | Location-aware heritage explorer driving visits to lesser-known sites |
Dr. Vasiliki Kassianidou
Deputy Minister of Culture, Cyprus • EU Presidency Host • Co-Organizer
"Cyprus is where East meets West. Our heritage bridges civilizations — and our Presidency will prove it."
Elegant Mediterranean professional attire. Archaeometallurgist by training, now navigating EU cultural diplomacy. Leading a EUR 4.4M cultural programme. Wants this hackathon to showcase Cyprus as a digital heritage leader — not just a beach destination.
Cyprus — Empathy Map
Cyprus — What Would Make Them Say "Yes!"
| Job to Be Done | What Exists Today | Our Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Position Cyprus as digital heritage leader | Hosting conferences alone | Include Cypriot heritage in demo — Cyprus as bridge between EU and Mediterranean |
| Drive cultural tourism beyond beaches | Traditional tourism marketing | Heritage tech making archaeological sites discoverable & engaging |
| Create an EU Presidency legacy moment | Speeches and policy docs | A 2-minute demo that non-technical politicians instantly understand & love |
Our Strategy
Build at the intersection of what all four judges want
The Sweet Spot
(Ioannides)
(Europeana)
(DG CONNECT)
(Cyprus)
Heritage Explorer
+ Memory Twins
What We're Building
Cross-border 3D Heritage Explorer with Memory Twin Enrichment
- 🌎 Map-based discovery of Twin it! models across EU member states
- 🔮 In-browser real-time 3D viewing (Potree + model-viewer)
- 🧠 AI-enriched cultural context layers (the "Memory Twin" concept, made tangible)
- 🔗 Cross-border heritage connections — linking related monuments
- 📱 Mobile-ready, shareable, tourist-friendly
What NOT to Build
❌
- A pure 3D viewer (exists already)
- A data pipeline tool (not demo-worthy)
- Single-site VR (no pan-EU scope)
❌
- An AI chatbot without 3D
- A preservation tool (too niche)
- Anything that needs an explanation longer than 2 minutes
Our Data — Today
🇫🇷 Dame de Brassempouy
France • CC BY-SA 4.0 • 86,931 points
✓ Live on potree.hackathon.inics.ltd
25,000-year-old ivory figurine. One of the earliest known realistic depictions of a human face.
🇭🇷 Castle Rota, Momjan
Croatia • Public Domain • 336,828 points
✓ Live on potree.hackathon.inics.ltd
Medieval hilltop fortress in Istria. Centuries of Venetian, Habsburg, and Croatian heritage layers.
Our Data — What We Need
📊
Data Scientist is researching:
What Twin it! Part II models are available? Which models create the strongest cross-border narrative?
Which Europeana metadata enriches them with Memory Twin context?
Visualization of available datasets, coverage map, and narrative connections coming soon.
Our Unfair Advantages
⚡ Technical Edge
- Real-time 3D in browser — most teams show screenshots
- Deep API integration — SPARQL + Search + Record
- AI/ML enrichment — meaningful, not gimmicky
- Pre-built infra — K8s, CI/CD, live domains
🚀 Process Edge
- Paperclip + Hermes — AI-augmented coordination
- Pre-researched strategy — personas mapped, synthesis done
- Test-run day — nobody else has this head start
- Design system — consistent, professional output
Road to Limassol
● May 19 (TODAY)
Test-run: validate tools, align strategy, ship first increment
● May 20-23
Pre-build: core features, data pipeline, viewer polish
● May 24-25
Travel to Limassol. Attend EuroMed2026 opening.
● May 26 (Mon)
EUreka3D-XR Final Conference — network, learn, scout competition
★ May 27-28 — HACKATHON
Execute. Demo. Pitch. WIN.
Our Tooling Stack
Paperclip
AI agent coordination
hackathon.inics.ltd
Hermes
Multi-platform AI
Telegram integration
Scaleway K8s
Auto-deploy infra
*.hackathon.inics.ltd
How It Works Together
AI Agents → commit code → GitHub → CI/CD → Live on K8s
Agents: CEO, PM, Software Engineer, Data Scientist, QA, Platform Engineer, Stakeholder Persona
INICS Design Cheatsheet
Consistent look = professional impression
Brand Colors
Primary
#00BEFF
Deep Blue
#009CD1
Accent
#CE93D8
Background
#0A0A1A
Gold Accent
#FFD54F
Design Principles
- ⚫ Dark theme — 3D content pops against dark
- 🔧 Minimal UI — data is the hero
- 📱 Mobile-first — tourists have phones
- 🎨 System fonts — fast, consistent
- ✅ WCAG accessible — heritage for all
- 💼 Professional tone — EU officials, not VCs
"First assess. Then choose the right way forward." — The INICS voice: confident, thoughtful, outcome-focused.
💡 Exercise Time
1-2-4-All • Liberating Structure • 15 minutes
1-2-4-All
The Prompt:
"If I were Prof. Ioannides watching our 2-minute demo, what single moment would make me think: THIS is what Memory Twins should look like?"
1 min
Solo — write silently
2 min
Pairs — share & build
4 min
Fours — find patterns
5 min
All — best concept
Sprint Goal (by 15:00)
A working increment we can demo in 2 minutes that shows at least one 3D model with cultural context enrichment.
✓ Definition of Done
- Live at *.hackathon.inics.ltd
- Twin it! 3D model loading in real-time
- At least one "Memory Twin" layer visible
- Explainable to a politician in 2 minutes
🚀 Stretch Goals
- Map-based model discovery
- Second model from different country
- Cross-border connection visible
- Mobile-responsive
What Winning Means for INICS
- 🏆 Visibility — EU-level showcase for INICS / puit.is capabilities
- 🤝 Network — Direct relationships with UNESCO Chair, Europeana, DG CONNECT
- 🤖 Proof — AI-augmented team delivers under pressure (our competitive moat)
- 📚 IP — CC-BY-SA output we can build on commercially
- 🌴 Fun — Cyprus in May. Mediterranean sun. Let's enjoy this.
Let's build something
they can't ignore.
Limassol, May 27-28
We're ready.