AI Hackathon That Drove a 36% Jump in AI Familiarity Across the Organization

Three colleagues collaborate in an office, one writing ideas on a glass board while the others observe and discuss.

Company details

Challenge

Despite strong technical capabilities, teams across the organization lacked confidence and hands-on experience with AI tools.

AI knowledge was unevenly distributed, primarily concentrated in R&D, while non-technical roles had limited exposure. This slowed adoption, reduced experimentation, and limited the organization’s ability to fully leverage AI at scale.

Leadership needed a way to rapidly build practical AI literacy across roles—not through theory, but through real usage.

Solution

A mentorship-driven, one-day global AI Hackathon, designed and led by iForAI, supported by structured preparation and follow-up.

The program included:

Two months of preparation, including 10+ AI training sessions across teams
Hands-on mentorship focused on real workflows and business problems
A one-day global AI Hackathon with 750+ participants, including non-R&D teams
Post-event mentorship and structured follow-ups to embed learnings into daily work

The format emphasized experimentation, collaboration, and immediate applicability rather than isolated demos.

Results

36% increase in AI familiarity across roles and departments
CSAT: 85.7%
98% of participants said they would participate again
Significant boost in confidence using AI tools in day-to-day workflows
Increased cross-functional engagement with AI beyond engineering teams

The initiative created momentum for broader AI adoption and laid the foundation for ongoing upskilling.

Implementation