POLIMI Graduate School of Management’s International Full-time MBA students participated in an immersive Hackathon as part of the “AI for Business and Digital Transformation” bootcamp, challenging themselves to develop innovative solutions with high impact.
Sixty participants, organised in 10 multidisciplinary teams, worked on designing business ideas in which AI was not just an enabling technology, but the heart of value creation. From sustainability to streamlining processes to new service models, the projects addressed some of the most current challenges for organisations.
From idea to pitch: a journey between method and creativity
The Hackathon took place between 14 and 17 April, alternating moments of analysis, conception and development. The teams started with problem framing and challenge definition, then went on to generate solutions and build an initial business model.
A key step was the midterm discussion with Roberto D’Angelo, Microsoft’s Forward-Deployed Co-Innovation Director, who provided feedback and insights to refine projects for the final phase.
The process ended with a pitch session in front of a jury of academics and professionals, who assessed the proposals on the basis of innovation, AI relevance, soundness of the business model and impact.
The teaching coordination and evaluation committee included contributions from Roberto D’Angelo, Prof. Antonio Ghezzi, Prof. Stefano Magistretti, Prof. Jacopo Manotti, Nicoletta Mastropietro, member of the POLIMI GSoM Executive Advisory Board, and Carola Salvato, President of GWPR Italia.
“The AI Hackathon represented a truly significant added value within the MBA curriculum. Working as a team to design an AI-based business idea in a short space of time was inspiring and intellectually honest: it prompted us to think as entrepreneurs rather than as analysts, and to link theoretical frameworks – such as SWOT, Business Model Canvas, and Resource-Based View – to concrete, presentable output. The pitch format (8 minutes plus Q&A session) proved particularly effective, replicating real-world pressures and forcing us to synthesise complex ideas into clear, persuasive narratives. External contributions, in particular the review session with Roberto D’Angelo, added an important level of practical depth, anchoring the experience to the current dynamics of the sector.”
Mattia Fusetti, International Full-Time MBA student
At the end of the final pitch session, the committee awarded a prize to an international team of students from various business schools:
- Oscar Bailetti – POLIMI Graduate School of Management
- Tiphaine De Jouvencel – ESSEC Business School
- Saeed Farhat – Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
- Dalia Khachab – ESSEC Business School
- Siddharth Kannaiyan Kumaran – POLIMI Graduate School of Management
- Benben Silber – ESSEC Business School
An experience that combines learning and experimentation
More than just a competition, the Hackathon proved to be an active learning lab, where students were able to experience firsthand how to integrate AI into decision-making processes, business models, and the creation of sustainable solutions.
This intense and collaborative experience reflects POLIMI Graduate School of Management’s approach: training professionals who can interpret change and transform it into concrete opportunities.