From 16 to 17 June 2026, the Central and Eastern Europe Regional Final of the Higher Education Track of the 9th Global Competition on Design for Futures (GCD4F 2026) was successfully held at the University of Maribor, Slovenia. The competition is jointly organized by Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE). The event was co-hosted by the University of Maribor, the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University, and the UNESCO Chair on Artificial Intelligence in Education, with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (FERI), University of Maribor, providing comprehensive support for the planning and organization of the event. A total of 17 outstanding teams from universities across Central and Eastern Europe, including Croatia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia, gathered to engage in two days of intensive exchange and competition around cutting-edge topics related to AI for education and social development.
Pre-Competition Training: Inspiring Creativity and Strengthening Foundations
During the event, a team of mentors and experts from Beijing Normal University, the University of Maribor, and Zagreb University of Applied Sciences provided comprehensive professional guidance to participating teams. Dr. Yifan Zhang, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Beijing Normal University and member of the UNESCO Chair on Artificial Intelligence in Education, delivered a specialized training session focusing on the five key evaluation dimensions of the competition: problem awareness, innovation spirit, technology for good, application prospect, and Presentation and Expression.
Drawing on project design principles, judging criteria, and presentation strategies, Dr. Zhang provided participants with a systematic methodological framework and encouraged teams to integrate creative thinking with technological practice. Following the training session, each team delivered a five-minute lightning pitch. The mentor panel provided detailed feedback on aspects such as problem identification, competitive analysis, ethical considerations, and the visualization of user scenarios, helping teams further refine and strengthen their proposals.
On the afternoon of 16 June, the Team Workshop officially commenced. Experts including Associate Professor Boštjan Šumak, Assistant Professor Maja Pušnik, Dr. Maruša Laure from the University of Maribor, and Assistant Professor Mia Čarapina from Zagreb University of Applied Sciences worked closely with teams in small-group sessions. Through interactive discussions and consultations, they guided participants in clarifying core challenges, refining technical approaches, and strengthening narrative logic, helping transform initial concepts into more detailed and actionable solutions.
Passing on Experience: Previous Award-Winning Team Shares Success Stories
Members of PsySciAI, the Silver Award-winning team of the GCD4F 2025 Global Final, attended the event and shared their complete journey from the regional competition to the global finals stage. They highlighted two key lessons from their experience.
First, during the 48-hour challenge at the Global Final in China, the team leveraged AI tools to rapidly develop prototypes and translate their presentation scripts into Chinese, significantly enhancing cross-cultural communication and presentation effectiveness. Second, they emphasized that successful project design must be grounded in genuine user needs. Through field research, they identified students’ strong demand for functions such as course summarization and learning planning, which ultimately helped their project stand out from the competition. The team concluded by stressing that strong team cohesion, deep insights into user needs, and meticulous attention to presentation details are among the most critical factors for success in the competition.
Inspiring Pitches: Diverse Solutions Demonstrate Technology for Social Good
On 17 June, participating teams took the stage to present their projects. AI for education projects focused on themes such as learning support, language equity, and skills sharing, aiming to leverage artificial intelligence to break down barriers to educational resources and enhance personalized learning experiences. Meanwhile, AI-for-society projects explored areas including emergency healthcare, accessible mobility, intercultural integration, and sustainable transportation, using intelligent technologies to address real-world challenges and unmet needs.
Many teams incorporated authentic user stories and scenario-based case studies into their presentations, vividly illustrating the concept of technology for social good and demonstrating how innovation can create meaningful social impact.
The judging panel consisted of Dr. Tingwen Chang, Assistant Dean of the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University; Dr. Maruša Laure; Dr. Mia Čarapina; and Dr. Mitja Gradišnik, Researcher at the University of Maribor. The judges highly commended the quality of the projects, noting that many proposals accurately addressed pressing challenges related to educational equity, social inclusion, and sustainable development. By integrating artificial intelligence with real contexts, the teams presented innovative solutions that were both practical and forward-looking, particularly for resource-constrained environments.
Award Ceremony: Celebrating Excellence and Looking Ahead
Following thorough deliberation by the judging panel, the competition awarded two Gold Awards in the Central and Eastern Europe Regional Final. In addition, one team each received the Best Presentation Award, Best Innovation Award, Most Technologically Impressive Award, Best Practice Award, and Best Design Award.
The Global Competition on Design for Futures 2026 features five regional competitions across Africa (Cameroon), Eastern Europe & Central Asia (Russia), Southeast Asia (Malaysia), Central and Eastern Europe (Slovenia), and South Asia (Maldives). In October 2026, outstanding teams from all regional finals will gather in Beijing for the Global Final, where they will share innovative ideas and explore visions for the future together.As young innovators from diverse cultural backgrounds come together through this global platform, we look forward to seeing their cross-cultural dialogue generate new insights and possibilities for global governance, human-centered development, and the responsible advancement of intelligent technologies in the years ahead.
