OPENINDUSTRY
AI × CYBERSECURITY
How can autonomous AI agents safely access enterprise systems?
CHALLENGE_042
7 TEAMS5 MENTORSENTERPRISE PILOT
JOIN CHALLENGE_03 / PROGRAM FORMAT
ARENA_SOLVE SOMETHING.
PROVE SOMETHING_
A place for real problems, focused teams and ideas that need to be tested through action.
Arena brings builders, researchers and problem-solvers around a defined challenge — to explore what works, test assumptions and move toward something that can be demonstrated.
- BUILD_
- TEAM-BASED_
- PROBLEM-DRIVEN_
MODE · ONLINE / IN PERSON / HYBRID_(Set per challenge)
The Arena journey, in order
- 01PROBLEM
- 02PEOPLE
- 03BUILD
- 04TEST
- 05PROVE
- 06WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
REAL PROBLEMS.REAL WORK.SOMETHING TO SHOW FOR IT.
WHY IT MATTERS_
SOME IDEAS NEED MORETHAN A CONVERSATION_
- 01
SOLVE_
Start with something real.
Arena begins with a defined problem rather than an empty prompt. The room should understand what is unresolved, why it matters and what progress would look like.
- 02
TEST_
Ideas get stronger when they meet reality.
Build, simulate, investigate, prototype, experiment or challenge the assumptions behind a proposed solution.
- 03
PROVE_
Show what changed.
A strong Arena outcome is not simply a pitch. It leaves behind evidence, learning, an artifact, a prototype, a result or a clearer next step.
THE ARENA JOURNEY_
FROM PROBLEMTO PROOF_
- 01
FIND A PROBLEM_
Explore an open Challenge that matches what you know, what you're learning or what you can contribute.
- 02
JOIN OR FORM A TEAM_
Bring complementary skills around the problem.
- 03
EXPLORE & BUILD_
Research, prototype, test assumptions and make progress before and during the Arena.
CHALLENGE ANATOMY_
KNOW THE PROBLEMBEFORE YOU BUILD_
Every Arena Challenge should make the problem, constraints and expected evidence clear before participation begins.
ACTIVE CHALLENGES_
FIND A PROBLEMWORTH WORKING ON_
Explore open problems across HATCon's technology domains and find where your experience, curiosity or skills can contribute.
4 OF 4 CHALLENGES
FEATURED CHALLENGE_
ONE PROBLEM.MANY WAYSFORWARD_
SAMPLE CHALLENGE_
BUILD AN AI AGENTFOR SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY_
How might an AI agent help researchers explore evidence, identify useful relationships and propose new hypotheses without hiding how it reached them?
WHY THIS MATTERS
Scientific work increasingly involves large bodies of information, complex evidence and connections that are difficult for one person or team to explore manually.
The challenge is not simply to generate answers. It is to create something that helps researchers investigate more effectively while keeping evidence and reasoning inspectable.
DESIRED OUTCOME
A working prototype, experiment or research-backed concept demonstrating how an agent could support a defined scientific workflow.
PEOPLE + SKILLS_
YOU DON'T NEEDTHE SAME PEOPLEON EVERY TEAM_
Strong teams bring together different ways of understanding the problem.
CHALLENGE
- AI ENGINEERING_
- SECURITY_
TEAMS_
FIND YOUR PEOPLE.THEN BUILD_
Teams form around a challenge, build in the open and reach the Arena ready to show the work.
SAMPLE TEAMS — joining opens with the first published challenge
FORMING_
2 TEAMSTeams still looking for contributors.
OceanWatch
Reading satellite and buoy data for early coastal-erosion signals.
NEXT ARENA_
THIS IS WHERE THE WORKMEETS THE ROOM_
An Arena creates a focused window for teams to build, test, get feedback and move the Challenge forward.
- 01
BEFORE_
- Prepare
- Form team
- Review resources
- 02
ARENA OPENS_
- Check in
- Receive final brief
- 03
BUILD_
- Work
- Test
SUBMISSION_
SHOW THE WORK.SHOW THE EVIDENCE_
Every Challenge defines what participants must submit before work begins.
A SUBMISSION MOVES THROUGH_
- NOT STARTED_
- DRAFT_
- READY_
- SUBMITTED_
- LOCKED_
SAMPLE CONFIGURATION — each Challenge lists only the artifacts it requires
REVIEW_
KNOW WHATGOOD LOOKS LIKE_
The criteria should be visible before the work begins.
Weights are shown only when a Challenge sets them.
- 01PROBLEM FIT_
- Relevance and alignment with the defined problem.
- 02EVIDENCE_
- Proof of impact, and the work behind the claim.
- 03TECHNICAL QUALITY_
- Build and implementation quality.
- 04FEASIBILITY_
- Real-world viability of the approach.
- 05IMPACT_
- Potential for good if the work continues.
- 06
THE PEOPLE AROUND THE PROBLEM_
YOU'RE NOTSOLVING ALONE_
CHALLENGE
OUTCOMES_
THE WORK SHOULDN'TEND AT SUBMISSION_
Useful Arena work should have somewhere to go next.
SUBMISSION
- SHOWCASE_Share what was built.
- PROJECT_Keep the team moving.
- RESEARCH_
CHALLENGE WITH HATCON_
HAVE A PROBLEMWORTH OPENINGTO THE COMMUNITY?_
Arena works best when the problem is real, the boundaries are clear and there is genuine value in bringing different people around it.
WHO CAN BRING PROBLEMS_
- COMMUNITY_
- RESEARCH_
- INDUSTRY_
- ACADEMIC_
THE HATCON EXPERIENCE_
ARENA ISONE WAY TOGO DEEP_
Six formats. Come to one, or to all of them, in any order.
YOUR MOVE_
FIND A PROBLEMWORTH SOLVING_
Join a team, bring what you know and leave the Challenge further ahead than you found it.
