IUS Students Earn Two Hackathon Awards at womENcourage 2026 in France

Students of the International University of Sarajevo (IUS) participated in the ACM Celebration of Women in Computing womENcourage™ 2026, held from September 30 to October 2, 2026, in Sophia Antipolis, in the Nice region of the French Riviera, France. Organized by ACM-W Europe, womENcourage brings together students, researchers, academics and professionals from across Europe and beyond to exchange ideas, build connections and celebrate the contributions of women in computing.

This year’s theme is, “Unmute Yourself, Grow Stronger Together. Listen to Your Inner Voice and Walk on Your Own Path for Well-being in Computing,” placed well-being at the center of discussions about the future of computing, exploring how technology, education, professional communities and workplace cultures can better support mental, emotional and physical well-being.

IUS was represented by ten students: Tea Dedić, Amina Hrustić, Nedžla Šehović, Asja Bašović, Hava Dedić, Berina Juković, Hena Šehović, Hamza Selimović, Sara Avdić and Iman Mezit. Six students - Hava Dedić, Berina Juković, Hena Šehović, Hamza Selimović, Sara Avdić and Iman Mezit - were awarded womENcourage scholarships to support their participation. IUS also provided financial support for the students to attend the event, supporting their access to international research exchange, collaboration and professional development opportunities.

The first day was dedicated primarily to the womENcourage Hackathon, where IUS students worked in two teams to develop solutions addressing challenges related to well-being in computing.

Team ContexTI (Tea Dedić, Amina Hrustić and Hamza Selimovic) developed a desktop companion for reducing context switching and digital overstimulation.

The project received the hackathon’s “Coup de cœur” award, recognizing ContexTI as a particularly useful and compelling solution to a widespread problem affecting people in increasingly interruption-driven digital environments.

Team HexaHack developed HelloFuture(), a career and well-being platform for graduating computing students, combining self-assessment, mentorship and personalized guidance.

Team HexaHack won third place in the hackathon, giving IUS students two recognitions during the opening day of womENcourage 2026.

The second day featured keynote speeches, poster sessions, a panel discussion, workshops, tutorials, and the career fair. The opening keynote, delivered by Felienne Hermans, explored “Women’s Participation in Science in Light of Feminist Epistemology,” while the panel “Equity & Agency for Women in the AI Bubble: Well-being in Community Resilience” brought together experts to discuss inclusion, agency and well-being in an increasingly AI-driven environment. Workshops covered topics including responsible AI, cybersecurity, high-performance computing, diversity and inclusion, resilience, creativity and well-being in STEM.

This day first poster session was held where students showcased their poster:

“From Prediction to Action: An Ethical ML Framework for Student Mental Health Risk Detection” (Bašović, Avdić), proposing an ethical machine-learning framework for identifying student well-being risks.

Another important moment for the IUS delegation came during the ACM-W Europe workshop “How to Start a Chapter?” The session provided participants with practical insight into establishing ACM-W communities, organizing activities, and gradually building sustainable networks that connect students, academics, and professionals.

During the workshop, Tea Dedić represented the Sarajevo ACM-W Professional Chapter, presenting the work and development of the local ACM-W community. Established at IUS in 2022 as the first ACM-W Professional Chapter in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the chapter has worked to bring together students, academics and industry professionals through mentorship, outreach and professional development activities. The opportunity to present the Sarajevo ACM-W Professional Chapter alongside ACM-W communities from across Europe highlighted the growing international visibility of the community built at IUS. To learn more about the chapter and its activities, visit acmwsarajevo.acm.org.

The final day continued with workshops and keynote sessions, while IUS students presented four additional accepted posters, demonstrating work spanning cybersecurity, sustainability, digital well-being and research on well-being in computing.

The second day brought more poster presentations:

“Cybersecurity as Well-being: Addressing Gendered Online Harm” (Tea Dedić, Amina Hrustić, Hamza Adilović, Hamza Selimovic), exploring how online harassment and abuse affect women’s safety and participation in digital spaces.
“Sustainability Agenda in Student Life and Curriculum” (Hava Dedić, Özge Büyükdağlı), examining sustainability awareness, behavior and its integration into higher education.
“The Effects of Screen Time on Learning and Behavior” (Iman Mezit), exploring the effects of screen use on concentration, sleep and social interaction.
“Wellbeing in Computing: A Bibliometric Analysis” (Nedžla Šehović, Hena Šehović, Berina Juković, Muhamed Matar, Amal Mersni), mapping research trends, emerging themes, and gaps in the study of well-being in computing.

The final day also featured the keynote “More Than Data: Women’s Health, AI, and the Decisions that Shape Us” by Nelly Bencomo, workshops addressing networking, social robots, AI governance, digital twins and participation in computing, as well as an international mentoring session connecting participants with experienced professionals and researchers.

The conference concluded with the third keynote, Amel Bouzeghoub’s “Beyond Prediction: Toward Human-Centered and Hybrid AI,” which explored approaches to artificial intelligence that go beyond prediction by incorporating context, domain knowledge, explainability and human-centered decision-making. This was followed by the ACM-W Europe Town Hall and Awards Ceremony, during which hackathon winners and other awardees received their recognitions.

At the closing ceremony, the host city for womENcourage 2027 was announced as Istanbul, Turkey.

Participation in womENcourage 2026 provided IUS students with an opportunity to present their research internationally, develop technological solutions to real-world challenges, exchange knowledge with researchers and students from across Europe, and strengthen IUS’s presence within the international ACM and ACM-W community. With two hackathon awards and five accepted poster contributions, this year’s participation reflected both the students’ technical and research achievements and their continued engagement with issues of well-being, inclusion, sustainability and responsible computing.