If you’re a student in Cluj and you’re doing something in tech, design, product, or you’re simply interested in AI, the weekend of May 23–24 is probably the best way to invest those 48 hours.
What it is: Cluj AI Buildathon is a 48-hour sprint where mixed teams — developers, designers, product people, marketers, and more - build functional AI prototypes for real problems in Cluj: mobility, education, local businesses, urban life.
It takes place at ClujHub, as part of Zilele Clujului, and is organized by the Romanian Tech Startups Association, in collaboration with ADR Nord-Vest, INNO, and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at UTCN.
Important: You don’t need to be a senior. You don’t need to have built an AI project before. You can come solo, and the organizers will help you find a team. The only requirement is that you want to build something in 48 hours.
Why it’s worth it as a student:
CV. A functional AI project built in 48 hours with a real team, on a real problem, validated by mentors and potentially by a local client, beats almost any university thesis project in your first job interview.
Prizes. You have the chance to win one of 50 tickets to TEDx Cluj 2026, demo flights for winners offered by Cruiser Aviation România, API credits for running open-source AI models, access to an agent platform for monitoring and big data, a workshop on AI infrastructure from Featherless AI, and other surprises. :)
Mentors and real feedback. People from the industry will be there — founders, senior developers, product leads, sociologists. It’s the kind of feedback you’d normally get only after two years of work.
Networking that matters. The people you build with for 48 hours under pressure are the people you may meet again later — in an interview, as someone who recommends you, or even as a potential co-founder.
What happens after the sprint stage? Selected teams continue working for about a month after the buildathon and present at Transylvania Demo Day in July 2026, with investors in the room. There is also a fast track to €30,000 in funding through 28Digital x ROTSA.
Your solution could actually be used. Some of the buildathon challenges come from businesses and institutions in Cluj that are genuinely looking for solutions, so you’ll be building things that can be applied in real organizations.
Visibility. Recruiters in Cluj pay attention to events like this. Many people have landed their first job this way.
Why you should come even if you don’t feel “ready” yet: Most people who are now good at AI weren’t ready when they built their first AI project. The buildathon is exactly the place where you learn by building, not by reading.
All details: https://buildathon.rotsa.ro/ Applications are open until May 20: https://buildathon.rotsa.ro/#inscriere
