On Thursday 26 March 2026, the City of Cockburn hosted the inaugural Next GenAI Hackathon at Cockburn Bowling and Recreation Club (BARC) in Yangebup. Throughout the school day (9am-3pm), Year 10 and 11 students worked in teams on a scenario designed to mirror a real industry brief. Students from Rossmoyne (three teams), John Curtin College of the Arts (two teams) and Lakeland Senior High School (one team) took part.
The City engaged Clear AI, specialists in practical and responsible artificial intelligence adoption, as facilitators to run workshops and help students shape their ideas into workable concepts. The City also brought in mentors from ASC, Austal, Babcock and BAE Systems who supported the teams throughout the day with teachers overseeing students throughout.
A challenge with real-world relevance
The challenge scenario, Project Blue Horizon, was grounded in a real-world issue. Natural disasters across Australia and the Indo-Pacific are becoming more frequent, and Australia often provides humanitarian aid using Royal Australian Navy ships. Those ships are also needed for other missions, and traditional deployments can take days or even weeks. Every ship sent to disaster relief reduces availability elsewhere.
Students explored a future capability: a fleet of autonomous, unmanned vessels deployed from Henderson and remotely operated from Perth to deliver disaster relief sooner. Teams designed either a submarine unmanned vehicle or a ship unmanned vehicle, then pitched their solution to a judging panel.
His Worship the Mayor Logan K. Howlett, JP attended, reinforcing the City’s focus on developing a future-ready, skilled local workforce and strengthening pathways into emerging industries in the region.
“The quality of the final presentations reflected the depth of learning achieved throughout the day” reflected Mayor Howlett. “I believe students left feeling pretty confident and will be thinking about their future, and what it could look like after being able to tackle a complex real life challenge.”
Skills that translate into local careers
Along the way, students learnt more than the basics of artificial intelligence (AI). They worked through research and solution building, explored responsible AI and ethics, and practised presenting ideas clearly. They also tried ‘vibe coding’, using AI tools to create the look, feel and branding for a digital product concept
This matters because the mindset students practised is the same thing employers need with emerging technologies: problem-solving, communication, collaboration, critical thinking and confidence in new technology. Exposure to emerging technologies helps prepare students for the workforce, and it also highlights STEM pathways that can start at school and lead into local training and careers.
With shipbuilding and advanced maritime manufacturing growing in the region, place-based experiences like this help young people see clearer pathways into local industries. The focus stays broad and inclusive, spanning civic, environmental and economic applications of maritime innovation. By sparking curiosity early, the hackathon helps nurture local talent and strengthens ties between education and industry.
A strong start, with more to come
A team from John Curtin College of the Arts took out the top award, but the event's impact extended far beyond the final result. Throughout the day, students collaborated, tested ideas and refined solutions with guidance from mentors who tackle complex challenges every day.
One Year 11 student later wrote:
“Hi,
I just wanted to extend both my teams (Awesome Individuals AI) and the school's thanks to you. Your workshops, mentors and the overall operation of the day was very conducive to our learnings and our end solution. Thank you for all your organisational efforts and we look forward to exploring our participation in future hackathons!”
The Next GenAI Hackathon was an inaugural event in 2026, and it will return next year with expanded opportunities for mentoring, collaboration and innovation. For businesses and industry partners, it is a practical way to support emerging innovators, build talent pipelines and strengthen Cockburn’s future workforce for the years ahead.
Help inspire the next generation of AI innovators. If you're a Defence Prime, industry organisation, technology business or school interested in mentoring students or participating in the 2027 Next GenAI Hackathon, we'd love to hear from you. Contact the City of Cockburn Economic Development team at
[email protected].