A hands-on AI hackathon turns curiosity into capability, driving innovation and shaping TAFE Queensland’s digital future.
At a glance
Organisation: TAFE Queensland (RTO no. 0275)
Target audience: Educators and faculty staff
Timeframe: FY 2025
Primary goal: Empower staff to move from AI curiosity to confident application, improving operations, supporting educators, and enhancing learner outcomes.
Delivery model: Conference-style hackathon event; five teams of eight educators and faculty staff each with an executive champion; post-event review.
Tools used: Microsoft 365 Copilot, Azure OpenAI, Azure Services, PowerApps, Microsoft 365 Apps, Copilot Studio.
Governance: Microsoft provided accounts with AI tools and arranged a vendor to set up a dedicated AI environment.
Key outcomes
- Produced innovative AI prototypes for further investigation with implementation planned for future phases.
- Generated prototype AI solutions tailored to TAFE Queensland’s needs.
- Informed the direction for AI across TAFE Queensland and its partners.
- Established cross-department collaboration and innovation.
The challenge
TAFE Queensland began a scaled roll-out of AI tools across the organisation. While the promise was clear, educators and faculty staff were navigating the shift from curiosity to confident use.
TAFE Queensland needed to accelerate adoption and connect experimentation to meaningful outcomes for staff and students.
About the event
TAFE Queensland partnered with Microsoft to design an AI hackathon event that offered a structured, energising environment for educators and faculty staff to explore AI tools by tackling real-world problems.
The two-day hackathon was shaped by three objectives:
- Staff goals: Build AI skills, promote ethical use, and offer hands-on experience.
- Solution goals: Improve efficiency, learning outcomes, and streamline admin.
- Strategic goals: Shape future AI direction and showcase sector leadership.
Five teams were each set a problem statement to address with an AI solution:
- Addressing educator workload pressures
- Supporting students and educators to adapt to AI in learning
- Simplifying the complex enrolment process and reducing drop-off rates
- Improving the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) service
- Streamlining onboarding for new staff
Microsoft set up a separate AI environment outside the TAFE Queensland system and provided 20 accounts with access to extensive AI tools. All AI ‘hacking’ took place in this Microsoft-managed space.
Executive experts were assigned to each team and served as judges for the event.
“This was an absolutely incredible experience. I enjoyed every aspect and feel really informed, energised and excited. The hands-on learning, collaboration, and opportunity to solve real TAFE Queensland problems made it an unforgettable couple of days. Thank you for organising such a valuable event.”
— TAFE Queensland participant
The Impact
All teams produced innovative solutions for further post-event investigation. The hackathon improved participants’ abilities in:
- Hands-on experience with AI technologies
- Collaborative teamwork
- Structured problem-solving using AI
- Confidence and adaptability in using AI
The winning ‘Blue Team’ explored how AI could streamline RPL. They showed it can simplify the process, encourage more applications and cut manual work. AI would handle data and routine tasks, freeing advisors for complex decisions and interviews. This approach could improve consistency and fairness by applying the same criteria to everyone.
“The hackathon showed the power of AI to spark creativity and problem-solving. The audience included a cross-functional group and it was inspiring to see educators and faculty staff use AI tools in real time to tackle real challenges, collaborate effectively and build confidence. Events like this demonstrate how technology can empower the next generation to innovate.”
Hayley Horan, Industry Advisor – Vocational Education and Training (VET), Microsoft
Lessons learned
Hackathons are more than creative exercises: By combining structure, support, and real-world relevance, events like this can empower staff, unlock buy-in and deliver practical results that feed into organisational planning and improve student outcomes.
Hackathons are a replicable model for scaling AI capability: For RTOs and industry partners looking to scale AI capability, this model offers a realistic, replicable, high-impact approach.
Diverse team composition is a strength: Mixing educators and faculty staff led to rich ideas.
Coaching boosts outcomes: Experts and internal mentors providing short, focused guidance sessions helped unblock teams quickly.
Strategic problem statements drive focus and relevance: Clear, strategic challenges helped teams stay focused and produce relevant solutions.
Challenges faced
AI literacy is a long game: While the hackathon boosted confidence, ongoing support is needed to embed skills. Consider pairing future events with microlearning modules or AI ‘office hours’.
Post-event follow-through was unclear: A clear pathway for pilot funding, leadership review, or strategic uptake will help sustain momentum post hackathon for moving protypes into pilots.
Balance ambition with feasibility: Some teams aimed high but needed more time or technical support to fully realise their ideas. A pre-hackathon scoping session could help refine goals and set realistic expectations.
Prep the tech early: Ensuring access to AI tools and sandbox environments ahead of time avoids delays and lets teams hit the ground running.
“I really appreciated the opportunity to participate in the hackathon. One suggestion for future events would be to include more technical demonstrations and structured coaching sessions, especially around building AI agents. Even short walkthroughs or live build-alongs would help participants upskill and get more out of the build phase, particularly for those newer to the technology.”
— TAFE Queensland participant
Next steps
TAFE Queensland plans to identify which AI prototypes can move into full-scale projects or pilots and outline the steps to make them happen. Participants will be encouraged to stay involved through deployment and monitoring.
To measure real impact, TAFE Queensland is developing pathways for pilot projects and will introduce follow-up mechanisms and may introduce a three-month AI check-in or an impact showcase to track progress and celebrate wins.
TAFE Queensland is also considering making the AI hackathon a regular event for upskilling, strategy and team building.
“Hackathons can break down silos, bring together diverse perspectives, and accelerate problem-solving. Participants learn new technologies and methodologies in a supportive, energetic atmosphere. The shared sense of purpose and camaraderie often leads to lasting connections and sparks ideas that reach well beyond the event itself.”
Tim Allen, AI National Skills Director – ANZ, Microsoft
About TAFE Queensland
TAFE Queensland is the largest, most experienced training provider in the state, serving Queensland’s communities for more than 140 years. TAFE Queensland’s vision is to be the leading provider of vocational training and targeted higher education programs, critical to strengthening the Queensland economy and supporting local communities.
Learn more about TAFE Queensland.
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