Gladwell (EN) | RTE Unplugged #36: From GenAI Hackathons to Real Impact

In this episode of RTE Unplugged, host Priya Panday is joined by Elien van Riet to explore how organisations can move beyond GenAI experimentation and create meaningful, scalable impact.

Elien shares how hackathons can become a powerful driver of innovation when they are prepared well, connected to the organisation’s roadmap and supported by the right ecosystem partners. She explains why the best engineers, business developers, operational experts and end users all need to be involved early if promising prototypes are going to make it into production.

The conversation explores how to prioritise GenAI use cases, how to balance speed with responsible AI, and why guardrails, evaluation frameworks and stakeholder alignment are essential in a heavily regulated environment.

Priya and Elien also discuss the cultural side of AI innovation: creating space to share knowledge, learn from each other, speak up about challenges and keep the end user at the centre of every solution.

Elien van Riet was interviewed by Priya Panday during the RTE Summit 2025.