Hackathon: Data Driven Approaches to Safeguarding Cultural Heritage

The DISKAH network, the Archaeology Data Service, the Data/Culture AHRC‑funded project and DAFNI are hosting a one-day hackathon on 17 April 2026. 

The hackathon invites participants to explore how digital data sources can come together to address research questions associated with global challenges and cultural heritage. The event will be the first of a series of activities collaboratively exploring opportunities to work with available data by leveraging A&H Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) to address research questions and pilot innovative research directions.  During the hackathon, participants will gain insights into UKRI-funded data services, community-generated code and innovative AI-assisted methods with the support of technical professionals.  

Who is the hackathon for 

The event is open to researchers, digital research technical professionals, creative technologists, computational artists and practitioners working with Arts and Humanities data. You do not need to be highly proficient in coding to join the event, but you should have some experience with digital methods, software development, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for coding.  Attendees will need to bring their own laptops for the hackathon.

We also invite artists from all disciplines to join our hackathon to explore innovative ways of communicating research through the arts, transforming complex ideas into powerful, engaging experiences. Whether you work in visual art, performance, digital media, or beyond, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers, experiment with new approaches, and push the boundaries of how knowledge is shared.

Programme

Time Session

9:30 – 10:00 Coffee and pastries

10:00 – 10:30 Introduction to Hackathon and Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Use Cases/Scenarios

Prof Karina Rodriguez Echavarria, University of Brighton

10:30 – 11:00 Introduction to Data Services

Archaeology Data Service (ADS)

Dr Nicky Garland, ADS, University of York

Data/Culture

Prof Pieter Francois, Dr Giovanna Di Martino, Dr Matilda Peruzzo, University of Oxford

Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI)

Dr Kyle Stevenson and Dr Teagan Zoldoske, DAFNI/STFC

11:00 – 11:15 Tools for AI Agentic coding in the humanities

Prof Leif Isaksen, University of Exeter

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 – 13:00 Coding activity: scenario-based groups, and access to platform and datasets

Dr Kyle Stevenson and Dr Teagan Zoldoske, DAFNI/STFC

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:30 Coding activity: Visualisation and communicating data

Dr Kyle Stevenson and Dr Teagan Zoldoske, DAFNI/STFC

15:30 – 16:00 Teams Presentations

Dr Nicky Garland, ADS, University of York

16:00 – 16:15 Reflections and next steps

Prof Karina Rodriguez Echavarria, University of Brighton

Cost and Registration 

The hackathon event is free, but we ask people to register through Eventbrite: https://hackathon-safeguarding-heritage.eventbrite.co.uk

We are able to offer this event without a registration fee thanks to our funding. If for whatever reason, you register and become aware that you will no longer be able to join us, please consider cancelling your registration (through Eventbrite or by emailing m.samaroudi3@brighton.ac.uk), as this will help us avoid incurred costs. 

Bursaries

Bursaries for travel and subsistence are available for a limited number of UK-based participants. These bursaries will cover travel within the UK and accommodation for up to two nights, enabling attendance at the hackathon.

To request a bursary, please email info@culturedigitalskills.org at the time of registering for the hackathon. Your email should include the following information: your name; affiliation; career stage (e.g. undergraduate student, postgraduate student, researcher, practitioner, or other); a brief statement outlining your interest in the hackathon and its relevance to your research or practice; and details of your anticipated travel and accommodation requirements.

Venue

The hackathon will take place in Room 502 in the Elm House Building at the Moulsecoomb campus. Information on how to get there can be found here: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/about-us/contact-us/maps/brighton-maps/moulsecoomb-campus.aspx.

On the 17th of April, please meet us at the north entrance of the Elm House building at 9:30am and we will take you to the hackathon room. Please note that you will not be able to reach the room without a member of staff.

If for any reason you cannot be there at 9:30am, please give us a call (a phone number will be sent to you closer to the workshop dates) and someone will come to get you from the entrance.

Getting to the campus

Regular buses travel from the Brighton city centre to the Mouslecoomb campus. Bus related information can be found here https://www.buses.co.uk. Tickets can be bought from bus drivers, online and on mobile phone apps. There is also a direct train from the Brighton Train Station to the Mouslecoomb Train Station (the journey takes around 6 min).

Meals

Catering will be provided throughout the hackathon. Thank you to those who have already provided information on dietary requirements. If you have any dietary requirements and you have not notified us about them yet, please let us know by emailing the DISKAH administrator Max Gallant, m.gallant@brighton.ac.uk 

Software, Hardware and Data

All participants will need to bring their own laptops to the hackathon. You should have user rights to install software on the laptop. If you want to bring your own datasets to the hackathon to further explore your own research questions, please feel free to do so.

A resource for the event can be found here: https://culturedigitalskills.github.io/2026-hackathon-data

Photographic approval & Social media

During the workshop, we will be taking photos to document the training activity and promote it through our social media. If you do not want your photo to be taken, please let us know upon arrival at the workshop venue. If you want to promote the workshop through your social media, we will be using the hashtag #DISKAH through our social media:

• BlueSky @cultinformatics.bsky.social​

• LinkedIn @cultinformatics