NST hackathon to harness AI agents for national R&D

South Korea is searching for ideas to dramatically boost research productivity by integrating AI across every stage of the national research and development process.

The National AI for Science Center, or NAIS, under the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST) said it is accepting applications for the "2026 NAIS AI Hackathon" from Aug. 6 through 5 p.m. on Sept. 7 to promote the spread of AI-native R&D.

The hackathon was designed to draw on creative ideas from the public to identify R&D-specific AI agents that can be put to practical use in actual research settings.

The theme is "R&D-Specific AI Agent: Planting an AI Agent in Every Moment of Research."

The competition covers four categories: research planning and exploration, experiments and data analysis, output writing and research administration, and open-topic submissions. Any South Korean national may enter individually or as part of a team of up to five members.

Ten finalists will be selected through a preliminary round. The final round runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, and qualifying teams will receive expert mentoring and the opportunity to develop an AI agent prototype.

Through a final judging process, four teams will be selected to receive awards — including prizes in the name of the deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT and the NST chairman — with total prize money of 10 million won ($7,070).

The final round is timed to coincide with the international academic conference AI4Sci Korea 2026, particularly to expand exchanges with AI researchers from home and abroad.

AI4Sci Korea 2026 runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 at Seoul Dragon City. Alongside academic tracks covering AI scientists and agents, policy and ethics, and AI applications in science, the event will also feature public programs including the hackathon and an AI Art for Science showcase.

"AI is a core technology that will lead a new paradigm in research and development," NST Chairman Kim Young-sik said. "We hope this will serve as an opportunity to connect the public's ideas with the research capabilities of government-funded institutes and accelerate AI-driven research innovation in South Korea."

Yoo Yong-gyun, director of NAIS, said, "Innovation in research begins not only with new technology but with ideas that look at existing problems differently. We look forward to fresh ideas from the public that will reshape the way research is done through AI."

NAIS plans to review how top ideas identified through the hackathon can be applied in real research settings and linked to follow-on studies, and to build an open AI convergence ecosystem bringing together researchers, AI developers and the public to expand AI-native R&D-based research innovation.