For 48 hours, classrooms at the Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) transformed into innovation labs where 126 religious women across dozens of teams worked against the clock to solve some of today’s most complex real-world challenges.
From improving cancer treatment accuracy to developing technology that could help first responders identify dangerous situations faster, students at JCT’s ninth annual women’s hackathon demonstrated that breakthrough ideas can come from unexpected places.
Organized by the Schreiber LevTech Entrepreneurship Center, the event brought together teams of computer science, software engineering, industrial engineering and business students who were challenged by some of Israel’s leading technology companies to tackle problems with real-world impact.
The message from industry leaders was clear: These students are not working on hypothetical classroom exercises. Companies trust them to contribute fresh ideas to challenges that matter.
The winning team, DeadLock, earned first place for developing an intelligent visual tracking system designed to maintain focus on a moving object, even in crowded, rapidly changing environments where visibility may be limited.
Imagine a search-and-rescue operation, emergency response effort or other high-pressure scenario where losing sight of a critical object or person for even a few seconds could have serious consequences. The team’s technology can continuously monitor movement, anticipate changes and quickly relocate the object if it disappears from view, all while keeping a human operator in control.
The six-member team—Shira Ashkenazi, Eti Zilberlicht, Meitav Bar Nun, Yael Shneur, Yafit Cohen and Talya Haliva—developed the solution in response to a challenge presented by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
“The war has highlighted many challenges in the field of technology, and we wanted to take part, even in a small way, in thinking about solutions that could help in the future,” said Haliva. “We are proud not only of the system we built, but also of the journey we took to build it. We challenged ourselves to learn entirely new fields from scratch and transformed a complex idea into a working system.”
She stated that “we believe technology should assist people, not replace them, especially when decisions involve human lives. Responsibility must remain in human hands, and technology should help people act more accurately, efficiently and safely.”
Another standout project, Maskray, applied similar visual tracking technology to healthcare. The team developed a system designed to improve the precision of radiation therapy by monitoring tumors in real time.
Because tumors can shift slightly as patients breathe or move, radiation treatments sometimes risk affecting healthy tissue surrounding the target area. Maskray’s solution automatically detects those movements and pauses treatment when necessary, helping ensure radiation is delivered only when the tumor is precisely aligned. The result could be safer, more accurate cancer treatments and improved outcomes for patients.
The hackathon’s Best Technology Award went to Team Alertix, which tackled a challenge from Intel to create an affordable smart safety device powered by artificial intelligence.
Using simple, low-cost hardware, the team designed a system to identify signs of violence in public spaces. A built-in microphone analyzes sound using on-device AI, and when potential violence is detected, it triggers a camera to capture an image. The image is then sent to a cloud-based AI system for further verification. If violence is confirmed, the cloud sends a signal back to the device, which activates an alert, such as a siren, to notify people nearby that help may be needed.
For the students behind Alertix, the motivation was deeply personal. They wanted to create technology that serves ordinary citizens and addresses everyday safety concerns, demonstrating that innovation can be both sophisticated and accessible.
The hackathon was judged by a panel of leaders from across Israel’s technology ecosystem, including executives from Meta, Cross River Bank, Imperva, venture-capital firms and major technology organizations. Throughout the event, industry mentors worked side by side with participants, offering guidance while watching the students transform ambitious ideas into functioning prototypes.
“This hackathon demonstrates the extraordinary talent, creativity, and determination of the women studying at JCT,” said Orlee Guttman, co-founder of the Schreiber LevTech Entrepreneurship Center. “In just 48 hours, these students tackled highly complex, real-world challenges with professionalism, innovation and a deep sense of responsibility. We are proud to create an environment where religious women can develop advanced technologies and position themselves at the forefront of Israel’s innovation ecosystem.”
The Schreiber LevTech Entrepreneurship Center runs innovation programs throughout the year, introducing students to entrepreneurship, offering workshops on emerging technologies and supporting aspiring founders as they transform ideas into impactful ventures.
