Coding Girls & Women: schools and universities take centre stage at the Biotech N8N Hackathon
On 15 May, the Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Siena hosted the first edition of the Biotech N8N Hackathon, an initiative organised as part of the Coding Girls & Women programme promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaboration with the Siena Artificial Intelligence Network (SAINET).
It was an intensive day of training, experimentation and design involving 111 students from six classes at the IIS Sarrocchi, the Liceo Scientifico Galilei and the IIS Roncalli, who were challenged to tackle one of the most pressing issues in innovation: the integration of smart automation, artificial intelligence and the biotech sector.
The hackathon forms part of the Coding Girls & Women guidance and training programme, which aims to strengthen the presence of women in STEAM disciplines and highly innovative sectors, creating concrete links between schools, universities and the world of work.
The event was opened by Professor Federico Maria Pulselli, the Rector’s delegate for career guidance, and Professor Monica Bianchini, who emphasised the importance of offering the younger generation concrete opportunities to develop advanced technological skills and help bridge the gender gap in scientific disciplines.
The SAIHUB Foundation was also present, represented by its Director General Claudio Balestri, demonstrating the strong link between the university, research and technological development in the region.
Before the competition, the participating classes took part in a six-hour intensive training course dedicated to AI agents and the automation of digital processes. SAINET trainers, including Pietro Pianigiani, Tommaso Quintabá, Edoardo Caproni, Andrea Brogi and Mattia Girellini, guided the students in using n8n, an open-source workflow automation platform, integrated with GPT APIs and advanced language models via OpenRouter.
The hands-on approach allowed participants to work in low-code and no-code modes, experimenting with practical applications of generative artificial intelligence in the automated management of complex processes.
The challenge set for the teams simulated a real-world scenario: automating the management of requests for a fictional genomics laboratory, the “Sainet Genomics Core”.
The groups designed workflows capable of:
- receiving requests via email;
- automatically classifying communications;
- extracting specific data, such as service type and number of samples;
- generating automatic quotes in a structured format;
- managing intelligent and personalised responses.
The assessment combined technical innovation and design skills: half the score was awarded via an automated testing system, which sent over 100 emails to verify the robustness, speed and reliability of the workflows; the other half was decided by the jury, which recognised creativity, collaboration and additional features.
The winning projects
Team 1 from the Liceo Scientifico Galilei stood out as Best Overall, having created a particularly effective and reliable workflow, winning €1,000 worth of AI software licences for their class.
Team 4 from the IIS Sarrocchi received the Innovative Project award thanks to a system integrated with WhatsApp and Google Calendar that allowed researchers to request quotes and book sample deliveries directly via chat.
The award for the Creative Project went to Team 3 from Liceo Galilei, which paid particular attention to the user experience through structured and interactive HTML emails to guide users in correcting incomplete requests.
Team 6, meanwhile, won the award for the Inclusive Project, introducing an automatic loyalty scheme with discounts for repeat customers, demonstrating attention to both technological aspects and those relating to customer relations and service.
The work of Team 2 was also particularly interesting, having implemented an internationalisation system capable of recognising foreign users and automatically translating responses into English.
Cecilia Stajano of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale also spoke about the deeper significance of the Siena experience, highlighting the value of the Siena ecosystem, which successfully combines tradition, innovation and community spirit. Special recognition was given to the young people of the Siena Artificial Intelligence Network and the schools involved, who have created a collaborative environment in which talent can flourish and become a resource for others.
“What moved me most was meeting students like Mattia: brilliant young people who are recognised and valued by the school to the point of becoming mentors for their peers. This is what schools should be doing more and more often: welcoming talent and helping it to grow”.
