ARGUS Open Innovation Challenge 2026: turning heritage monitoring data into ideas, tools and impact

The ARGUS Open Innovation Challenge 2026 is now open for registration, inviting students, researchers, developers, heritage professionals, startups, SMEs, NGOs and citizen-science communities to build new ideas and digital outputs around cultural heritage monitoring data.

The challenge is fully online and self-paced, running from 5 to 25 October 2026. Teams of 1-5 participants are invited to use ARGUS data, APIs, concepts and pilot-site information to create tangible outputs that support preventive preservation, public engagement and heritage intelligence.

From heritage data to heritage intelligence

ARGUS focuses on non-destructive, scalable and smart monitoring of remote cultural treasures. Through this open innovation challenge, participants can explore how environmental monitoring data from five European cultural heritage sites can become actionable insight: visualizations, dashboards, anomaly indicators, predictive models, AI prototypes, digital-twin extensions, educational tools or citizen-facing applications.

Challenge tracks

• Heritage and Citizen Science: public understanding, storytelling, education, accessibility, outreach and citizen participation in heritage monitoring and preservation.
• Data and Analytics: dashboards, environmental trend analysis, anomaly detection, risk indicators, threat mapping, analytical reports and visualization tools.
• Innovation, AI and Digital Twins: prototypes, AI applications, predictive models, digital-twin extensions, decision-support tools and heritage monitoring service concepts.

Who can join?

The challenge is open to teams of 1-5 participants, including students and young researchers, computer science and AI communities, data scientists, GIS and digital humanities researchers, cultural heritage professionals, digital innovation practitioners, SMEs, startups, NGOs and citizen-science networks.

Key dates

• Registration opens: 30 September 2026
• Challenge period: 5-25 October 2026
• Submission deadline: 25 October 2026, 23:59 Athens time
• Evaluation: 26-29 October 2026
• Winners announced: 30 October 2026

Awards and recognition

Awards will recognize the best solution in each track, along with the Best Overall ARGUS Challenge Idea. Certificates will be awarded to all teams submitting a valid final entry. Winning teams in the three challenge tracks may also be eligible for publication fee support for one article submitted to the MDPI Heritage Special Issue “From Heritage Data to Heritage Intelligence: Emerging Digital Approaches for Preservation”, subject to the journal’s independent editorial and peer-review process.

Learn more and register through the official ARGUS challenge page: ARGUS Open Innovation Challenge 2026.