Aquila AI Acceleration Program

HACKQUILA

June 23–26, 2025  ·  Aquila HQ, Pembroke Pines, FL

Contact Us

Partners

Aquila

Aquila AI CoE

Organizer
Yonder

Yonder

Co-Organizer
Microsoft

Microsoft

Mentoring
Amazon AWS

AWS

Mentoring

About

What is Hackquila?

Hackquila is a cross-company AI hackathon bringing together General Managers, Product Managers, and Developers from across Aquila's portfolio. Over three days, teams collaborate to design, build, and present AI-powered solutions — guided by world-class mentors from Yonder, Amazon and Microsoft.

Every participant goes through a structured pre-program covering spec-driven development, AI product management, and idea selection — so teams arrive ready to build from day one.

Team Composition

1

General Manager

AI for GMs side track on Day 1

1

Product Manager

Owns the spec and product direction

2–3

Developers

Build and ship the solution

Participating

10+

companies participating

Teams from across Aquila's portfolio

Mentors

Technical Mentors

Bogdan Chiorean

Bogdan Chiorean

Head of Product & Innovation

Product / Technical Mentor
Ionut Pac-Balaj

Ionut Pac-Balaj

Chief Architect

Technical Mentor
Toni Simu

Toni Simu

Technical Lead

Technical Mentor
Calin Chiper

Calin Chiper

Technical Lead

Technical Mentor
Paul Petri

Paul Petri

Technical Lead

Technical Mentor
John Busecan

John Busecan

Technical Mentor

Amazon Mentor

AWS · Technical Mentor

Amazon Mentor

AWS · Technical Mentor

Microsoft Mentor

Microsoft · Technical Mentor

Microsoft Mentor

Microsoft · Technical Mentor

Before the Event

Pre-Program

June 16

Technical Training

Spec Driven Development — how to write specs and implement them using AI during the accelerator.

June 17

Product Training

How to prepare the right idea for the hackathon and choose something that will have real impact.

June 18–20

1:1 Product Sessions

Individual brainstorming sessions from a Product point of view — refining your team's idea before the event.

Prior to Event

Technical Handover

Teams receive a setup guide: create a new empty repository and install required dependencies so all developers have access on Day 1.

Schedule

Program Agenda

0

Day Zero

June 23, 2025

Evening Dinner & official opening of Hackquila
1

Day One

June 24, 2025

07:30–08:30 Breakfast
08:30–09:00 Morning opening — process walkthrough & expectations for the day
09:00–12:00 Hacking starts
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–15:00
Side track for GMs GMs only

Using AI as a General Manager

13:00–18:00 Hacking continues
18:00–19:30 Dinner at the location
21:00 🍕 Pizza & Red Bull
2

Day Two

June 25, 2025

07:30–08:30 Breakfast
08:30–12:00 Hacking continues
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–14:00
Side track for GMs GMs only
18:00–19:30 Dinner at the location
21:00 🍕 Pizza & Red Bull
3

Day Three

June 26, 2025

07:30–08:30 Breakfast
08:30–09:00 Finalize presentations
09:00–11:00 Final presentations — showcase what was achieved
11:00 onwards Depart for flights ✈️

What You'll Learn

Program Content

AI-Powered Product Management

Learn how to use AI DLC for product management — preparing specs, defining requirements, and turning ideas into actionable plans.

Idea Selection for Impact

A structured framework for choosing a hackathon idea that is feasible to build in 3 days and has real business impact.

AI DLC in Action

A live technical presentation showing how AI-assisted development works in practice — from spec to working software.

Spec Assignment

Participants complete a pre-program assignment: produce a real spec document for their hackathon project using the techniques taught.