India, March 7 -- What had started as a personal ambition for an Indian student became Europe's largest student Hackathon last month. Aryaman Dey, 19, is a dual-enrolled student of Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University (US). He started working on creating HackEurope in 2025 to build something meaningful before his graduation. And its first-ever event, which took place from Feb 21-22, brought together over 1,000 students from more than 30 countries. "There was no big institution backing us in the beginning. It was a grassroots effort that then grew into a 30-hour hackathon hosted in three cities across the continent: Dublin (Ireland), Paris (France), and Stockholm (Sweden)," he shares. Aryaman served as the head of partnerships and finance for this student-led initiative."At the core of it, it was just students who wanted to build something," he says, adding, "We were essentially asking some of the biggest tech names to believe in a student-led idea." The initiative went on to draw support from global tech organisations, including Google, DeepMind, Anthropic, Monzo Bank, and Susquehanna. "We managed to raise 300,000 (over Rs.3.22 crore) in sponsorships. There was also a 50,000 (over Rs.53 lakh) prize pool. But their focus remained on accessibility. "What really mattered to us was spending nearly an equal amount to make sure financial and logistical constraints don't stop people from attending," he informs. To this end, they partnered with over 100 student societies across Europe. "It is not just a campus project anymore. It has also drawn support from leading global tech companies. When experienced founders and operators show interest, it validates the work of students," he signs off....