For eight remarkable years, the Königsberger Bridges Institute (KBI) has been a driving force in technology education, connecting innovators worldwide.
Over these eight years since our inception, KBI has evolved from a bold vision into a global platform, empowering thousands of students and young professionals to lead advancements in emerging technologies: blockchain & trust technologies (BCTT) and data science & artificial intelligence (DSAI).
Our sustained commitment to fostering creativity and collaboration over nearly a decade reflects our resilience and adaptability in shaping the future of tech education.
2017: KBI founded; IBCOL launched in Hong Kong, co-hosted with Waterloo, Canada, focusing on blockchain solutions like DeFi.
2018–2019: IBCOL expanded globally, engaging participants from East Asia to Europe, with projects exploring cryptography.
2020: IDSOL debuted in a hybrid format at City University of Hong Kong, alongside IBCOL, tackling healthcare and education challenges.
2020–2022: Both programs shifted online, adapting to global challenges; IBCOL saw European growth, while IDSOL addressed pandemic issues like public health modeling.
2023–2024: Expanded focus on regulated industries; IBCOL and IDSOL hosted at Hogeschool InHolland, featuring impactful solutions like an AI scoliosis detection tool (IDSOL 2024).
2025: ETO’25 in Hong Kong will host the next IBCOL and IDSOL finals, continuing our global impact.
35+ Countries: From East Asia to Europe and the Americas
1,337 Participants: Secondary & tertiary students engaged since 2018
351 Finalists: Selected through rigorous standards from 2018–2024
53% Active Regions: Including Hong Kong and the Netherlands
47% Growing Regions: Such as Poland and Bangladesh
KBI thrives through partnerships:
Academia Ties: e.g. HKU, HKUST, MIT, TU/e, UvA, UW, U of T
Industry Leaders: e.g. Google, MasterCard, HSBC, ABN-AMRO, ASML, Philips, EY, Deloitte, and Swire
These collaborations provide resources and opportunities, amplifying KBI’s role in building a global ecosystem for technology and innovation.
This era was marked by an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from the two founding cities, Waterloo (Canada) and Hong Kong (China). The finals were held in Hong Kong, where 70% of the attendees were from outside the international city.
This era saw activities shifting totally virtual or hybrid events worldwide. The focus of many IBCOL projects converged on identity and verifiable credential solutions, those potential became painfully apparent during this period of social isolation. The IDSOL was launched as an exhibition event to explore interest and abilities to venture into AI and data sciences.
This era began a new chapter of KBI, as the centre of gravity shifted to the European Union, with key emphasis on regulated industries and solution designs tackling the most pressing challenges of our times, embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations (UN).