NayaOne had the privilege of powering Valley Bank’s collaboration with Iona University’s LaPenta School of Business. Together, we hosted a data-driven hackathon that brought students, technologists, and financial services leaders into one room to explore the future of banking innovation.
The hackathon gave students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to real-world business challenges, while Valley Bank teams could see fresh perspectives on data and technology in action. For NayaOne, it was another example of how our sandbox and synthetic data environment can help enterprises create safe, production-like conditions for testing new ideas.
Real Challenges. Real-Time Innovation.
Over four weeks, teams tackled complex use cases using Valley Bank’s business insights and synthetic data hosted in the NayaOne platform. The event showed how quickly ideas can move from concept to tested evidence when the right ecosystem is in place.
The impact was made possible by a wide coalition of people working together:
Mindset Over Mechanism
What stood out during the hackathon was not only the technical skills on display, but the mindset. Students approached challenges with curiosity and collaboration, focusing on how solutions would create value for customers and the bank.
This balance of innovation and practicality is exactly what enterprises need when exploring AI and data-driven solutions. With the right guardrails in place, teams can experiment freely while maintaining control and compliance.
Why It Matters
For Valley Bank, the collaboration with Iona University was a way to invest in future talent and build stronger connections between academia and industry. For students, it was a chance to work side-by-side with practitioners solving real business problems.
Partnerships like this demonstrate the role NayaOne plays as a delivery layer for innovation: bringing together data, secure sandbox environments, and enterprise stakeholders to turn ideas into evidence.
What's Next?
We’re incredibly grateful to Iona University, the LaPenta School of Business, and Valley Bank for inviting us to be part of this initiative. Their commitment to bridging education, technology, and real-world impact made this event a true success.
And while the hackathon may be over, the momentum it created is just beginning.
Want to leverage university talent to address real world problems? See how you can run meaningful R&D projects and collaborations in the NayaOne platform.
NayaOne helps enterprises move from idea to validated evidence – safely, repeatedly, and at speed. If you’re looking to test and validate new technologies without the risk and friction of traditional onboarding, our team can help.
