Unitec GenAI Hackathon awards $4,000 to winners

A major three-day GenAI Hackathon has successfully concluded with innovative solutions developed to tackle significant sustainability challenges.

The event, hosted by Unitec in collaboration with AI company Promptech and Amazon Web Services (AWS), saw participation from 100 students across 18 teams, who worked on projects aimed at addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The hackathon provided a platform for students to create interventions aimed at making meaningful impacts across various sectors. These projects were designed to contribute to one or more of the 17 UN Sustainability Pillars, such as eliminating poverty, hunger, and inequality or supporting sustainable economic development and climate change goals.

The first-place prize of $4,000 was awarded to Team Sustainable Data Miners. Their project, ECOLENS, focused on managing carbon footprints. Team members included Dina Abramova, Harshit Mangukiya, Mithila Kamaraj, Mohammad Rakibul Hoque (Team Leader), and Shamali Lilanga Perera.

Team Hive-Five secured the second-place prize of $1,500 with their project called MediBot, an interactive healthcare chatbot. The team was composed of Kumudu Harshani Fonseka, Kalani Bandara, Sandumi Jayasekara (Team Leader), Sewmini Dananji Gunawardhana, and Shivorn Geeth.

The third-place prize of $750 went to Team AWSome Generators for their project DataFlow, which addressed eutrophication issues. The team members were Akiko Ikeda (Team Leader), Hannah Baek, Laura Alice Baker, Monika Taylova, and Shavneel Chand.

Participants had the opportunity to work with tech industry mentors and used AWS Generative AI tools, including Amazon Bedrock and Q, to develop their solutions. Additionally, AWS technicians conducted workshops to instruct participants on the use of these technologies.

Dr Masoud Shakiba, Senior Lecturer at the School of Computing, Electrical and Applied Technology at Unitec, commented on the significance of the hackathon: "The hackathon gives participants the opportunity to develop AI solutions to real-world issues." He further noted, "It also provides invaluable networking opportunities for the students taking part, as well as partnership opportunities for future events."

At the opening of the hackathon, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, Executive Director of Unitec and MIT, and Dr Haren Sam, Head of Enterprise, Industry & Greenfield at AWS, addressed the participants. Dr Sam expressed pride in the collaboration, stating, "We're proud to collaborate with Unitec and be involved in this great initiative." He emphasised the importance of the event, adding, "It's a great opportunity for us to upskill the future generation of leaders in New Zealand, help them realise the value of GenAI and build impactful solutions using AWS' latest technology."

Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga spoke about the transformative potential of Generative AI, saying, "We understand the potential of Generative AI to revolutionise many areas of our lives, as well as the important role we play as decision-makers, tech companies, teachers, and programmers to provide a holistic context within which it will be developed and used for everyone's benefit."

In addition to cash prizes, winning teams were rewarded with unique internship opportunities and tickets to the upcoming M2 AI Summit in Auckland.