Carnegie Mellon University Hosts Generative AI Innovation Challenge

Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Intelligent Business, in collaboration with the Data Analytics Club and sponsorship from Google, recently held its Generative AI Innovation Challenge. The competition, designed to explore genAI, drew just over 200 graduate and undergraduate students across Carnegie Mellon University to create new applications that address real-world problems in business, education, and more.

The hackathon emphasized the practical use of Generative AI, specifically using Gemini, a platform enabling the development of diverse solutions ranging from applications and tools to services and platforms. Participants shared their ideas through a five to six-minute presentation and showcased their critical thinking and presentation skills.

A distinguished panel served as judges, including Tepper School of Business faculty members Laurence Ales, Professor of Economics, and R. Ravi, Professor of Operations Research and Computer Science. The judges evaluated the contestants' ability to articulate the challenge they were addressing, their proposed solutions, and the potential impact of these solutions, supported by a coherent methodology and rationale.

The winning team, NexusArt, spoke about how they are revolutionizing art education by offering AI-curated personalized exhibitions and an AI tutor focused on foundational art techniques. This approach provides real-time, personalized feedback to make art learning accessible, engaging, and tailored to each person.

The runner-up, ClassMate, discussed using Gemini’s technology to adapt learning materials to each student's learning style, preferred language, and subject proficiency. This ensures that anyone with internet access and basic technological skills can control their educational outcomes, making personalized education universally accessible.

The hackathon offered a prize pool of $6000 that was divided among the top four teams. The event marks another step towards fostering a culture of innovation and creativity at Carnegie Mellon University, leveraging the power of Generative AI to address complex challenges and propel leaders into the future of AI.