Overview
Every quarter we at Santa Cruz Artificial Intelligence (SCAI) host an AI design competition called "SCAI is No Limit" to encourage students to apply their AI/ML in a hands-on learning environment. The event is styled similarly to a hackathon but will be more open-ended, and teams will get to liberty to develop the sort of solution they desire. This competition aims to allow SCAI members and, for the first time, students from other UC campuses to gain experience applying AI/ML in an environment that promotes innovative thinking and collaboration skills, and, therefore future success in research/industry. A panel of industry judges brought in through a mix of corporate sponsors from clubs around the UC will rank products and determine competition winners/runner-ups.
Guidelines
There are no restrictions on the ML models contestants can use.
There are no restrictions to the design or architecture, the data they wish to use, or libraries contestants want to utilize.
Teams will include a configuration of…
- Development,
- Marketing,
- And Product Management positions.
Each sub-team plays an integral part in the development of its product.
For a team to win, it must present a robust understanding of its product's technical aspects, market landscape/use case, and potential implementation.
Participants will present in front of a panel of judges from the industry.
Their presentation must be in a similar format to and should follow all of these:
- Why this Product?
- Market Landscape and Business Potential
- Product Design
- Model: Design, Analysis, Potential
- Summary and Potential Improvements
Sponsor(s)
SCAI's quarterly home competition, SCAI is No Limit, is currently sponsored by Egynte, a cloud-based platform for secure file sharing, content management, and collaboration based in Mountain View. They have been generous to us in providing the funds for the prize pool. For Fall and Winter Quarter, they have provided us with a total sum of $550 per quarter to be distributed among the top four finishers. For Spring 2023, we are looking to increase the prize pool. With more potential contestants across campuses and disciplines, we have the opportunity to reach out to more companies who may be interested in sponsoring the event. With the most prominent universities in the UC participating in this competition, we can drive interest and drastically increase the prize pool. There is a direct relationship between the money we can give out and the number of contestants who choose to participate. The more monetary incentives they have, the more contestants we may have.
Opportunity Knocking
The UC-wide SCAI is No Limit event provides driven students the unique opportunity to compete in a rigorous AI product development competition. Regardless of the outcome, contestants can feel proud of their work and present these projects on their resumes as an example of a completed project. There are numerous additional benefits including, but not limited to, developing good data science techniques, developing an understanding of a specific model, networking/internship opportunities, presentation skills, and the prospect of having their work presented before our sponsor companies.
Contribution
Donations to this fund will fund the competition's prize pool and refreshments. Additionally, some funds will be pooled to financially support teams with paid elements in their technology stack if no open-source/free alternatives are available.
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