AI Champ is a large-scale hackathon for third-to-fourth year Bachelor’s students and tech graduates who are interested in AI, programming, and machine learning. The competition centers around solving business cases by the country’s major IT companies.
“AI is already being used to automate and replace routine tasks across different fields and industries. Generative models will allow businesses to produce and release innovative products. Today, AI development and its integration are seen as a cornerstone of the global technological race,” says Anton Kuznetsov, the director of ITMO’s Institute of Applied Computer Science.
The case by T-Bank addresses data inefficiencies in T-Travel where incomplete and vague room descriptions lead to costly manual processing. The task is to develop an ML model that will automatically filter out “problematic” descriptions before they reach the crowdsourcing stage.
For the Okko case, participants will work on building a Video RAG prototype – a system that analyzes video and sound to let users find specific movie scenes by context (e.g., where the hero meets the villain), rather than just browsing by title.
For Х5 Tech, teams will need to develop a 3D optimizer for logistics and warehousing – namely, an algorithm that will automatically calculate the perfect box arrangement based on weight and stability to remove the human factor and reduce cargo damage.
For Yandex’s SourceCraft platform, participants will build an AI-powered assistant to automate developer workflows – from onboarding to report preparation or task breakdown – to free up their time and minimize errors.
As for Alfa-Bank’s case, teams will be tasked with developing a personal data masking system that will identify sensitive information in user queries, anonymize their data before sending it to an LLM, and generate a response for the client.
“AI Champ isn’t so much about solving a case; it’s a chance to step beyond textbooks and dive headfirst into the real industry with its challenges, standards, and expectations. Crucially, the hackathon bridges education and career; here, you can not only get recognition but also a fast-track to your Master’s studies. We’re confident that the future of AI education lies in the practice-oriented approach, and AI Champ demonstrates how the learning process can take place at the intersection of science, technology, and business,” notes Polina Baranova, an academic supervisor of the Machine Learning Master’s program at Central University.
The hackathon will run for 24 hours (with overnight work). Teams will be accompanied by industry mentors. The final task will be to present their work to a jury.
Credit: ITMO University
Winners will be enrolled exam-free in one of the offline or online Master’s programs in machine learning at Central University or in one of the following Master’s programs at ITMO:
“AI Champ is your chance to work on business cases from major IT companies and receive feedback from industry practitioners. Prototypes developed at such events often evolve into bigger products, and teams formed during these hackathons make the core of future project teams at companies. This may also become your pathway into one of the top AI programs,” emphasizes Anton Kuznetsov.
The hackathon is designed for tech Bachelor’s students (years 3-4) and graduates who have a background in IT and relevant pet projects, as well as expertise in machine learning, mathematics, and AI development.
Visit the official website to apply, study the hackathon’s requirements, and explore the prizes.
