AI Accelerated Spark Challenge

Hosted virtually on Zoom, the AI Accelerated Spark Challenge is a week-long hackathon inviting teams to accelerate machine learning models using GPUs, harness the power of large language models through interactive notebooks, and design an innovative tutoring system using datasets and tools provided by challenge organizers, or bring your own data science/LLM related application idea to this challenge. 

Teams start the challenge with a two-day bootcamp led by NVIDIA, ASU Research Computing, and Enterprise Technology, then innovate around the theme of personalized learning with AI. Projects will be built and tested on ASU's high-performance compute cluster, giving you real-world experience in scaling machine learning workflows. 

You'll learn:

• How to run & accelerate ML models on GPUs!

• Techniques for dataset exploration & feature engineering!
• Strategies for defining & managing AI-driven projects!
• How to deploy & test on a compute cluster!

• First place team $3,000
• Second place team $2,000
• Third place team $1,000
• Digital credentials for all hackers

Prize awards will be issued to your student accountant and issued as a scholarship. Prize awards sponsored by TiE Phoenix and AZ Next at W.P. Carey School of Business. ASU-AZNext is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

All hackers will also receive digital credentials validating skills applied at the Spark Challenge, including applied AI, project management and public speaking; finalist teams will also receive credentials validating their First, Second and Third team placement. Explore all Spark Challenge digital credentials offered by Enterprise Technology here.
 

Monday, June 23

Kick-off, Day 1 bootcamp

Tuesday, June 24

Day 2 bootcamp

Wednesday, June 25 - Friday, June 27

Hack and mentorship 

Saturday, June 28

Submissions due by 11:59 p.m. MST

Sunday, June 29

Project review led by ASU Research Computing

Monday, June 30

Pitch competition, demos, and awards ceremony

Open to undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines with programming experience in Python—no additional experience in ML or GPUs required! Join in teams of 4-5 hackers or request teammates upon registering.