ASU AIR Spark Challenge

ASU's Knowledge Enterprise Research Technology Office and Enterprise Technology invite collaborative teams of ASU students, faculty, and staff to combine their technical creativity to build an app that powered by the ASUAI Research Acceleration Platform. 

In this virtual, 48-hour hackathon, you'll work in teams of 3-4 members of any combination of student, staff and faculty to explore any use case with supercharged AI compute. Work together to prototype your solution, then get ready to take the virtual stage to pitch your creation to an expert jury for grand prizes generously sponsored by Knowledge Enterprise Research Technology Office!

Wed, Sept. 2, 5:00-7:30 p.m.  | Challenge launch, Zoom

Challenge kickoff! Join us online to explore the challenge brief, access challenge resources and network together before teams begin working. 

Thurs, Sept. 3  | Hacking and mentorship, Online

Teams work together, checking in remotely with challenge organizers and mentors from Research Technology Office by appointment. 

Thurs, Sept. 3, 11:59 p.m. | Submissions due, Online

Teams finalize and upload their solutions; submissions due by 11:59 p.m. 

Fri, Sept. 4, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. | Closing ceremony

Grand finale: demos, pitches, awards! Join us on Zoom as teams pitch live, demo solutions and answer jury Q&A to determine top awarded teams. 

Prize pool

Awarded to the top team as determined by our expert jury panel using a standard rubric.⭐

Voted on and awarded by your fellow competing teams for their favorite use case.

Note: Awards are sponsored by the Knowledge Enterprise Research Technology Office and issued courtesy of Enterprise Technology. Student prizes will be credited as account scholarships; staff/faculty prizes will be issued as stipends.

Team requirements - Apply by Aug. 31

The ASU AIR Spark Challenge welcomes ASU students, staff and faculty to apply to compete in the challenge by Aug. 30. Students, staff and faculty with technical experience in APIs and IDEs are invited to compete. We recommend attending an ASU AIR Platform workshop on Aug. 21 & 28 to upskill prior to the hack!

Compete in a predetermined team or apply solo and be paired with other solo applicants by challenge organizers based on experience and skill level. If applying solo, you will be introduced to your team on Sept. 2, 2026. If applying with teammates, all members must submit an individual application

Tool access and training

Individuals who apply to the ASU AIR Spark Challenge are recommended to attend one upskilling workshop before the hackathon launch. Available workshops offered:

• August 21, 9–11 a.m. (Zoom, RSVP for link)
• August 28, 2–4 p.m. (Zoom, RSVP for link)

As ASU researchers set out to solve humanity’s greatest challenges, our goal is to provide the best tools to empower them to succeed. AI is an essential part of the modern toolkit, offering new opportunities to advance research that matters to our communities today.

Knowledge Enterprise Research Technology Office and Research Computing at ASU provide world-class AI models, tools and high-performance computing resources to faculty, students, staff and community members. By opening access to tools and platforms across all disciplines, we foster an inclusive environment for AI research that joins scientific, humanistic and artistic exploration, providing Arizona State University with a robust computing environment for AI-enabled research.

Visit https://rto.asu.edu/ai-research-support/ to learn more.