AI BEAVERS celebrate largest hackathon in Hamburg
Over the weekend, around 400 programmers from 40 countries, including the Netherlands, Japan, Dubai and the USA, responded to a call from the Hamburg-based organisation AI BEAVERS. For two days, they worked at Bucerius Law School to develop AI-powered software applications with the potential to become real products.
Solve problems that young people are familiar with from their own environment
For example, they created an AI agent to protect grandma from scam calls and software to help grandpa adjust his Parkinson's medication correctly. The hackathon visitors certainly didn't lack intrinsic motivation. Almost all of the pitches presented on stage after the 48-hour coding marathon were about topics from the programmers' own lives. How can I better retain learning content from YouTube videos? How can I document the results of my laboratory work hands-free and accurately? And, of course, how can I make life easier for those who are less confident in the digital world than I am?
Marketability as an evaluation criterion:
The task set for the AI hackathon was complex. An international jury of experts evaluated the technical implementation and meaningful use of AI, as well as the chances of bringing the respective product to market. The criteria were therefore:
Product Viability & market potential
Execution & functional demonstration
User experience & design
Presentation
Women account for around 20 per cent
At the non-profit event, female developers accounted for just under a quarter of participants, which roughly reflects the proportion of women studying relevant degree courses. Passionate, international events such as the Hamburg AI Hackathon are therefore an effective way of attracting more women to programming. Not to mention the generous prizes: thanks to numerous sponsors from the AI sector, the ten winners and other award recipients in secondary categories received prizes worth nearly $400,000 in total, including cash and other items.
