*Entry is FREE and open to U of T students for the competition*

Sponsored by the BIGDataAIHUB at the Institute for Management & Innovation (IMI) at the University of Toronto Mississauga, in collaboration with Scotiabank, STEMFellowship, IMIx, and ICUBE.

*Please see below for important dates, including registration deadline & competition launch date*

The combination of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the way we think, work, and live. New career opportunities are emerging and traditional ones are being transformed or eliminated. As students at one of the top universities in the world it is important to stay on top of current and emerging trends, to pursue continual personal development, and to have some fun in the process. This event is designed to achieve all three. Sponsored by the BIGDataAIHUB at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), this competition is being held in collaboration with Scotiabank, STEMFellowship, IMIx and ICUBE.

REGISTRATION AND COMPETITION DETAILS

Important information about the competition is as follows. Please ensure you read this thoroughly.

Entry is FREE and open to all U of T students. The competition will be geared toward graduate students students with advanced programming and AI skills, and eligible undergraduates with experience in big data and artificial intelligence.

Competition Timeline:

1. Online registrations will be accepted until 5:00 pm on Friday, November 29, 2024. Depending on the level of demand, registration may be capped. Early registration is strongly encouraged.
2. The Virtual Kick-Off Event is scheduled via Zoom from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm on Saturday, November 30th. Each team is expected to have at least one member present at this event.
3. Initial team video submissions will be due Via Quercus Assignments before 5:00 pm on Monday, February 24, 2025. Five finalist teams will be selected from these submissions.
4. The date for the final round of in-person finalist presentations is set for the morning of Saturday, March 22, 2025 in the Innovation Complex at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
5. This year, instead of providing technical workshops, competitors will have access to a catalogue of curated technical videos to supplement their existing knowledge. These will be available on the competition Quercus site.
6. Also in lieu of the Technical Workshops, we will be hosting monthly Zoom information / question and answer sessions for competitors in December, January and February.

Competition Eligibility:

• To be eligible for this competition, students must demonstrate that they are enrolled at the University of Toronto throughout the entire competition period. As part of the registration process, competitors are required to complete a short information questionnaire. All team members must register individually on Eventbrite - they will then be able to create their teams on the Quercus shell.
• This year, in addition to traditional big data and AI tools, we will be permitting the use of generative AI in the competition as well.
• It is anticipated that there will be three to five participants per team, however, teams with a minimum of two members are invited to register as well.
• Any teams initially registering fewer than four team members could potentially find that the competition organizers might add additional members to their team to top-up the number closer to four members per team depending upon the total number of registrants and availability of U of T computing resources. This is also designed to foster cross-disciplinary teams.
• Individual registrations (i.e. rather than in pre-arranged teams) are also welcome, however, these individuals will be assigned to teams.
• PLEASE NOTE: Each team must have at least one or two members with a strong background in data analysis and/or computer science, and possessing strong programming skills (e.g. python).
• Diversity is encouraged. The commingling of students from different academic disciplines on each team is actively encouraged, but not a requirement.