UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa — Penn State students from University Park, all Commonwealth Campuses and Penn State World Campus are invited to form a team and submit ideas about how to improve the world using the power of artificial intelligence by entering the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge. The competition is open to students in any major and experience level. The teams chosen will compete for a prize pool of $50,000.
Erica DiCarlo, a marketing major in the Smeal College of Business and member of Team AIPR, competed in the 2021 Nittany AI Challenge. AIPR is a solution created to limit contamination and make recycling more efficient and economical.
“Don’t be afraid if you don’t have a technical background. I don’t have any background in computer science, but the skills you do have can be used elsewhere within your team,” DiCarlo said. “I would say, don’t let the AI aspect of the challenge scare you. Just give it a chance because you may end up on a team you really like.”
To enter the Idea Phase of the Nittany AI Challenge, students can submit a short proposal about how they envision using AI and machine learning for good to address global issues in the areas of environment, health, education and humanitarianism.
Aiden Rauscher, a computer science major in the College of Engineering, competed in the Nittany AI Challenge as a member of the Table Rock Markets team, which created an e-commerce platform designed to help keep farms in business and people eating local, healthy foods.
“I would say, if you want to try and pursue applying a technical idea to a real-world solution, the Nittany AI Challenge definitely provides a great avenue for that,” Rauscher said. “At Table Rock Markets, we’re trying to give small farms an advantage in an increasingly competitive industry.”
Bill Chen, an engineering science and mechanics major in the College of Engineering, competed in the Nittany AI Challenge as a member of the team that created PsySpace, an application designed to support the mental health sphere.
“AI for good is what our project is all about. We see mental health in college students and emerging adults in general. And I think with bringing AI concepts into psychology, we can really provide them with a gateway to better mental health,” Chen said. “The challenge provides us with many resources, such as computing tools and experts from various fields to advise us on our project, and I think it creates a great opportunity to bring a project to the next level.”
Students who want to hear more from past competitors in the challenge can register here to attend a webinar from 7-8 p.m. on Jan. 17.
Students interested in an ideation session and forming a team to compete in the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge, can register here to attend an event from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20, in 233 AB of the HUB-Robeson Center.
Divya Rustagi, a student in the College of Engineering, competed in the challenge as part of Team Apoio, which created software to streamline patient onboarding for mental health care.
“Go for it, don’t be intimidated, don’t be afraid. You can do a lot more than you think you can. And be ready to learn,” Rustagi said. “It’s OK if you are unsure how you’re going to build this, or how to find a team. You’ll figure it out, trust me when I say that, because I was exactly in that position of feeling intimidated by all these cool products and then went on to become a finalist. So, just go for it and believe in yourself.”
To submit your idea for the 2022 Nittany AI Challenge, visit the Nittany AI Alliance website, log in and get started on building your team.
2022 Nittany AI Challenge important dates
Idea submission deadline: Jan. 31
Prototype phase: March 22
Minimum viable product phase: Aug. 11