Stevens Institute of Technology · Hoboken, NJ
Business + AI Hackathon
One day. One real business challenge. Student teams from every discipline design AI-enabled tools, apps and services that answer it — and make the case for the value they create.
The Idea
The best idea wins — not the best code
The theme is leveraging AI for innovation in business: as AI takes on more of the technical implementation, the differentiator shifts to what you build and why. The day rewards strong business ideas, creative design and compelling use cases — AI-enabled solutions that create real value for organizations and society.
For Students
Build something a real company needs
No technical background required, all are welcome to join. Take on a real company's challenge and spend the day building the AI-enabled answer to it.
Register
Sign up on your own or with a team — students from any discipline are welcome: business, engineering, design and everything in between.
- Individual registrationRegister solo — we'll pair you with a team.
- Team registrationAlready have a group? Register together.
Build with AI
Take on a partner company's challenge and design an AI-enabled tool, app or service that answers it — a working artifact or a system proposal.
Make the case
Pitch to company judges: five minutes, a live demo (or walkthrough, for system proposals), and the business case for why it creates value.
Registration is open
Signing up takes a minute — name, email and affiliation. Register individually or as a team; solo registrants are welcome and will be paired with a team.
The Day
Agenda · Sept. 25
Overview of the hackathon, introduction of the challenge, and explanation of the judging criteria.
Teams design and build their AI-enabled solutions.
Five-minute pitch, a live demo (or walkthrough, for system proposals) and a two- to three-minute Q&A with the judges.
Company judges deliberate and winning teams are announced.
How teams are judged
For Companies
Put your challenge in front of student teams building with AI
Be a founding partner of the first Business + AI Hackathon at Stevens. For one day, student teams from across the university work a problem that matters to your business — and you meet the students behind every prototype, proposal and business case.
Why partner
Meet talent in action
Spend the finals face-to-face with undergraduate and graduate students from every major — watching them pitch, demo and defend their work under judges' questions.
Get your problem worked
Student teams spend the whole day on one shared business challenge — brought by a partner company — and pitch what they built: AI-enabled prototypes and system proposals, each with its business case.
Build your name on campus
Put your brand in front of the School of Business and students across Stevens — the next generation of business talent.
How it works
Bring a business challenge
A short challenge statement describing a real-world problem or opportunity where an AI-enabled tool or system could create value — improving customer service, reducing support costs, or opening new business opportunities. No internal data required: teams can build on public datasets. This first edition centers on a single shared challenge — your problem could be the one every team works.
Judge the finals
Join the final presentations as a judge or panel participant: evaluate the pitches, ask questions during Q&A, and help select the winning teams.
Sept. 25 · 3 – 5 p.m. · Tech Flex
An example challenge
A retail bank receives thousands of customer inquiries through its chatbot, but the bot doesn't always understand requests or surface emerging customer needs. The challenge: design an AI-enabled system that improves how the chatbot interprets and responds to queries while generating useful insights for the bank — for instance, using the public Banking77 dataset of 13,000+ customer queries across 77 banking intents. The official challenge is announced before the event.
Start small: a one-page challenge statement and two hours of judging is a complete partnership.
Email Dr. Jingyi Sun Sponsorship Payment Dr. Jingyi Sun · School of Business · jsun54@stevens.eduPartnering starts with an email — sponsorship contributions go through Stevens' secure payment form.
Questions
FAQ
For students
Do I need to know how to code?
No technical background is required. Teams can deliver a system proposal instead of code — the day rewards business ideas, design and a convincing case.
Who can participate?
Undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines are welcome — including students from outside Stevens. Final details will be confirmed with registration.
What does my team deliver?
A working software artifact or a system proposal, plus a short business case — presented as a five-minute pitch with a live demo (or walkthrough) and Q&A.
What tools and data will we use?
The AI tools your team already uses, plus public datasets — for example, Banking77 in the sample challenge above.
How do I sign up?
Registration is open — sign up here. You can register on your own or as a team — solo registrants will be paired with a team.
For companies
How much time does partnering take?
A short challenge statement up front, then two hours on campus for the final presentations and judging — Sept. 25, 3 – 5 p.m.
Is there a cost to partner?
The core ask is a challenge statement and two hours of judging. Partners may also be asked to help cover basic day-of logistics (like food and drinks) — details are being finalized.
Do we need to share internal data?
No. Teams build on public datasets — your challenge statement is enough to participate.
What does a good challenge look like?
A real problem or opportunity where an AI-enabled tool could create value — concrete enough to work in a day, open enough that there is no single right answer. See the example above.
Who do we contact?
Dr. Jingyi Sun, School of Business — jsun54@stevens.edu.