AI for connectivity hackathon

Join a Global Hackathon to Revolutionize Public Sector Networks with AI!

🔍Create AI-driven solutions using open-source technologies to optimize public sector network management—planning, procurement, and maintenance—for scalable, sustainable school connectivity in underserved regions.

📅 Join us January 24-26: Participate online or in person in Geneva to develop innovative solutions with peers globally.

👨‍🏫 Work alongside industry mentors for insights and guidance on your projects.

🏆 Compete for a chance to join the Lablab NEXT incubator program!

🧑🏻‍💻 Sign up before the Kick-Off Stream to secure your spot!

Apply for a seat

Join our Hackathon Discord channel to stay updated with the latest announcements, receive support, and collaborate with mentors and the community.

Join Discord Channel

Hackathon overview

Giga, an initiative by UNICEF and ITU, is working to address a pressing challenge in education: connecting every school in the world to the internet and every young person to information, opportunity and choice. This hackathon invites participants to design AI-based software solutions that optimize network lifecycles for schools and health centers in underserved regions. Using open-source AI and telecom technologies, innovators will develop scalable, transparent solutions for planning, procurement, operations, and maintenance.

This challenge is part of a hackathon series bringing together AI developers, educators, and innovators to co-create impactful solutions. Winning teams will join an incubation program with mentorship, resources, and technology credits to turn their prototypes into real-world tools aligned with the SDGs.

Apply to take a seat!

To participate in our hackathon, you must complete the application process. This applies to both online and onsite participants.

🌐 Online Participation

- Apply for a seat to enroll in the Hackathon

- Fill out the registration form

- Participate remotely from anywhere

🌉 Onsite Participation in Geneva

- Must be present in Geneva during the event

- Individual applications welcome

- Option for onsite matchmaking

Selected individuals may be eligible to have their travel and accommodation expenses covered

⚠️ Important Note for All Participants

Whether you're joining us online or onsite, all participants must complete these steps:

1. "Apply for a seat" on the lablab.ai event page and wait for approved.

2. Fill out registration form for Online or/and Onsite event.
3. Create or join a team
4. Submit your project through the lablab.ai platform

Join this hackathon to innovate with open-source AI solutions that optimize and support the lifecycle of public sector connectivity networks, particularly for schools and health centers in underserved regions.

Public sector connectivity networks are digital infrastructures that provide internet and communication services to public institutions such as schools, healthcare facilities, and government offices. These networks enable equitable access to essential services, fostering education, healthcare, governance, and economic development, particularly in underserved or remote areas. They are essential to bring connectivity, in our increasingly digitized world, to every corner of the globe.

This hackathon challenges participants to address pressing global issues by leveraging advanced AI technologies to improve the planning, procurement, operations, and maintenance of public sector networks (click here for more context). Innovators are encouraged to design creative solutions that enhance the efficiency and sustainability of these networks, improve access to critical services, and empower communities.

The topics listed below are examples of areas your project could explore, and you are welcome to develop solutions that span multiple topics or address new challenges beyond this list.

🌐 AI-Driven Network Lifecycle Optimization: Public sector networks often face inefficiencies across their lifecycle - from legacy manual processes, outdated data systems, ad-hoc maintenance to scarce resources, which can lead to subpar service delivery and increased costs.

Challenge: Develop AI tools to automate tasks like traffic management, predictive maintenance, and network monitoring.

Example Projects:

• Smart Maintenance Tool: Use AI for predictive network maintenance, identifying and resolving issues before they disrupt services.

• AI Planning Assistant: Create tools that automate network deployment strategies, reducing manual effort and improving cost efficiency.

Challenge: Ideate solutions that integrate blockchain (and specifically Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN)) and AI to address transparency and trust challenges applicable to public sector networks.

Example Projects:

• Crypto-Network Monitor: Integrate blockchain with AI for secure, transparent public sector network monitoring.

• AI-Enhanced Connectivity: Develop AI-driven tools that improve decentralized network performance and scalability.

Challenge: Build open-source tools to drive efficiency in network operations and management.

Example Projects:

• Procurement Automation System: Streamline bidding processes with AI to ensure fairness and efficiency.

• Resource Allocation Optimizer: Design AI tools to allocate bandwidth and resources based on real-time network needs.

Build with your favourite technology

Select your preferred technology for app development.

Use any open-source technology to develop an innovative solution that addresses the challenge. Submissions must comply with the open-source requirements, ensuring transparency and accessibility of your project.

👉 Visit our AI Tech pages to discover available technologies.
👉 Check out our tutorials for detailed guidance on implementation. Start your project with Lablab.ai resources!

🔍 Note: While we encourage using tools listed on AI Tech, participants can also utilize any open-source technology not mentioned there, provided it aligns with the hackathon’s goals.

*AI Generated Imagery

🏆Acceleration Opportunity

A fast-track to your interview for the lablab NEXT incubator program.

Please be aware that participation in lablab.ai hackathons is voluntary and subject to the specific rules and conditions outlined for each event. While we strive to provide a fair and rewarding experience for all participants, we cannot guarantee entry or success in securing prizes. All prizes and opportunities are subject to availability and participants must meet the established criteria to qualify. lablab.ai is not responsible nor held liable for any commitments or offers - including programs, giveaways, or prizes - made by third-party sponsors or partners of the hackathon. The availability and delivery of third-party prizes or benefits are solely at the discretion of the respective sponsors and are not guaranteed by lablab.ai. We reserve the right to make amendments, modifications, or cancellations to any part of the hackathon (including full cancellation of the event itself), including prizes and terms of participation, at our sole discretion. Whenever possible, we will endeavor to notify participants of significant changes within a reasonable timeframe. All submissions by participants must be original work, open source, and compliant with the MIT License unless specified otherwise. By participating, you agree to these terms, the overall event terms, and the lablab.ai general terms and are encouraged to review all event-related information carefully. Prize Distribution: lablab.ai and its partners reserve the right to distribute all prizes within a 90-day period following the end date of the hackathon. This period allows for the proper processing and verification needed to award prizes appropriately.

What to submit?

📋 Basic Information

• Project Title

• Short Description

• Long Description

• Technology & Category Tags

📸 Cover Image and Presentation

• Cover Image

• Video Presentation

• Slide Presentation

💻 App Hosting & Code Repository

• Public GitHub Repository

• Demo Application Platform

• Application URL

For further details and guidance, please visit Submission Guidelines

Judging Criteria

Application of Technology

How effectively the solution integrates open-source AI tools and technologies, ensuring the ability to perform tasks autonomously, streamline processes, and enhance productivity while adhering to open-source transparency standards.

Presentation

The clarity and effectiveness of the project presentation, including how well the solution’s technical details, practical impact, and alignment with open-source principles are communicated.

Impact

The solution’s practical value and impact will be assessed based on how effectively it addresses public sector challenges, improves operational efficiency, and fosters collaboration between AI tools and human decision-makers to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Originality

The creativity and uniqueness of the solution, highlighting innovative approaches and the use of open-source technologies to demonstrate distinctive and imaginative problem-solving.

🔍 Note: To qualify for judging, submissions must not only utilize open-source technologies but also have their final project code open-sourced. This ensures transparency, collaboration, and alignment with the hackathon’s open-source ethos.

Hackathon Details

Join lablab.ai hackathon and innovate using the latest models in the market. Discover all the relevant details below.

🗓️ Where and when

The start date of the hackathon is mentioned according to the date specified on the hackathon page, cover and schedule. The hackathon will take place on the lablab.ai platform and lablab.ai Discord server , or join us in person in Geneva to experience the event live.

🦸🏼‍♂️ Who can join?

Everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of previous AI or coding experience! We encourage anyone with a passion for AI or an interest in exploring how it can be used in their field to join.

😅 What about teams?

If you don't have a team, don't worry! You can connect with other participants from all over the world on our dashboard or Discord server. We also recommend checking out our Discord server to find teammates and bounce around ideas. You can join the server here.

🛠️ How to participate

The hackathon will take place online on lablab.ai platform and lablab.ai Discord Server. Please register for both in order to participate. To participate click the "Enroll" button at the bottom of the page and read our Hackathon Guidelines and Getting Started Guide.