Building on Digital Jersey’s series of weekend-long Hackathons, this was the third to focus specifically on AI use, following an AI Hackathon held last year and a special ‘Junior Hackathon’ for young innovators earlier this year.
A broad mix of developers, designers, entrepreneurs and ambitious first-timers joined up on Friday night, forming teams and aiming to design an AI solution to solve a particular challenge Jersey faces, all over the course of 48 hours – and there was incentive too, with a total prize fund of £10,000 up for grabs.
This time, the brief was left deliberately open, with participants asked to tackle any specific challenge across Jersey’s economy or community – from healthcare and financial services, to skills, the visitor economy or even a new economic sector.
Teams were supported throughout the weekend by industry mentors, who helped them finesse their plans and prototypes, and were provided with access to open data sets to aid their project development. On Sunday, the teams then had the opportunity to present their creations to a full room and an expert judging panel, including Emma German, Malcolm Mason, Philip Godley, Ali Richomme and Jason A’Court.
The projects tackled a diverse range of issues, including OECD Common Reporting Standards, financial advice, recruitment, traffic planning and support for disabled visitors. Following a tense pitch and judging session ‘Anlgma’ by Maria Madalyna was named the overall winner of the AI Hackathon, with two further projects recognised in special award categories, a follows:
- Overall Winner and Greatest Potential Impact for Jersey: Anlgma, Maria Madalyna – a supply chain management platform for pharmacies, helping predict medicine shortages and ensure Jersey patients can continue to access treatment.
- Best Working Prototype: JerriAI, Charlie Morgan – A friendly AI language partner helping islanders learn and practice Jersey’s endangered Jèrriais language.
- Most Innovative Use of AI: CodeRock, Mark McNally – a simulator of potential futures for Jersey, using AI to identify solutions to future challenges.Commenting on the success of the AI Hackathon, Charlie Miles, Innovation Manager at Digital Jersey, said;“Our latest AI Hackathon brought together a broad spectrum of people, all looking to make a difference to our island using AI. It was inspiring to see so many great ideas go from concept to prototype over just 48 hours. The diversity of solutions developed in just one weekend was impressive, providing a real showcase, not only of the talent and ambition we have in Jersey, but also of the potential there is to solve real problems through the utilisation of AI.
“The projects demonstrated that AI doesn’t provide the ideas; people do. Technology now gives local talent the ability to turn their knowledge and creativity into practical solutions that tackle real challenges and help shape the island’s future. Well done to all involved. “
Watch the highlights video on our YouTube: https://youtu.be/HY6w1rQxWxA
