Terms and Conditions of the UPC IA Challenge Competition

First. Purpose of the call

AI is a technology that will soon be found across all branches of technology. As a university, we want our students to get ahead of this scenario by proposing AI in each of their fields of study. In order to demonstrate the capabilities and talent of our students, we are organising a competition aimed at rewarding AI projects designed to improve some aspect of their field of knowledge.

The competition invites all students from the 18 Educational Centres to come up with ideas on how to implement AI in each of their fields of study. UPC already offers a specific degree in Artificial Intelligence, but this competition aims to encourage all students to use it and be part of the evolution of this technology.

Furthermore, it is important to explore new ways of making the applicability of AI in areas where it is not yet present a growth incentive for the sector.

Second. Funding

The budget for this call will be entirely dedicated to funding the different prize categories for the winners and executing a promotional plan, both at the beginning to encourage participation and at the end to publicise the prizes and results.

The funding will be obtained from the sponsorships provided by the participating companies. Three modes of participation are defined for companies interested in sponsoring the competition:

• Global Sponsor. 8,500€ + VAT. In return, they will receive global visibility at UPC and the opportunity to participate as a judge. They will also be able to propose challenges.
• Centre Sponsor. 5,000€ + VAT. In return, they will receive visibility at the chosen Educational Centre and the opportunity to participate as a judge.
• Basic Sponsor. 1,500€ + VAT. In return, they will receive visibility on the promotional materials for the competition.

Third. Prize categories

Projects can be developed individually or in groups of up to 3 students.

In the individual category, it is possible to submit the final project (TFE) as a project. The TFE document will be sufficient as documentation for applying to the call.

In the group category, students can be from different degrees and Educational Centres. It is useful to form a team with a student from a TIC degree or master's programme with knowledge in AI in order to implement the AI solution.

Group projects must be submitted to a single Educational Centre.

The following prizes are announced:

• Prize for the best individual project from each Educational Centre, awarded with 500€.
• Prize for the best collaborative project from each Educational Centre, awarded with 500€.

The winners from each Educational Centre will automatically be eligible for the UPC Global Awards with the following prizes:

• Prize for the best global individual project at UPC, awarded with an additional 1,500€.
• Prize for the second best individual project at UPC, awarded with an additional 500€.

• Prize for the best global collaborative project at UPC, awarded with an additional 3,000€.
• Prize for the second best global collaborative project at UPC, awarded with an additional 1,500€.

The prizes are awarded per project. If the project is developed by a group of students, the prize will be given to the group representative, who will be responsible for distributing the prize among the team members.

Fourth. Requirements for the candidates.

Candidates for individual projects must meet the following requirements:

• They must be enrolled in an undergraduate or master's course at any of the Educational Centres of UPC.
• Participants may only enter the competition once; it is not possible to participate in more than one project.

In group projects, the representative must be enrolled at UPC, and there can be at most one student from another university.

Fifth. Project requirements

Projects can address any challenge posed by the students or the sponsoring companies. The projects presented by the sponsoring companies will be published on the competition website, and students who wish to use them will have direct contact with the company and receive support from them to execute the project.

The projects must use AI techniques for their development and must be implemented with a pilot (an app, a website, etc.) where it can be verified that AI tools are used in its operation.

Projects can only be submitted once to the competition.

Sixth. Submission of applications

From the moment this competition is announced, students can complete a pre-registration through the pre-registration form on the competition website www.iachallenge.upc.edu, where they will indicate the project name. In this pre-registration, students can request help to find students from other degrees or master's programmes who want to team up to submit a group project.

The final registration and applications to participate in this call must be submitted via the electronic form on the competition website registration form.

The submission deadline will be indicated on the website.

The documentation to be submitted will be as follows:

In the pre-registration, only the name of the student or group of students, and the project name.

In the final registration,

• An introduction explaining what is being implemented and why it is believed that the proposed solution makes sense in the given field.
• A brief market study showing the interest and/or novelty of what is being presented, and explaining its potential application.
• A demonstration that the project has been implemented with a pilot. It can be a website, an app, a video, etc., where it can be verified that AI tools are used in its operation.
• If the work is by a student and originates from a Final Degree Project (TFE), the TFE document will be sufficient as documentation, and the previous points will not need to be submitted.

Seventh. Processing of applications

La UPC publicarà a la web del concurs la relació provisional de persones sol·licitants admeses i excloses, citant en aquest últim cas les causes de l’exclusió. Els aspirants podran formular reclamacions en la mateixa web en un termini de 5 dies des de la publicació de la llista. Una vegada resoltes les reclamacions es publicarà a la web la relació definitiva de participants.

UPC will publish the provisional list of accepted and excluded applicants on the competition website, stating the reasons for exclusion in the latter case. Applicants may submit complaints on the same website within 5 days of the publication of the list. Once the complaints have been resolved, the final list of participants will be published on the website.

Eighth. Jury of the awards

To select the winners from each Educational Centre, a jury consisting of at least two members from the academic community (preferably one from the AI community) and one industry member will evaluate the projects submitted by students from their programmes and issue a verdict.

To select the best UPC award among the winners from each Educational Centre, a jury will be created, chaired by the Vice-Rector for Transfer, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship of UPC, and consisting of at least 4 people who will be appointed by the Rector. At least 2 of the jury members must be external to UPC and from the business sector.

The jury will evaluate the submitted projects and award the final prize.

Ninth. Evaluation criteria

The projects will be evaluated comprehensively, taking into account both technical and social and ethical aspects, with higher scores given to projects that are not only innovative but also useful and responsible.

The jury will evaluate each project with a maximum score of 100 points, considering the following criteria and weightings:

• 20%. Innovation and Creativity. Originality of the idea, creative use of AI, ...
• 10%. Impact and Usefulness. Social or economic impact, solution to a real problem, accessibility and inclusivity, ...
• 20%. Technical Viability and Implementation. Technical performance, scalability, robustness, and security, ...
• 10%. Proper Use of AI. Accuracy and reliability of AI, interpretability, ...
• 20%. Ethics and Responsibility. Ethics in development and use, privacy and data protection, environmental impact, ...
• 10%. User Experience (UX/UI). User interface, usability, ...
• 10%. Presentation and Communication. Clarity of the presentation, functional demonstration, accuracy and detail, etc.

The jury may ask the participants for a presentation that will include a remote or in-person demonstration of the project.

Tenth. Award presentation

The jury will submit the proposal for the award grants to the Rector of the UPC, who will issue the corresponding final resolution, deciding on the award of the prizes and the list of the recipients.

The prizes may be declared void if they do not reach a minimum of 70 points according to the jury's evaluation.

The jury's decision will be published on the competition's website.

The award recipients will receive a personal communication to arrange the receipt of the prize.

Eleventh. Publication

There will be dissemination of both the competition and the submitted and awarded projects through the various communication channels used by the UPC and the participating companies as promoters.