after nine days of hacking, the idiap research institute has revealed the winners of the 14th edition of the idiap create challenge (icc), its flagship hackathon dedicated to artificial intelligence (ai). organized in partnership with the ark foundation, the event was held from august 21 to 29 at idiap’s premises in martigny, switzerland.
throughout the competition, teams immersed themselves in the world of ai, supported by idiap’s r&d engineers and inspired by previous winners who, like david imseng of recapp it and matthieu saussaye of pulse partners, went on to transform their project into thriving businesses established in valais. experts from the canton and the ark foundation also shared their insights, helping participants to better understand the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
far more than a competition, the icc offered participants a complete experience: coding sessions, workshops, and even the discovery of the region during idiap’s annual team outing – combining ai with the spirit of valais.
this year’s submissions showcased outstanding creativity, spanning from ai partners for musical improvisation and digital platforms supporting new mothers’ mental health, to automated powerpoint generation tools, drone-enabled rescue solutions in natural environments, genetic testing for optimized medical treatments and intelligent systems that manage energy consumption.
“the idiap create challenge is always full of surprises! teams are incredibly motivated and it’s amazing to see what they can accomplish in just a few days—especially with the latest ai tools at their fingertips” shares joël dumoulin, technology transfer officer and member of the interim management team at idiap.
“we were impressed by the diversity of the projects and the quality of the ideas developed during this edition. the ark foundation is delighted to continue collaborating to support the development of these ideas and helping to turn them into both commercial and technological successes!” mentions frédéric bagnoud, secretary general of the ark.
two prizes were awarded this year
the idiap-ideark prize, valued at 15,000 francs, was awarded to the synthia team – fabio fehr, karl el hajal, and laurent colbois (idiap) – for their project “ai band member,” which proposes an ai partner for musical improvisation.
the “ai for society” prize, sponsored by oiken and worth 10,000 francs, went to the hestia team, composed of elona dekeuwer (heds la source) and vincenzo pallotta (heig-vd), for their project focused on supporting new mothers’ mental health: “ai companion to support new mothers’ mental health.”
“through the ai for society award, oiken aims to highlight innovations that are both pragmatic and technically feasible. this year, we selected hestia, a project that leverages ai to support the mental health of new parents. this choice reflects oiken’s strategic vision: using ai to assist and empower our employees, while enhancing their daily lives with practical, meaningful solutions” explains julien depreux, innovation project manager and ai deployment lead at oiken.
with fourteen successful editions to date, the idiap create challenge continues to establish itself as a unique springboard for ai talent — an event where ai innovation meets entrepreneurship
source : press release