Inside NIC’s New AI Hackathon

NIC will be hosting a free AI Hackathon event on Saturday, March 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the NIC Hedlund building.

The event, which brings together high school and college students, educators, industry professionals, and community members, will consist of ten teams working to design and prototype AI-driven solutions to real-world problems. They will then present their work to a panel of judges consisting of NIC industry partners.

“It’s not a traditional hackathon,” said Blake Sanchez, student representative for the event and ASNIC President. “We’re going to hack questions and leverage AI to solve them.”

Sanchez said they met with over 20 local and regional businesses and industry partners, including representatives from healthcare, aerospace, and other sectors, to ask how they are currently using AI and what skills they expect from future employees.

The event is hosted through NIC’s X-Labs, an on-campus learning initiative focused on problem-solving and hands-on work. Students from the University of Idaho are also expected to attend the event.

No experience is required to compete, and organizers said guidance, free breakfast, and lunch will be provided for attendees. Prizes will be offered to the top competing teams in the form of various gift cards.

Registration for the event is available on the NIC website.