In order to participate in the contest, students must work on a data science application using Altair AI Studio.

You can participate in one of three ways:

1. Choose your own dataset and use case - apply data science to uncover patterns, generate insights, and guide smarter decisions.

Applying data science can mean:

• uncovering hidden patterns in data
• generating meaningful insights to guide decisions
• exploring trends and relationships in real-world datasets
• applying AI responsibly and sustainably
• building predictive models to support real-world decisions
• and much more.

3. Work on a challenge we provide -solve a use case using the dataset we share.
4. Create your own use case with our dataset - design a unique project around the same data in a way that interests you.

 The goal is not just accuracy, but uncovering insights - patterns and drivers in the data that guide smarter decisions.

If you're not sure if your planned project is eligible, ask us through the community here.

The contest is open to all students who are currently enrolled in an academic institution (e.g., university, college, high school), regardless of their age or discipline. If you are under 18 years old, please have your parent or legal guardian read the consent document for minors and consent to it by adding their full name into the specified form field when submitting your entry.

Depending on your current proficiency and experience level with our software, you may either only need to record a video that describes a previously completed data science project, or you might first need to learn our software and then apply your new skill to your chosen data science application, which would take considerably more time.

But as a rule of thumb, if you're already familiar with our software, it might not take you more than a week to create and submit a valid entry.

Yes! The contest is free. Altair provides all the software and training required to participate. To compete, you only need a computer with internet access and a desire to learn and succeed.

Per the contest requirements, participants must use Altair AI Studio, which can be downloaded directly here or through our  Student Edition Bundle.

Both options are available, and there is no limit to the team size. However, all prizes awarded are per submission, not per person.

A short video explaining your project and accomplishing the following:

• 5 minutes maximum length
• Clear presentation of your results and gained insights.
• Explanation of how your analysis helped you make effective decisions or solve the problem. 
• Student or team name
• Current university or institution
• The video must be less than five minutes long and feature no copyrighted material (e.g., music, images, video clips, etc.)

Students must submit their video (YouTube link or link of any other public video platform) to Altair via the form on the contest web page to be considered for a prize.

Absolutely! You can submit your video in any language you feel comfortable with. We encourage participants to express themselves in the language that best suits their needs and demonstrates their proficiency.

Absolutely! Students must agree to allow Altair to use their videos in promotional materials. We want to show off your amazing work to our global community.

Yes. Students can submit more than one entry throughout the entire contest. But the submissions MUST be unique and substantively different from each other to get multiple chances to win.

The international judging team, made up of technical experts at Altair, will be judging all submissions, and all decisions are final.

Judges will consider:

• Relevance (real-world use case) and originality of the problem 
• Workflow Design - Data preparation and modeling quality 
• Clarity of insights and results – How clearly the results are presented and whether meaningful insights are drawn from the analysis.
• Decision Support -How effectively the submission connects results to practical decisions or real-world applications. 
• Presentation Quality 
• Creativity and effective use of AI Studio features (for bonus points)
• Social Media Engagement (for bonus points)
• Video Quality/ Fun of Watching (for bonus points)

If enough students from your class participate, your course professor can talk to Altair at academicsupport@altair.com. We can help explain the learning and data science skills gained, which may earn you credits in your university course.

Absolutely! Educators can write to us or check out our academic hub pages for AI Studio to get learning material and training to create an exciting course curriculum around this contest.

You can visit the competitions forum here in the Altair Community and ask questions or get help regarding technical support, software usage, or training.