CGI Full Stack Challenge

• Mental Health and Well-being
• Academic Pressure
• Career Uncertainty
• Social Connection and Belonging
• Your Choice (get creative!)

• Front-end
• Back-end
• Database
• Security
• Responsiveness

• Working Application
• API documentation
• README
• Presentation

Front-End:

• A clean, intuitive, and responsive user interface that adapts to different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile).
• Accessible design with consideration for user needs (e.g., screen readers, colorblind modes).

Back-End:

• A robust, scalable back-end to handle AI-driven responses, process user inputs, and manage real-time interactions.
• Integration of a machine learning model or AI API (e.g., NLP for chatbot functionality, recommendation systems).

Database:

• Use of a secure database to store and manage user data, preferences, and historical interactions.
• Proper data encryption and privacy safeguards to protect sensitive information.

Security:

• Implement best practices for user authentication (OAuth2, JWT, etc.), secure data transmission (HTTPS), and data protection.
• Ensure that the application complies with privacy regulations (GDPR, FERPA, etc.), especially if handling student data.

Responsiveness:

• Real-time, AI-powered response to user queries and requests, with minimal latency.
• Ensure that the application performs well under high traffic and scales effectively.

• Impact on User Needs: How well does your assistant address the chosen challenge? Is the solution practical and impactful for students?
• User Experience: Is the app easy to navigate? Does it offer an engaging, accessible, and responsive interface?
• Technical Excellence: How well is the full stack implemented? Does the application efficiently utilize AI/ML technologies and follow best practices in security, data management, and scalability?
• Creativity and Innovation: Is your approach to solving the problem creative or unique? How well do bonus features enhance the solution?
• Security and Privacy: How well does your app protect user data? Are security and privacy concerns adequately addressed?

• The project submissions should be the work of the project team. If faculty and/or other individuals have significantly contributed to the submission, please be sure to note their contributions.
• Alpha / Early development system solutions are completely acceptable.
• Submissions that are based on pre-beta solutions and/or from pre-existing on-going coursework projects are acceptable as well.
• The contest materials must be submitted by the due dates.
• Teams must be members of an AIS Student Chapter.
• If the number of submissions allow, graduate and undergraduate groups may be judged separately. In this case, a team with a 50% or more graduate student composition will be classified as a graduate student team.
• No deliverable can identify the university or school to which the team belongs. The team must refrain from using school colors in the submitted documents. The video should not indicate to which school the team belongs. If school identification is included in any of the submitted documents or video, the team will be eliminated from the competition. 

Submit Here

The top submissions, as scored by the judges, will move on to the final round, to be held in person during the 2025 Student Chapter Leadership Conference at the University of Alabama. 

In this round, the teams will be required to make a 15-minute presentation of their report to a panel of judges. After the presentation, there will be a 10-minute Q&A with the panel of judges.  Each slide deck must contain a title slide including the names of the team members (no email addresses or other contact information). The team should not identify its school affiliation on the title slide or anywhere else in the slide deck, nor should it mention that affiliation (directly or indirectly) during its presentation. Team members should refrain from wearing school colors.

Questions? Contact ais2025@ua.edu