Announcing the winners of the March Innovation Challenge Hackathon

Our fourth Innovation Challenge was our largest yet, with over 300 participants and over 70 projects! We offer this program to give developers the opportunity to get real world experience building AI solutions for use cases from Azure customers. To engage groups who are underrepresented in technology, we sponsor a range of outstanding organizations. Thank you to  BITE-CON, Código Facilito, DIO, GenSpark, Hands in Unison, Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA), Propel2Excel, TechBridge, and Women in Cloud for helping to upskill the Azure community! Our objective for all participants is to facilitate the opening of new career opportunities by showcasing highly sought-after skills and demonstrating the ability to collaborate effectively within a team to deliver a functional proof of concept within a tight timeframe.

The challenges we presented ranged from a focus on social impact to business planning to improving the ways we interact with AI. Across each topic, we saw things we hadn’t seen before: new approaches and new ideas with great potential.

• AI for supported employment job coaches: Supported employment is a service to help people with disabilities or other barriers to employment maintain jobs in the community. The professional job coaches who work in this field provide personalized assistance in assessment, job matching, training, support, and advocacy. Resources and support for job coaches is limited and the role is broad, requiring proficiency with bureaucratic, administrative tasks, delivering personalized training, addressing issues as they arise, routine inquiries and motivational support. How can AI help these coaches be more productive?
• ROI calculator for transformation success: When businesses need to adapt, change often comes with substantial risks, and 70% of transformation projects fail. How can we disrupt that statistic by using AI to enable leaders to make smarter decisions?
• Auto Correct and Prompt Validation Before AI Execution: How do you help users by flagging harmful or sensitive language in their prompts and suggesting safe and ethical alternatives? At same time, can you enhance the clarity and precision of prompts to improve AI output quality?

Every team that worked on a project has a lot to be proud of. The judges had to work hard to choose the prize winners. Congratulations!

First place $10,000

Interstellar Jobs Search a database of jobs posted by inclusive, accessible employers & receive personalized, AI-generated recommendations that highlight potential strengths and challenges based on individual characteristics.

Second place $5,000

Connection.ai By leveraging automation, data analysis, and personalized support, our platform enhances recruiters' efficiency while promoting a fair, accessible, and inclusive hiring process.

WorkAble AI addresses the critical challenge faced by supported employment programs: limited resources for job coaches who must simultaneously manage documentation, deliver personalized training, solve emerging problems, and provide motivational support to participants.

Third place $2,500

Prompt Symphony Tuning prompts to elevate AI into a precision instrument

Bridge Relationship memory for supported employment

OpenBizROI AI business analysis and ROI forecasting platform designed to help organizations assess the feasibility and success of transformation projects. By leveraging machine learning, document processing, and predictive analytics, the platform analyzes financial data, business strategies, and market conditions to deliver ROI predictions with over 92% accuracy.

Our next Innovation Challenge hackathon is happening in June. Start working on your Azure skills now to get ready!