NextGen AI Hackathon — Kick-off Saturday 23 Aug, 1 PM

Ready to trade pitch decks for real-world building? Come spend a week with us (23 – 30 Aug) at World Trade Center and turn messy, authentic problems into working AI demos.

What’s Happening

Sat 23 Aug, 1 PM – Check in, grab a name tag and welcome pack, meet the other builders.
1 : 30 PM – Quick intro: how the hack works, the challenges, judging, and prize details.
Challenge 1 AskSia
AskSia is the AI study assistant built for how students actually learn — and designed to make it easier.
Prize: 300 Cash + Internship Opportunities + Free Subscription
Challenge 2 Antler
Antler is one of the most active early-stage investors globally.
Prize: 1;1 coach session + Residency Opportunities
Challenge 3 StarPlan
An AI agent for recruitment that automates everything from candidate sourcing to interviews.
Prize: 500 Cash + Internship Opportunities
Challenge 4 Care GP
Helping healthcare operators grow their business without growing their admin team
Prize: 800 Cash + Full-time Job Opportunities
Challenge 5 Heidi Health
Heidi Health is the team behind the world’s most loved AI scribe used daily by tens of thousands of clinicians.
Prize: 1000 + Full-time Job Opportunities
Prize for all winners: Free one year subscription at Trae from ByteDance
(We are still open for accepting more challenges, feel free to email ai_development_group@outlook.com)
2 PM – Lightning talks
- Dr Sam Donegan – Medical Doctor, AI Developer & Founder @ SupportSorted
  Dr Sam Donegan is a medical doctor, AI engineer, and community builder passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems. As the founder of SupportSorted—a fast-growing AI platform transforming how Australians with disabilities connect with care—Sam has scaled from zero to $4 million in revenue and now leads MLAI Australia, a 1,000+ strong volunteer network reshaping the national AI ecosystem. With deep experience in healthcare, startups, and technical leadership, Sam bridges disciplines to mentor the next generation of AI innovators.
- Dr. Lukas Wesemann — AI Researcher @ Maincode, Co-founder @ MLAI
  Dr. Lukas Wesemann is an AI Researcher at Maincode and Co-founder of MLAI. Trained as a physicist in nanotechnology, he worked on hardware and AI systems that enable medical examinations to be performed using a smartphone camera. As part of the founding team at MLAI, he helped grow the organisation from the ground up into the largest AI startup community in Australia. At Maincode, he is focused on training sovereign foundation models in Australia.
2:30 – 4 PM – Mingle, brainstorm, whiteboard.
4 – 5 PM – Lock in your squad (max 5) and submit a short plan of attack.
24 – 29 Aug – Open venue all week: code, test, get mentor help, drink too much coffee. (with Advisor Talks Everyday)
Fri 30 Aug, 11:59 PM – Your own booth place and showcase your demo in your way!
Sat 31 Aug – Top 5–10 teams announced.
Thu 5 Sep @ NextGen AI Conference – Final live pitches; winner crowned.

Who Should Join

Developers, designers, researchers, students, recent grads, or that friend who can’t stop tinkering with new models. If you like turning tough problems into working prototypes (and meeting the people who care about them), this is your week.

Why It’s Worth Your Weekend

Real challenges from real companies.
Advice from people who’ve shipped serious AI systems.
A shot to pitch on stage at the NextGen AI Conference.
New friends, caffeine, and plenty of networking.

Brought to you by
ByteDance · Antler · AskSia · Care GP· StarPlan · Heidi Health · Chinese AI Community · AI Development Group · MLAI· Melbourne Venture Club · Seeya Melbourne· Cambridge Homerton EdTech Society (HETS)

Advisors to expect:

Yifei Wang: Founder and CEO of AIBUILD Pty Ltd. Yifei Wang is a recognised leader in artificial intelligence, infrastructure innovation, and sustainable technology, with a strong track record of delivering investment-driven growth across industry, government, and research sectors.
Chunhua Liu: Chunhua Liu is a Research Fellow in NLP at The University of Melbourne, working with Prof Eduard Hovy on topics under the umbrella of disinformation. Interested in building more reliable, inclusive and collaborative AI systems that align with the diverse cultures and values of global human societies.
Julius Kerstien: Julius is a frontend developer at the University of Melbourne’s eResearch Group, where he is part of the frontend development team of a large-scale scheduling system using React and JavaScript.
Donna Spencer: Donna is a product designer at MakerX. She has extensive experience in user experience, service design, workshop facilitation and information architecture. She has worked in government, education, with startups and much more.
Donghao Zhang: Dr Donghao Zhang is a self-driven learner and has a strong background in data science, machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing.
Vick Tahil: Vick is a versatile technology professional with extensive experience in artificial intelligence, software development, project delivery, and strategic leadership. Renowned for his ability to foster innovation and execute complex AI-driven projects, Vick excels in leading multi-disciplinary teams, crafting forward-thinking strategies, and engaging with stakeholders to drive business growth.

Spots are limited. Grab your ticket, bring your laptop, and let’s build something useful.