Sri Lanka Artificial Intelligence Challenge
AI Challenge 2026 is a national-level AI innovation program designed to develop practical, measurable, real-world AI solutions. Unlike ordinary hackathons, this challenge follows a structured, multi-phase model with mentorship, adversarial testing, refinement cycles, and a physical final round.
This is Sri Lanka's most comprehensive and impact-focused AI competition, bridging academia, industry, and innovation.
the challenge & our solution
The Problem
- ✕Hackathons create one-off, incomplete ideas with no real-world usability
- ✕Students lack real-world product-building experience
- ✕Companies struggle to find practical AI problem-solving skills beyond theory
- ✕Need for structured, measurable innovation
Our Solution
Research-backed 4-phase innovation framework that trains participants to:
- ✓Frame problems clearly
- ✓Build real prototypes
- ✓Challenge ideas under pressure
- ✓Refine, patch, and test
- ✓Demonstrate measurable real-world impact
Produces industry-ready solutions and future-ready talent.
target audience
program model
- ●Problem definition
- ●"Before" workflow analysis
- ●Ideation
- ●Virtual mentorship
- ●V1 prototype build
- ●Peer testing
- ●Pitch sabotage
- ●Challenge & defense
- ●Optimize V2
- ●Fix issues
- ●Improve usability
- ●Remote reviews
- ●Live demo
- ●User validation
- ●Final pitching
- ●Impact metrics
programme timeline
- 1June
- Pre-registration opens
- Company onboarding
- Problem statement alignment
- 2July – Week 01
- Initiation & problem framing
- Workshops & mentorship
- Submit problem documentation
- 3July – Week 02
- Prototype building (online)
- Physical adversarial testing
- Pitch sabotage
- 4July – Week 03
- Judging period
- Final pitch sabotage preparation
- 5August – Week 01
- Final Round
- Final demo & pitch presentation
- Judging & Awards Ceremony
- Pre-registration opens
- Company onboarding
- Problem statement alignment
- Initiation & problem framing
- Workshops & mentorship
- Submit problem documentation
- Prototype building (online)
- Physical adversarial testing
- Pitch sabotage
- Judging period
- Final pitch sabotage preparation
- Final Round
- Final demo & pitch presentation
- Judging & Awards Ceremony
impact for participants
Practical end-to-end AI product development skills
Experience in model robustness, testing, and refinement
Ability to defend solutions under pressure
Mentorship from industry and domain experts
Real-world validation & measurable outcomes
National recognition and certification from IEEE
Direct recruitment visibility to partner companies
High-value portfolio-ready project
value for partners
Gain unmatched access to Sri Lanka's top AI talent through a highly competitive, multi-phase innovation challenge.
Align with a national-level, IEEE-backed AI competition recognized across universities.
Showcase your commitment to building real, measurable AI solutions and Sri Lanka's AI growth.
Gain visibility across IEEE and AIDSL's student and tech networks.
Support a program that directly uplifts AI education and empowers future innovators.
Measurable CSR aligned with SDG 17 through education, youth development, and national AI capacity building.
Mentor teams, judge final rounds, and demonstrate your organization's AI expertise.
fREquEntly AsKED QuEstioNs
our previous editions
Sri Lanka AI Challenge 2025 was a key initiative under IEEE Challenge Sphere SL, designed to provide a structured pathway for participants to gain hands-on experience and strengthen their skills in AI technologies through a series of workshops and a competitive hackathon.
Sri Lanka AI Challenge 2024 brought together aspiring innovators from across universities with a focus on Conditional UI and AI Agents. Participants gained hands-on experience through expert-led workshops, intensive mentoring, and a nationwide innovation challenge.