Sponsoring Students & AI
Blackburn Labs recognizes the value in AI education and the importance of supporting future generations. Our recent decision to sponsor a student competition was one we took great delight in. As a community, we should be doing everything we can to support and encourage the next generation of programmers.
About SAILea
The Scholastic Artificial Intelligence League (SAILea) at Algonquin Regional High School is an amazing student-run nonprofit with a mission to attract young minds into AI and programming. Senior students Henry Zhang (president) and Divyansh Shivashok (vice president) organized SAILea’s first national AI competition hosted on December 5th called Liftoff 2021. All of the participants had a blast and we venture to say interest will continue to grow!
The Competition
Liftoff 2021 was a free competition that encouraged students from any grade to form teams of four or less (including individual participation). The virtual competition, hosted on Discord, had two three-hour rounds focused on progress over perfection. The AI round consisted of three games using Python and the Optimization round consisted of different tasks that could be completed with any programming language. The students were also covered in their school paper, The Harbinger.
“It’s for fun; there is some competition to it, but it really is for fun.” - Henry Zhang
Connection to Blackburn Labs
Henry Zhang recently finished a co-op with our Chief Data Science Officer, Julie Blackburn. The experience provided valuable hands-on learning in data science and analytics. Julie was impressed by Henry’s abilities and approach to problem-solving.
“Henry was a pleasure to work with. He definitely has a talent for working with data. One of his biggest strengths is knowing how to ask the right questions!” – Julie Blackburn, Chief Data Science Officer
Results and Impact
The competition was a tremendous success, with over 70 teams registering to participate. Henry reflected on the experience:
“The culmination of seven months of work has ended with great success. We had over 70 teams register…and as a result, have grown our impact and outreach. Beyond the direct impact of the competition, the experience has also taught me a lot about leadership, grit, and discipline. None of it would have been possible without your initial belief and support.”
Looking Forward
We congratulate SAILea on establishing an AI community for youth and are so excited to see what AI concepts and apps these students will develop in the future. Supporting the next generation of developers and data scientists is an investment in the future of technology and innovation.
Blackburn Labs is proud to sponsor educational initiatives that inspire young minds to explore artificial intelligence and programming. If you’re interested in learning more about how we support STEM education or our data science services, contact us today.