Desautels Faculty of Management once again demonstrated the vibrancy of its student-driven ecosystem on April 2 through a high-energy AI hackathon co-organized by the (MDN), led by Kelian Durand, and , an AI-native startup co-founded by Bachelor of Commerce student Hippolyte Lapierre and supported by the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship. Their platform, BAI Analytics, enables organizations to turn multi-source customer feedback & CX data into traceable, actionable insights at scale
The event brought together students from both management and non-management backgrounds to tackle real-world business challenges through automation and artificial intelligence.
Over the course of an intense 3.5 to 4-hour sprint, 16 teams collaborated, ideated and built innovative AI-driven solutions aimed at improving efficiency across a range of business contexts. The technical depth and creativity on display highlighted not only the growing interest in AI across disciplines, but also the unique environment at Desautels that encourages experimentation and cross-functional collaboration.
The hackathon was designed around a clear challenge: to explore how students could address real-world inefficiencies through automation in a high-intensity setting. For an inaugural edition, the quality and technical sophistication of the projects exceeded expectations, reflecting both the talent of the participants and the strength of the collaborative environment fostered at Desautels.
A key highlight of the event was the presence of renowned technology pioneer Jeff Pulver, who joined as a guest speaker. His insights on the future of technology and innovation helped set the tone for the competition and encouraged participants to think ambitiously about the transformative potential of AI.
After careful evaluation by a distinguished panel of judges, Marie-France Ouimet (EMBA'24), Manon Vaisse, Zehra Khoja and Sameer Borwankar, the winning team was announced. Michael Lukas, Henry Koll, and Sunav Bajaj stood out with their solution, Meet 2 Action, a technically strong and highly scalable approach to automating business workflows. Their project exemplified the kind of practical, impact-oriented innovation that the hackathon set out to inspire.
Four additional finalist teams were also recognized for their strong performances and creative approaches:
- Samuel Levkovsky, Gatlat Deng Bum & Gr茅goire Trinh Ngo
- Aymane Radouane & Ayoub Melliani
- Ophelia Zeyssolff, Sarah Rohan & Baptiste Julia
- Weihan Liu & Fan Janelle
Participants delivered a range of impressive solutions within a very short timeframe, making the judges鈥� decisions particularly challenging and underscoring the high caliber of talent across all teams.
Beyond the competition itself, the hackathon highlights a defining strength of Desautels: its commitment to empowering students to lead, organize and participate in impactful initiatives. By creating opportunities for hands-on learning and interdisciplinary collaboration, Desautels continues to foster an environment where innovation thrives.
As student-led organizations and entrepreneurial initiatives continue to grow, events like this reinforce Desautels鈥� role as a hub for experimentation, collaboration and the development of future leaders at the intersection of business and technology.
The AI Hackathon is organized by:
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AI at 91黑料网 Desautels:聽Shaping the future of intelligent leadership聽
The Faculty advances AI through applied research, interdisciplinary initiatives, and hands-on learning, uniting technical expertise with managerial and ethical perspectives to prepare leaders for an AI-enabled world.
