Denodo, a leader in data management, announced that the Denodo Academic Program, which prepares students to become future leaders in the field of data and analytics, has opened registration for the next University Challenge, Data and AI for Real-World Impact, with registration closing on November 16.

The Denodo Academic Program prepares students through virtual, self-paced training modules, live workshops, test drives of the Denodo Platform, and the Denodo AI SDK. The Denodo Academic Program launched its first University Challenge in 2023.

Because Denodo believes in the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI), the current Denodo University Challenge focuses on the development of innovative AI-driven solutions that have demonstrable impact, showcasing how advanced data management and AI can drive meaningful, real-world innovation and new approaches to solving social and economic challenges.

Since the release of Denodo Platform 9.1 in November of 2024, the Denodo Platform has included powerful new capabilities that simplify the development of AI applications: Denodo Assistant, which automates key data engineering tasks and delivers contextualized insights and intelligent recommendations, and the Denodo AI SDK, which handles processes such as data embedding, transformation, and orchestration, so developers can focus more squarely on outcomes.

This Challenge encompasses the typical phases in a data project: Integrate, Manage, and Deliver. In the Integrate phase, participants will use Denodo Express, the free version of the Denodo Platform, to connect the datasets and start to create virtual views of the connected data. In the Manage phase, participants will then start to build data governance rules around these views, and begin to map out a design for their AI solution. Finally, in the Deliver phase, participants will put the AI solution into action to solve the challenge. Participants will be judged by their ability to integrate, manage, and deliver the data in the most efficient manner, to build an AI solution that solves a real-world problem.

"With the Denodo Platform, developers can seamlessly create powerful AI applications without the usual hurdles of data preparation," said Alberto Pan, chief technology officer at Denodo. "This University Challenge is an exciting opportunity to witness the innovative solutions students will develop. I am eager to see how they leverage our tools to drive real-world impact and showcase the transformative power of AI."

Prizes will be awarded to the three top-performing teams, as well as to the university that participates with the highest number of teams. Members of the winning team will receive access to unlimited on-demand Denodo training courses and certification exams for six months, worth up to $7,000, an exclusive Denodo Winner Badge – communicating proficiency to potential employers – and an invitation to assist at a local Denodo event, such as DataFest.

About Denodo
Denodo is a leader in data management. The award-winning Denodo Platform is the leading logical data management platform for transforming data into trustworthy insights and outcomes for all data-related initiatives across the enterprise, including AI and self-service. Denodo's customers in all industries all over the world have delivered trusted AI-ready and business-ready data in a third of the time and with 10x better performance than with lakehouses and other mainstream data platforms alone. For more information, visit denodo.com.