Unlocking AI Potential at the SAS Hackathon 2025
The SAS Hackathon is back for its fifth consecutive year, inviting participants around the globe to engage in a month-long digital event dedicated to learning and mastering AI skills. As the world rapidly shifts towards integrating AI technologies into various sectors, this unique initiative by SAS offers a perfect opportunity to enhance your capabilities in a hands-on environment.
Why AI Skills Matter
Artificial Intelligence is notably changing the professional landscape, automating mundane tasks and supporting data-driven decision-making. With organizations increasingly adopting different types of AI—ranging from agentic and generative to traditional and quantum—having a solid foundation in AI skills is crucial for anyone looking to advance their career.
The SAS Hackathon aims to equip individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, including data scientists, IT developers, business analysts, and even students, with the proficiency needed to thrive in this evolving field. This year's event runs from September 15 to October 10, but registration closes on August 31, 2025.
Event Structure and Participation
The SAS Hackathon involves participants forming teams to tackle significant business and social challenges using cutting-edge AI and advanced analytics. To participate, teams must select a challenge from a range of industry topics, identify relevant data, and register on the SAS Hackathon website by the deadline.
Once registered, each approved team will gain access to SAS’s latest AI technologies, including the SAS® Viya® platform—designed for data management and AI model development. Participants will also utilize SAS Viya Workbench, a cloud-based environment for building AI models, and SAS Data Maker, which generates secure synthetic data for analysis.
Challenges Addressed by Teams
Last year, teams in the SAS Hackathon successfully tackled various pressing issues. Highlights include:
- - Worker Safety: Developing AI-driven systems for heat stroke prevention in construction.
- - Manufacturing Quality: Utilizing computer vision and machine learning to enhance pharmaceutical inspection processes.
- - Decision-Making Improvement: Creating tools that assess data reliability to ensure ethical decision-making.
- - Healthcare Innovations: Implementing systems that enhance rehabilitation experiences for stroke patients.
- - Banking Efficiency: Automating the extraction of business rules from documents, thereby increasing operational efficiency.
New Tracks for 2025
This year, the SAS Hackathon introduces an exciting new Student Individual track, separate from the industry tracks. Students can register using academic emails and will engage with Cortex, an interactive analytics simulation game, to address fundraising challenges. This inclusion emphasizes SAS's commitment to nurturing the next generation of data and AI professionals.
Judging and Recognition
Entries from the SAS Hackathon will be evaluated by a panel of AI and analytics experts. Winners from various categories and industry sectors will be announced later this fall, providing an exciting recognition opportunity for innovative solutions.
Conclusion
Participating in the SAS Hackathon not only helps in the enhancement of AI skills but also offers invaluable networking opportunities with industry professionals. As Einar Halvorsen, Global Hackathon Producer at SAS, puts it, the practical experience gained will contribute significantly toward advancing your career, whether you're an experienced professional or just beginning your journey in the field of AI. Don’t miss your chance to register for this transformative experience before August 31, 2025. Join the SAS Hackathon and become part of the AI evolution today!
For more details on the event and registration, please visit the SAS Hackathon website.