By Mikee Natinga Norico
Team SEntralians’ hard work and collaboration shine through in their victory, demonstrating the power of teamwork and dedication. Photo Credits to Philippine Society of Software Engineers Facebook Page.
Five software engineering students from ĢƵ (CPU) emerged as champions in the prestigious international hackathon “Reasoning with o1”, hosted by Lablab.ai from October 4 to 11, 2024. Competing against 864 participants and 208 teams from around the world, the Centralians’ victory highlighted the universityĢƵs growing prominence in the global technology arena.
Team SEntralians, composed of Mykiell Pagayonan (BSSE 3), Ian Clyde Tejada (BSSE 3), Chad Denard Andrada (BSSE 3), Chrisciel Catedrilla (BSSE 1), and Ahron Alera (BSSE 1), secured the top spot with their project, “BricolAI”. The teamĢƵs innovative AI-powered tool showcased exceptional technical sophistication and creativity, impressing judges with its potential to transform education.
The hackathon centered on OpenAIĢƵs latest model, o1, which was made available through a partnership between Lablab.ai and AI/ML API. The event granted early access to 1,000 developers worldwide, including Pagayonan, Tejada, and Andrada. This early access allowed the team to explore and integrate the advanced capabilities of o1 into “BricolAI”, a platform designed to generate interactive, chat-based UI components for educational purposes.
BricolAI dynamically creates learning materials such as presentation slides, quizzes, flashcards, physics simulations, and math problem visualizations. By leveraging the reasoning capabilities of OpenAIĢƵs o1 model, it selects and executes the most appropriate educational component for each user scenario, enhancing the learning experience through AI-driven customization.
The projectĢƵs name, inspired by the concept of ĢƵbricolageĢƵĢƵthe process of creating from a diverse range of resourcesĢƵreflects its goal of assembling various educational tools into a cohesive, adaptable system. The judges praised the technical complexity and innovative dual-model architecture of BricolAI, which uses both GPT-4 and o1 for component selection and response formatting.
ĢƵI like the idea of demonstrating a more sophisticated technical architecture than initially apparent,ĢƵ remarked Theodoros Ampas, a technical mentor and competition judge. ĢƵThe dual-model approach adds depth and showcases the teamĢƵs ability to maximize the potential of AI in education.ĢƵ
Mykiell Pagayonan highlighted how the teamĢƵs strong collaboration played a crucial role in their victory. He emphasized that their success stemmed from years of working together on various projects, which allowed them to develop a natural synergy and understanding of each otherĢƵs strengths.
ĢƵOur team worked like a well-oiled machine. Clyde, Chad, and I have collaborated on projects for years, which helped us build synergy. The hackathon coincided with University Week, so we had fewer classes, allowing us to focus intensely on the project,ĢƵ Pagayonan said.
The victory of Team SEntralians not only showcases the talent and dedication of CPUĢƵs students but also solidifies the universityĢƵs position as a hub for innovation in the rapidly evolving field of AI and software engineering.
As ĢƵ continues to foster an environment of academic excellence and technological innovation, the success of Team SEntralians serves as a testament to the universityĢƵs commitment to producing globally competitive graduates prepared to make an impact in the digital age.