PITTSBURGH, PA— (July 31, 2019) –  The 2nd annual World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY) took place on Saturday, July 27 at Nova Place in Pittsburgh, PA. Nearly 400 students from  several countries competed in three distinct tracks of; AI Showcase, Research, and Arts. Over 150 international participants also joined this competition remotely, making WAICY a truly global event. 

This year’s WAICY was preceded by an AI summer workshop hosted by ReadyAI, a local education startup. At the workshop, kids aged 7-18 explored the Five Big Ideas of AI (introduced by the AAAI) and programmed their team projects. “ReadyAI’s workshop is the first of its kind to expose younger kids to advanced topics such as robotic programming and computational thinking,” commented ReadyAI Program Director Jason Huang. 

This year’s competition featured impressive project entries that demonstrated how AI can be used to solve our society’s most pressing problems today. “Students used intelligent educational robots to simulate how AI can improve areas such as healthcare, transportation, and waste management,” said WAICY Judge Laleh Gharanjik.

The projects were evaluated by a panel of expert judges from fields such as AI, robotics, and education. The rubric was specifically designed to put equal importance on non-technical aspects such as design and project-based learning as well as coding. The teams with the highest overall scores were selected to win Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in each age division. Additionally, categorical awards The Five Big Ideas, Visual Design, Audio Design, Theme/Message, Preparation and Delivery were given to the teams scored highest in each category. Winners were announced at the awards ceremony. 

WAICY introduced students to the world of AI, a subject matter that is the most important change force today but is almost never taught in K-12 classrooms. The City Council of Pittsburgh recognized WAICY’s importance in leading this charge and proclaimed the day of WAICY as “Artificial Intelligence Learning Day for Kids” in Pittsburgh. 

About ReadyAI (www.readyai.org) 

ReadyAI is the first teacher-friendly K-12 AI education company to create a comprehensive, out of the box solution for K-12 students. ReadyAI empowers K-12 teachers to educate students on the key concepts of AI by using its unique and proven project-based learning curriculum. ReadyAI is a wholly-owned division of WholeRen Group.