SFSU Student AI Awards

Celebrating Student Innovation and Exploration of AI 

 

The SFSU Student AI Awards celebrate original student projects that thoughtfully explore, apply, critique, or innovate with AI. Whether developing a proof-of-concept solution, creating AI-driven art, examining ethical implications or addressing real-world business or social challenges, students are encouraged to showcase how they are making sense of AI in their academic work, career preparation and digital lives.

students sit around a table with laptops and books

How to participate

Why participate?

  • $500 Amazon gift card awarded for each category
  • Participants for all approved submissions earn a Certificate and digital badge
  • Recognition on the SFSU AI website (ai.sfsu.edu)
  • Opportunity to present work to industry leaders and professionals
  • A distinctive achievement to highlight on your résumé or portfolio

Who can participate?

  • All current SFSU students are eligible for participation
  • Individual or team-based projects are eligible (no team member limit, but award will be shared amongst all team members)
  • Students from all departments, college, or discipline are encouraged to bring their ideas and perspectives
  • Projects must reflect original work and responsible AI use in alignment with CSU guidelines

How to participate:

  • Submissions will be in the form of a project title and short description, with advancing teams creating a  5 minute pitch video presentation on their project
  • Submissions are welcome from March 6 to April 17, 2026
  • Contact Academic Technology with questions or for assistance
  • Open forums and office hours to meet with organizing committee members, to be announced

Initial proposal submission to include:

  • Project title
  • 250–500 word description
  • Problem statement or creative objective
  • Intended final deliverable
  • AI tools used and how AI is used in project
  • Team member list with email addresses
  • Supporting materials (optional)
  • Next round: 5 minute pitch video (uploaded to Box or similar)
Submit your proposal idea (via Qualtrics)

Key dates

Submit proposal

Submissions will be reviewed by organizing committee. 

All submitters will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and information for next steps.

Submission deadline

Office hours will be available for teams to meet with committee members or peer reviewers.

All submissions are due by Friday, April 17th, 2026 by 5pm. 

 

Pitch video deadline

Project teams advancing to the final round will create 5 minute pitch videos.

Award winners for each category will be notified by April 27th, 2026.

Awards ceremony

An awards ceremony will be held in early May (date TBD) to celebrate participants, see example submissions, and enjoy food and beverages.

Awards categories

This category recognizes student projects that apply artificial intelligence to solve a clearly defined real-world problem in a business, academic, research, or organizational context. 

Projects may include proof-of-concept tools, prototypes, applied research, workflow innovations, data-driven solutions, or well-developed conceptual proposals. Submissions should clearly articulate: 

  • The problem or need being addressed 

  • How AI is being used as part of the solution 

  • The feasibility and potential impact of the approach 

  • Ethical and responsible use considerations 

Projects do not need to be fully scaled products—innovation, clarity of thought, and practical insight matter most. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to participate. 

This category celebrates innovative and critical uses of AI in artistic, cultural, and creative expression. 

Submissions may include visual art, music, writing, performance, design, film, interactive media, or hybrid creative works that thoughtfully incorporate AI tools. Projects should demonstrate: 

  • Original creative vision 

  • Intentional and transparent use of AI 

  • Reflection on authorship, process, and artistic agency 

  • Technical or conceptual innovation 

This category invites students to explore how AI is reshaping creativity while critically engaging questions of originality, ownership, aesthetics, and meaning. 

Artificial intelligence has profound social implications. This category invites students to critically examine AI’s broader impact on society. 

Projects may explore topics such as ethics, bias, misinformation, labor disruption, environmental impact, privacy, governance, mental health, education, or other pressing issues. Submissions may take the form of research papers, policy proposals, white papers (factual write-ups or reports), investigative analyses, multimedia projects, or critical design concepts. 

Successful entries will: 

  • Demonstrate thoughtful analysis and evidence-based reasoning 

  • Engage with ethical, social, or policy dimensions of AI 

  • Offer recommendations, critiques, or forward-looking insights 

  • Reflect responsible and informed use of AI tools 

This category encourages students to grapple with both the promise and the risks of AI as next-generation leaders and citizens.

Not all innovation fits neatly into predefined categories. The Choose Your Topic category is an open invitation for bold, interdisciplinary, or unconventional AI projects. 

This category welcomes: 

  • Experimental or exploratory projects 

  • Cross-disciplinary collaborations 

  • Emerging or unexpected applications of AI 

  • Novel ideas that challenge traditional boundaries 

Students should clearly define the purpose and significance of their project and explain how AI meaningfully contributes to the work. 

This category exists to encourage curiosity, creativity, and intellectual risk-taking.  

 

Project Team

 

Academic Technology Team: Ethan Cortes, Robyn Ollodort, Andrew Roderick

Student Volunteers: David Ghukasyan, Emily Zubritsky

Organizing Committee: Teddy Albiniak, Niel Shahrasbi, Michael Sudduth, Chris Trudell

 

Sponsored by Academic Affairs

 

SFSU Student AI Awards 2026

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

No, any student work submitted for a grade is not eligible for the Student AI Awards. Proposals are only considered eligible if they do not contain student coursework. 

Proposals are only eligible for submission in one category. Each team is only eligible to win one award per year.

The judging process includes an initial review of all submissions, and then a selection of projects will move into the development phase, based on the awards criteria.

Project teams will be notified by email of their status. The judging process includes several checkpoints for teams (intake, review, development, and final awards ceremony).