+

24 HOURS • APRIL 2026

GIES
AI FOR IMPACT CHALLENGE

Gies College of Business • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Register Now Learn More

ABOUT

Build Something That Matters

A weekend of innovation at the intersection of business and technology.

The Gies Buildathon is a 24-hour innovation sprint exclusively for Gies College of Business students. Whether you're an undergrad or grad student — coder, designer, or business strategist — this is your launchpad.

Compete across five focused tracks, work alongside industry mentors, and present your solutions to a panel of expert judges from leading companies. No coding experience necessary — just ambition and a willingness to build.

Who

Gies undergraduate and graduate students. All majors within Gies welcome. Solo hackers and teams alike.

What

A 24-hour buildathon where teams create innovative solutions for real business problems across five industry tracks.

Why

Network with industry leaders, sharpen your skills, and launch ideas that could shape the future of business.

COMPETE

Competition Tracks

Choose your arena. Each track features expert judges evaluating innovation, feasibility, and impact.

Finance & Accounting

Reimagine financial workflows, automate accounting processes, and build tools that transform how businesses manage money.

2–3 Judges

HR

Create solutions for talent acquisition, employee experience, workforce analytics, and the future of work.

2–3 Judges

Marketing & Sales

Build tools that revolutionize customer engagement, analytics, personalization, and go-to-market strategies.

2–3 Judges

General Innovation

Got a bold idea that defies categories? This open track welcomes any innovative solution that pushes boundaries and challenges the status quo.

Open Track

Business Technology

Develop infrastructure, automation, and enterprise solutions that power modern business operations.

2–3 Judges

PROCESS

How It Works

Three steps from idea to impact.

1

Register

Sign up as an individual or team. Open to all Gies undergrad and grad students.

2

Build

Choose a track, form your team, and spend 24 hours building a solution with mentorship and resources.

3

Pitch

Present your project to industry judges. Top teams win prizes and get connected with industry leaders.

PREPARE

Pre-Build-a-Thon Workshops

Get a head start. These free workshops equip you with the skills and frameworks you need to hit the ground running.

01

Human-Centered Design Thinking & Need Finding

Thursday, April 2nd In-Person 1 Hour
  • Introduction to design thinking for AI-powered business solutions
  • Need finding techniques: empathy interviews, observation, and identifying real business pain points
  • Framing problem statements and opportunity areas for AI agent development
  • Mapping Gies business unit challenges to potential AI workflow solutions
RSVP on Luma
02

Introduction to AI Agents & Vibe Coding Tools

Thursday, April 9th In-Person 1 Hour
  • Overview of no-code AI development platforms
  • Hands-on tutorial with selected vibe coding tools
  • Understanding business workflow automation fundamentals
RSVP on Luma
03

Building Your First Agent

Thursday, April 10th In-Person 1 Hour
  • Setting up your first AI agent from scratch
  • Connecting agents to APIs and data sources
  • Prompt engineering fundamentals for agent behavior
  • Testing and iterating on agent responses
RSVP on Luma
04

Pitching & Presenting Your Project

Wednesday, April 16th In-Person 1 Hour
  • Structuring a compelling hackathon pitch
  • Storytelling techniques for technical demos
  • Presenting to judges: what they look for
  • Live demo best practices and backup plans
RSVP on Luma
05

Building Advanced Workflows with Multi-Agents

Thursday, April 17th In-Person 1 Hour
  • Designing multi-agent architectures and orchestration patterns
  • Agent-to-agent communication and task delegation
  • Building complex business workflow automations
  • Debugging and monitoring multi-agent systems
RSVP on Luma

QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

The Gies Buildathon is a 24-hour innovation competition exclusively for Gies College of Business students at UIUC. Teams build solutions to real business challenges across five industry tracks, with mentorship from industry professionals and judging by experts.
The Gies Buildathon is open to all currently enrolled Gies College of Business undergraduate and graduate students. Whether you're studying finance, marketing, IS, or any other Gies program — if you want to build and innovate, you belong here.
Not at all! Teams need diverse skills — business strategy, design, research, presentation, and user testing are just as valuable as coding. We also offer beginner-friendly workshops and AI tools to help everyone contribute.
Teams must have 2 to 4 members — solo participation is not allowed. You can register with a pre-formed team or sign up individually, and we'll host a team-forming mixer at the start of the event to help you find teammates with complementary skills.
Anything that solves a business problem within your chosen track! This could be a web app, mobile prototype, AI tool, data dashboard, or even a well-researched business model with a demo. Creativity and impact matter most.
Each track has 2–3 expert judges evaluating projects on innovation, feasibility, business impact, and presentation quality. The General Innovation track is open to cross-cutting ideas that don't fit neatly into one category.
No! The Gies Buildathon is completely free to attend. We'll provide meals, snacks, swag, and all the resources you need for the 24 hours.

SUPPORT

Sponsored By

Brought to You By

Ready to Build?

24 hours. Five tracks. One chance to build something that matters. Sign up now and secure your spot.

Register Now

Open to all Gies undergrad & grad students.