🎉 Announcing Godspeed's Winter of AI 🎉

Check the announcement video here

🏛️On that fateful evening outside IITK’s PK Kelkar Library

On 18th October 2024, we received an interesting insight from IITK Programming Club coordinators.

Those days we had just stepped out in open with our 10X Academy initiative. We were conducting the first free bootcamp from IITK campus and online. The response was not as we had imagined - for multiple reasons not known to us earlier, about the audience, their mindset and the ecosystem. The PClub coordinators told us that instead of bootcamp first approach to engage the developer and student community, a project based approach will work out much better. “Take inspiration from Google Summer of Code” - they said. This made sense to us. We quickly pivoted in our approach, as any startup should, and experimented with a first hackathon at IITK, where students not only learned Godspeed but also built two very exciting projects over a mere weekend!

At Godspeed we are a young but growing, visionary tech collective building reusable tech and tools to democratise innovation across the world, and thrive in the journey. This is a “lead from Bhaarat” initiative. The idea did ring a bell and here we are, with the Winter of AI, our first program of (mostly) AI related projects, built with industry wide best practices, and solving real world use cases - all becoming part of a growing ecosystem of tools, templates and 10X innovators like you perhaps.

☃️Enter: Winter of AI

Not AI Winter! We are very optimistic and excited about the AI advancement in recent times, and wish to contribute to the wave about to bring humanity to next level of innovation, development and evolution

Starting from the 6th of December, you can apply to be part of something amazing - the Winter of AI, a program in partnership with IIT-Kanpur’s Programming Club, designed to empower innovators, technologists, and AI enthusiasts to build impactful projects (PROJECT LIST) while receiving expert mentorship, grants and professional growth - and possibility of sponsored long term maintainership. This isn’t just another program—it’s an immersive journey into the world of cutting-edge AI, blending real-world problems.

Whether you want to refine your skills, tackle meaningful challenges, or bring your own groundbreaking ideas to life, Winter of AI provides the tools, mentorship, and platform to make it happen.

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💡 Learn and Build: A Hands-On AI Experience

Winter of AI focuses on learning by doing. Participants will work on curated projects or pitch their own ideas, solving real-world challenges and building solutions that matter. This is an opportunity to enhance your skill set while contributing to innovations that push the boundaries of AI.

Curated Project Examples

Here are a few examples of projects you can work on (most are AI, but rest are cool and needed too!). You can find the full list here.

• Multi-Agent Sales Team Simulator: Design AI systems to optimize sales workflows and improve operational efficiency.

• Code Review Automation: Build tools that integrate with GitHub to provide structured code reviews and actionable feedback for Merge Requests.

• AI-Based Debugging: Create an intelligent debugger to analyze logs and codebases, simplifying troubleshooting and enhancing productivity.

• Team Productivity Reporting: Use Jira APIs and text-to-SQL to develop analytics dashboards that track key performance metrics like bug introduction rates and resolution times.

• Beckn Protocol Integration: Explore decentralized e-commerce and service discovery by developing solutions around the Beckn Protocol.

For those with unique ideas and startups in mind, you will be able to Pitch Your Own Project and see it come to life with the guidance of expert mentors and access to Godspeed’s extensive resources.

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Project Categories

Participants can choose from three project categories based on complexity and duration:

Small Projects

• Objective: Short-term projects that enable participants to quickly deliver impactful results while developing foundational skills.

Large Projects

• Objective: More complex challenges requiring in-depth problem-solving and technical expertise to create innovative solutions.

Pitch Your Own Project

• Duration: Flexible, based on the project scope.

• Objective: Propose your own AI project. Submit a detailed proposal outlining the problem, solution, and potential impact. Selected projects will receive mentorship, resources, and platform support to turn your idea into reality.

📝 Proposal Submission Guidelines

To participate in Godspeed's Winter of AI, individuals or teams must submit a detailed project proposal for the projects of their interest. Here's what to include in your application:

• Project Proposal: Outline the problem you aim to solve, your proposed solution, technical approach, and the potential impact of your project. Bring in your depth of thinking and research into this document with optional video.

• GitHub Repository (Optional): If you’ve built related projects in the past, or especially for this application, include links to your GitHub repositories to showcase your work and technical expertise.

• Team Members: Their bios, linkedin/github/hackerrank profile, description etc

📋 Evaluation and Shortlisting

All proposals will undergo a careful evaluation by our expert panel and group mentors. Shortlisted participants will be announced based on:

• Clarity, depth and feasibility of the proposal.

• Innovation and originality.

• Relevant technical experience (if showcased through prior work).

• Work done already towards this project

• Explanation why you and your team is right fit

Make your proposal stand out, and take the first step toward building something extraordinary!

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🏅 Recognition and Rewards

We believe in recognizing and rewarding excellence. Here’s what’s in store for participants:

Grants and Certificates

• For Small Projects:

  • Each project will have a winner who will receive INR 5000 as the winning amount.

  • Every successful project submission will earn a participation and completion certificate along with exclusive Godspeed goodies.

• For Large Projects:

  • Each project will have a winning participant or team who will receive INR 30,000 as the winning prize.

  • Every successful project submission will earn a participation and completion certificate along with exclusive Godspeed goodies.

  • Maintenance Rewards: Winning participants or teams can receive INR 5000/month for maintaining the project if they agree to and successfully meet the maintenance requirements.

  • Revenue Sharing Opportunities: If the project goes to market and generates revenue, the winning participant or team will be eligible for revenue sharing (T&Cs apply).

This structure ensures that participants not only gain recognition but also benefit financially from their contributions, with long-term opportunities for growth.

📢 Become a Project Mentor!

Are you an AI expert, technologist, or industry professional passionate about guiding the next wave of innovators? Godspeed's Winter of AI invites you to become a Project Mentor!

As a mentor, you can:

• Guide Talent: Share your expertise and help participants tackle real-world challenges.

• Shape Projects: Offer insights and feedback to elevate project outcomes.

• Choose Your Focus: Mentor participants working on curated projects or support their unique ideas within your area of expertise.

• Build Connections: Network with like-minded professionals and the brightest AI enthusiasts.

• Long term possibilities: A successfully built and well loved project by the users, plus connections within the network may lead to bigger things in future!

This is your chance to inspire, lead, and contribute to groundbreaking innovations while shaping the future of AI.

If you'd like to mentor a project of your choice, you can apply on 6th December and become an integral part of this transformative journey!

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📅 Program Timeline

Here’s a glance at the program schedule:

• Applications Open: 6th December 2024

• Application Closes: 18th December 2024

• Shortlist Announcements: 20th December 2024

• Program Begins: 21st December 2024

• Project Submission Deadline (Small Projects): 10th January 2025

• Project Midway Review (Large Projects): 15th January 2025

• Project Submission Deadline (Large Projects): 31st January 2025 (+ 2 weeks extension in special cases)

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🌐 Resources to Get Started

To help you get familiar with Godspeed's ecosystem and access all the necessary information for a seamless experience, explore the resources below:

1. Getting Started with Godspeed: A comprehensive guide to understand our platform, tools, and processes.

2. Guides and FAQs: Your go-to resource for answers to common questions and step-by-step instructions to ensure a smooth journey.

Make sure to review these resources before diving into your project for a head start in Godspeed's Winter of AI!

Are You Ready?

The future of AI is waiting to be built—by you. Join us this winter and be part of a community driving real-world impact through technology.

Stay tuned for application details. Let’s build the future together!

PROJECT LIST