Students from the University of Copenhagen secure the title of Danish National Champions in AI

In an impressive demonstration of programming skills and AI expertise, three students from the Department of Computer Science (DIKU) emerged victorious at the Danish National Championships in AI 2023. Team AlphaGo-Home, consisting of bachelor students Axel Højmark, Christian Mølholt Jensen and Theo Rüter Würtzen, demonstrated their exceptional skills and received recognition in a competition that challenges the boundaries of innovation.

DM in AI is a week-long hackathon that tests students’ abilities to build and implement AI models across different disciplines. Participants are given a series of tasks developed by a jury consisting of young researchers from Roskilde University (RUC), University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and Technical University of Denmark (DTU), as well as industry experts from Vipps MobilePay and Ambolt AI. Through the competition, future AI experts will have the opportunity to showcase their talents and contribute to the dynamic landscape of artificial intelligence.

UCPH and DTU students top the rankings

At the Danish National Championship in AI 2023, a total of 165 people participated, and many students from DIKU did well in the competition. The winning team, Team AlphaGo-Home, consisted of last year’s winners, Axel Højmark and Christian Mølholt Jensen, and together with their fellow student Theo Rüter Würtzen, they can now once again call themselves Danish champions in AI.

— During the competition week, we had the opportunity to explore techniques and methods we don’t usually delve into in class. We were challenged by the other universities’ strong teams and during the D3A conference we got the chance to meet the other contestants, organisers and the whole community behind the competition. All in all, it was a really great experience, says Team AlphaGo-Home. 

In addition to a secure victory for AlphaGo-Home, a mixed team of students from both DIKU and DTU could boast a great second place, while a shared third place went to two teams consisting of one DIKU student and two DTU students, respectively. 

Big celebration during D3A

Since the competition was launched in 2021, Ambolt AI has been the visionary force behind DM in AI. In 2023, the Pioneer Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Danish Data Science Academy joined as co-sponsors of the competition.

DM in AI provides a unique opportunity to celebrate innovation and talent in AI, and this year, the winners of the competition were honoured at the national conference Danish Digitalization, Data Science and AI (D3A) 1.0 on February 1-2, 2024. D3A is organized by the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence, the Danish Data Science Academy and the Digital Research Centre Denmark.

Planning for this year’s Danish National Championship in AI has already begun and is expected to be held in October 2024.