Students from Gwangju, South Korea, showcased their data-driven problem-solving skills by winning multiple awards at a national competition that utilized educational public data and artificial intelligence (AI).
The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education announced on August 11 that 16 teams from the region received four top awards and 12 excellence awards at the 8th National AI Utilization Competition for Educational Public Data, co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and regional education offices across the country.
A total of 1,886 entries were submitted for this year's competition. After a thorough evaluation and public verification process, three grand prize winners, 36 top award winners, 104 excellence award winners, and 10 encouragement award winners were selected, totaling 153 final awardees.
The competition focused on solving educational challenges or proposing new content using educational public data and AI technology. It was divided into two categories: 'Creating Promotional Videos for Schools Using AI' and 'AI Utilization Idea Planning.'
In the school promotional video category, the 'Hanareum Future Exploration Team' from Hanareum Elementary School, led by student Yoon San, and the 'Rock Badger Team' from Eoryong Elementary School, consisting of students Go Myung-ji and Kim Seon-yu, received top honors.
In the AI utilization idea planning category, the 'HOMO LUDENS' team from Jeonnam Science High School, comprising students Kim Ji-an, Jeong Yeo-jin, and Jeong Seon-a, along with the 'Bellman's Compass' team from Bongsun Middle School, consisting of students Lee Seung-yu and Yeom Ji-seong, were also awarded top prizes.
Notably, these students did not merely use AI as a content creation tool; they proposed solutions to real educational issues, such as learning environments and educational funding.
The 'HOMO LUDENS' team analyzed public data related to youth sleep and mental health using AI to offer a customized timetable that considers each student's learning load and health status, proposing a 'Brainwave (EEG) Integrated AI Learning Routine and User-Customized Management Service.'
The 'Bellman's Compass' team presented an 'Educational Resource Allocation Policy Simulator' that combines school budget expenditure public data with AI reinforcement learning. This idea explores budget allocation strategies to reduce financial disparities among schools, extending the use of public data and AI into the realm of educational policy.
In addition to these four teams, 12 other teams from Gwangju also received excellence awards, bringing the total number of award-winning teams to 16.
Award-winning teams will receive certificates, cash prizes, and additional rewards, including digital badges. The winning projects will be showcased as examples of public data utilization on an educational data platform in the future.
Kim Du-seok, head of the General Affairs Division at the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "The students' exploration of educational issues using data and AI has led to impressive results. We will continue to support various educational activities to help students enhance their data-driven problem-solving skills and AI capabilities."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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