USC Hackathon Challenges Students to Build Real-World AI Solutions

The 2026 USC-IMSC Hackathon was held on July 25 at the University of Southern California (USC), bringing together approximately 75 high school and college students from Korea and the United States.

Hosted by the USC Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC), Soongsil University’s Spartan SW Education Center, and data analytics nonprofit SoDAVi, the event challenged participants to develop apps and web-based services using AI tools. Unlike previous years, teams selected their own problems to solve and built solutions from concept to presentation during the 12-hour competition.

A total of 19 teams presented projects spanning transportation, education, and everyday life. Many participants utilized “Vibe Coding,” an AI-assisted development approach that allows users to create software through natural language prompts.

The first-place award went to Team “Los Algorithm,” consisting of Dongwon Kang, Jonghwan Yeom, Nahyun Kwon, and Eunseo Song. The team developed an AI-powered navigation service that recommends personalized routes in Los Angeles based on factors such as travel time, privacy preferences, and trip purpose.

Students participating in the ‘Korea Daily AI & Data Science Project Camp’ — Aiden Kim, Justin Kang, Christopher Lee, and Kayla Lee — received an Honorable Mention award.

“Beyond learning coding skills, students gained valuable experience identifying problems and building practical solutions using AI,” said Seonho Kim, Associate Director of USC IMSC.

Yongtae Shin, Professor at Soongsil University and Director of the Spartan SW Education Center, said, “It was impressive to see students turn their ideas into real-world solutions in a short period of time. This experience will help them grow as future innovators.”

Projects were evaluated by a panel of judges including Seonho Kim, USC Professor Joon-ho Choi, and Domin Lee, Senior VFX Artist at Insomniac Games. Entries were judged on creativity, technical implementation, service quality, and real-world applicability.

The hackathon highlighted the growing role of AI in software development while providing students with an opportunity to develop practical skills, collaborate across borders, and explore innovative solutions to real-world challenges.

[Award Winners]
▶1st place:
– Team name : Los Aigorithm
– Team members : Dongwon Kang, JongHwan Yeom, Nahyun Kwon, Eunseo Song

▶2nd place:
– Team name : KGPT
– Team members : Seungjun Ham, Sangoh Lee, Dohwan Kim

– Team name : Triple S
– Team members : Jonghan Lim, Suin Park, Minseo Kim.

▶3rd place:
– Team name : Testrojans / Team members : Dohyeon Park, Insu Bae, Jaemin Paek, Wonho Choi
– Team name : Team Ate / Team members : Chaerin Lee, Yujin Lee, Jooyeon Park
– Team name : IN-N-OUT of Time / Team members : Soyeon Koo, Seoyoung Choi, Hyunseo Yang

▶Honorable Mention:
– Team name : 404 Dohyeon Not Found / Team members : Bin Cho, Woojin Im, Wonjun Kim
– Team name : HP1 / Team members : Kyeongmin Lee, Dongwoo Go, Jonghyun Youn, Mingyu Jang
– Team name : NBA / Team members : Aiden Kim, Justin Kang, Christopher Lee, Kayla Lee

[Participating School (Kor./Eng.)]
숭실대학교(Soongsil University), 숙명여자대학교(Sookmyung Women’s University), 서울시립대학교(University of Seoul), 국립부경대학교(Pukyong National University), 한림대학교(Hallym University), 군산대학교(Kunsan National University), 세종대학교(Sejong University), 국립공주대학교(Kongju National University), 선문대학교(Sunmoon University), 전북대학교(Jeonbuk National University), USC(University of Southern California), MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Del Norte High School, South Pasadena High School, Leigh High School, Crescenta Valley High School, Orange Lutheran High School, Sunny Hills High School, Westlake High School, Harvard-Westlake School

BY GYEONGEUN PARK [park.gyeongeun@koreadaily.com]