StudAI Foundry 2026
National Autonomous Systems Challenge
SRMIST, Chennai · March 19–30, 2026 · Organized by StudAI One
01 — Overview
Event Overview
Event
StudAI Foundry 2026
Venue
SRMIST, Chennai
Team Size
1–4 members
Registration Fee
₹500 / team
Build systems that think, plan, and act. Not chatbots. StudAI Foundry is a national-level hackathon focused on autonomous systems — AI agents that can think, plan, execute actions using real tools, review outcomes, and self-correct. This is not a chatbot competition. Teams build systems that operate with minimal human intervention, using APIs, databases, webhooks, and other action tools.
02 — Rules & Eligibility
Official Rules
Eligibility
- •Open to all UG and PG students across India.
- •Must register through the official form with valid college ID.
- •Registration fee of ₹500 per team is non-refundable.
Team Formation
- •You can participate solo or with up to 4 members.
- •Cross-college teams are permitted.
- •Each person can be part of only one team.
- •If you register as a team, keep the same team name across all submissions.
Tech & Tools
- •Any programming language, framework, or API is allowed.
- •Open-source libraries and cloud services are permitted.
- •Pre-existing code is allowed if clearly disclosed in the brief.
- •Projects must NOT be pure chatbots — autonomous tool usage is mandatory.
- •At least one action tool (API, database, webhook, etc.) must be used.
Submissions & Deadlines
- •CP1 due March 25, 11:59 PM IST — Idea + Plan + Tools.
- •CP2 due March 27, 11:59 PM IST — Working Demo v1 + Progress video.
- •Final due March 28, 11:59 PM IST — Demo, video, brief, and autonomy proof.
- •Late or incomplete submissions may be treated as invalid.
Code of Conduct
- •Maintain respectful, professional behavior in all interactions.
- •No plagiarism — all custom code must be original work.
- •Follow organizer instructions during Build Week and Finale.
- •Judges' decisions are final and binding.
03 — Tracks
Competition Tracks
Track 1: Autonomous Campus & Community Systems
Solve real campus pain-points with AI agents that autonomously handle student services, event ops, and institutional workflows — no human in the loop.
Example Projects
- →Smart helpdesk that auto-triages, resolves, and escalates student queries
- →Autonomous onboarding agent that verifies docs and enrolls new students
- →Self-updating knowledge base that ingests notices, PDFs, and circulars
- →Event ops agent that schedules venues, sends invites, and handles conflicts
Track 2: Autonomous SMB & Business Systems
Build AI agents that autonomously run small-business operations — from handling customer queries to generating reports and closing leads, end-to-end.
Example Projects
- →Support agent that reads tickets, queries CRM, and auto-resolves issues
- →Lead-gen pipeline that scrapes, qualifies, and sends personalized follow-ups
- →Analytics bot that pulls data, generates reports, and emails stakeholders
- →Compliance agent that audits SOPs and flags violations in real-time
Track 3: Autonomous Workflow & Operations Systems
Build AI agents that autonomously orchestrate complex multi-step workflows — processing documents, routing tickets, scheduling tasks, and running QA pipelines.
Example Projects
- →Doc processing agent that extracts, validates, and routes invoices autonomously
- →Ticket system that triages, assigns, resolves, and learns from past resolutions
- →Scheduling agent that coordinates across calendars and resolves conflicts
- →QA pipeline that runs tests, logs results, and auto-creates bug reports
04 — The Core Requirement
The Autonomous Loop
Every project must demonstrate this continuous cycle. A pure chatbot that only responds to messages does not qualify. Your system must autonomously use tools and APIs, evaluate outcomes, and self-correct.
Think
Understand the goal, gather context, and reason about what needs to be done.
Plan
Generate an actionable step-by-step plan to achieve the objective.
Execute
Perform actions using tools — APIs, databases, webhooks, or workflows.
Review
Evaluate the results against expected outcomes and detect anomalies.
Update
Self-correct, refine the plan, and loop back to improve accuracy.
The loop repeats — Update feeds back into Think, creating continuous autonomous improvement.
05 — Timeline
Key Dates & Milestones
- Until March 21Register
Registration Open
Register solo or with up to 4 members, pay the ₹500 registration fee, and submit your entry details. Last date to register: March 21, 2026.
- March 19Replay
LaunchPad Workshop Completed
The LaunchPad Workshop is completed and uploaded on the StudAI One YouTube channel. Use it as your CP1 reference to understand AI agent concepts, autonomy loops, and how to approach your build.
- March 23Build
Build Week Begins
Start building your autonomous system online. Use any language, framework, or cloud service. Mentors available on WhatsApp.
- March 25CP1
Checkpoint 1
Submit your idea, plan, and the tools/actions your system will use. Deadline: 11:59 PM IST.
- March 27-28CP2 + Final
Checkpoint 2 & Final Submission
Submit working demo v1 by March 27. Final submission (demo, video, brief, autonomy proof) by March 28, 11:59 PM IST.
- March 30Finale
Grand Finale @ SRMIST
Shortlisted teams pitch on-campus. Live demo, Q&A with judges, and winners announced. Every participant receives a certificate, appreciation letter, and goodies. Selected teams advance to the next round. Finalists also get the opportunity to pitch at the Startup Singam show on Vijay TV.
06 — Submissions
What to Submit
All deliverables are due by March 28, 11:59 PM IST (final submission deadline). Late or incomplete submissions may be treated as invalid.
Working Demo
A functional prototype deployed or runnable. Must demonstrate the autonomous loop in action with real tool usage.
Demo Video
A 3-5 minute video walkthrough showing the system running end-to-end. Narrate the autonomous decisions being made.
1-Page Brief
A concise document covering: problem statement, solution approach, autonomous loop design, tools used, and impact.
Autonomy Proof
Traces, logs, or screenshots proving autonomous behavior — showing the Think → Plan → Execute → Review → Update loop. Examples: tool-call logs or screenshots, evaluation checklists with results, and iteration notes showing what changed after each review cycle.
07 — Judging
100-Point Rubric
All teams are evaluated on the same rubric. Finalists present on-campus at SRMIST on March 30. Judges' decisions are final and binding.
| Criterion | Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
Autonomy Quality | 30 | Depth of autonomous loop, self-correction, and minimal human intervention. |
Demo & Execution | 25 | Reliability of the working demo, error handling, and execution consistency. |
Problem Value | 20 | Real-world relevance, user impact, and clarity of the problem being solved. |
Feasibility | 15 | Technical feasibility, scalability, and real-world deployment readiness. |
Clarity & Story | 10 | Quality of presentation, documentation, and storytelling in the brief and video. |
| Total | 100 |
08 — Prizes
Prize Distribution
Winner
₹50,000
Runner-up
₹30,000
2nd Runner-up
₹20,000
In addition to cash prizes, all participants receive certificates. Winners receive trophies, swag kits, and cloud/tool credits. Total prize pool: ₹1,00,000. Finalists also get the exclusive opportunity to pitch at the Startup Singam show on Vijay TV — a chance to turn their hackathon project into a real startup with national TV exposure and investor access.
09 — Contact
Get in Touch
Ready to build something autonomous?