Santa's North Pole Productivity Challenge

We know AI skills come from building, not from reading about it. Santa's North Pole Productivity Challenge gives you one small build a day through December, each set at a North Pole in its busiest month: an overflowing inbox, baffling instructions, a village help desk, a sleigh route that needs a second look. You start gently and finish with agents that do real work.

It is for anyone curious about building with AI. That includes students trying it for the first time, university staff looking for ideas to take into teaching, businesses wanting their teams to practise on something low stakes, and people who simply enjoy a puzzle in December. Come for one day or all twenty-five.

The four tracks

• Productivity innovations: Use AI to save time on the work that already fills the day.
• New product innovation: Invent something new and take it from idea to something you can show.
• Existing enhancements: Take a tool, process or product that already exists and make it better.
• Public service innovation: Build things that help a community, fairly and safely.

Why we run it

Applied AI skills come from building, and December is a good month to start. Many people are winding down, curious, and have an odd hour to spare. The Crackathon turns that hour into something useful, and puts students, staff and businesses side by side on the same challenges. It is also how we find out what our community wants to build next year.

This is our Christmas edition of the Crackathon, and it plays on the Christmas cracker for fun. You don't need to celebrate Christmas to take part: everyone is welcome.