Retail Gen AI Hackathon | Fall 2026

September 23^th - October 16^th, 2026

Want to work collaboratively in a fun yet competitive environment to develop innovative AI solutions for the ALDO Group?

The Bensadoun School of Retail Management’s Retail Gen AI Hackathon in partnership with ALDO Group and powered by AWS and the DataSphere Lab, is a unique opportunity to work on a real-life problem and learn how AI, and in particular agentic AI, can help retailers can transform their decision-making processes within their operations.

Here are the highlights from our latest event!

What to expect

No need to have previous hacking and coding experience! Coaches and mentors from ALDO Group and AWS will be on-site during the final hacking phase to guide you with your proposed solutions.

• Team Registration Deadline: Tuesday September 22^th at 6:00 PM
• Phase 1 Ideation Launch: September 23^rd use cases options and instructions sent to registered teams for Phase 1 submissions
• AWS Virtual Workshop (an overview of key AWS AI/ML tools essential for retail innovation): Wednesday September 30^th from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM
• Phase 1 Ideation team submission deadline: Sunday October 4^th at 4 PM EST
• Finalist team reveal (10 Finalist Teams): Friday October 9^th
• Live Hacking Final and Award Cocktail: October 15^th and 16^th
   

We are proud to have the support of the DataSphere Lab at McGill University who will provide students with machine learning models and cloud-based resources that are essential to accomplish their goals.

Why participate?

1. A great opportunity to innovate in the context of a real AI retail business challenge and validate solutions applied in a live scenario.
2. Access to a 1-hour AWS virtual Insights Workshop and each finalist team receives AWS license for the hacking phase.
3. Networking and mentoring with ALDO experts, academics, and students from different programs and faculties. AWS mentors are available for each finalist team for personalized coaching.
4. All finalist teams will receive swag, food, refreshments, private event space + breakout rooms at McGill event headquarters.

Prize money!

Registration

There is no registration fee. Open to McGill students only.

Registration is now closed

Any questions? Please reach out to bsrmcomp.mgmt [at] mcgill.ca.

The creative process

Retail Gen AI Hackathon is one part of ALDO Group’s artificial intelligence efforts