Credit Union AI Hackathon
AI Innovation Sprint + Executive Industry Challenge
Friday, August 15, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
UW Tech Exploration Lab | 1403 University Ave, 2nd Floor | Madison, WI
Work directly with credit union executives on real operational problems. Build AI-powered solutions in a one-day sprint at the UW Tech Exploration Lab.
Not just for coders - bring your business, design, and technical skills. No finance background required.
📍Location: UW Tech Exploration Lab, 1403 University Ave, 2nd floor
🎓 Open to: UW–Madison students
👥 Team size: 2–4 students
🍕 Food and drinks provided
🏆 Cash prizes for top teams
💼 Industry executives in the room throughout the day
About the Event
Join the UW Tech Exploration Lab for a one-day AI Hackathon alongside executives from community and regional credit unions across the country.
Credit union leaders will bring real operational challenges - from member experience and loan workflows to fraud detection and back-office efficiency - and UW student builders will spend the day exploring, prototyping, and pitching AI-powered solutions to the people who actually run these institutions.
Executives participate throughout the day, answering questions, providing context, and engaging directly with student teams. The day concludes with live team presentations, demonstrations, and awards recognizing the most promising ideas and approaches.
If you want to apply your AI and technical skills to real-world problems this is your event.
What You'll Work On
Challenge areas will be surfaced directly from participating credit union executives before the sprint. Expect problems in areas may include:
Member experience and service automation
Loan origination and document workflows
Fraud detection and risk management
Employee productivity and internal tools
Compliance and reporting inefficiencies
Back-office operations
Your team's job is to explore what AI could make possible and make the case for why it's worth building.
What Makes a Strong Team
The best teams will combine complementary skills. We will help match you to a team or bring your own. Ideally, students will come from:
Computer science, data science, and engineering - to build and prototype
Business, finance, and economics - to ground ideas in commercial reality
Design and communication - to make ideas clear and compelling
You do not need a background in financial services. You need curiosity, technical capability, and the drive to build something in a day.
Agenda
9:00–9:30 AM — Welcome and Executive Introductions Meet the credit union leaders and hear directly about the challenges they're bringing to the sprint.
9:30–10:00 AM — Challenge Kickoff and Problem Statements Teams select their challenge area and begin scoping their approach.
10:00–10:30 AM — Team Formation Form interdisciplinary teams around the challenge areas.
10:30 AM–12:30 PM — Innovation Sprint Begins Build, explore, and prototype. Executives are available for questions throughout.
12:30–1:15 PM — Lunch and Networking Connect with executives and other teams over lunch.
1:15–3:00 PM — Continued Build and Coaching Sessions Refine your concept and prepare your pitch with support from Lab mentors.
3:00–4:00 PM — Team Presentations and Judging Each team presents live to a panel of credit union executives and Lab judges.
4:00–4:30 PM — Awards and Closing Cash prizes awarded to top teams. Executives share observations and next steps.
What You're Building Toward
You are not expected to ship production software in a day. You are expected to show something real - a working prototype, a populated model, a demonstrable concept — that makes a clear case for how AI could change how a credit union operates.
Strong teams will be able to answer three questions:
What specific problem are you solving, and for whom?
What does the AI actually do, and what breaks if you remove it?
Why would a credit union executive act on this?
Hosted By
UW Tech Exploration Lab
The UW Tech Exploration Lab is a cross-campus innovation engine at UW–Madison where students work on real-world problems using applied AI and emerging technologies. We connect students, industry leaders, alumni, and campus partners through practical experimentation focused on the future of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Questions? Contact sandra.bradley@wisc.edu