THE AI.CONOMETRICS CHALLENGE

What is The AI.conometrics Challenge?
The AI.conometrics Challenge is a hackathon-style research competition organized in two rounds in which teams of three students across all geographical Europe develop original applied economics papers under strict time constraints. Each round begins from a prompt based around a relatively broad economic topic. Teams must identify an interesting and economically relevant question, formulate an empirical strategy, work with data, assess the credibility of their evidence through robustness checks and alternative specifications and communicate the result in the form of a concise research paper.
AI is part of the research environment of the Challenge. One of its objectives is to help young researchers learn how AI can support parts of the research process while preserving human judgement over the choices that require substantive economic reasoning. The permitted uses of AI and the relevant disclosure requirements are set out in a dedicated AI rules document available below. 

Organization
The Challenge is organized jointly by the Artificial Intelligence for Social Sciences Lab (AISS) and the Undergraduate School of Bocconi University, with the support of the Economic Society for Bocconi Students (ESBS).

1. Remote preliminary round
The preliminary round is entirely remote. Each team selects a 48-hour slot of the ones available. Slots begin on the first days of February 2027 and continue through the first half of February. During registration, each team chooses one of the available starting times. At that time every member of the team receives the official competition email and the team has 48 hours to complete and submit its work.
Different starting slots receive different prompts in order to preserve the integrity of the competition. Each prompt assigns a broad topic in applied economics. Within that topic, the team chooses an original research question and develops a short empirical paper aimed at producing credible causal evidence. Detailed submission formats, datasets, permitted resources and technical requirements are defined in the Preliminary Round Rulebook. Submissions are evaluated anonymously.

2. Final round in Milan: 15--17 April 2027
The ten finalist teams travel to Bocconi University for the in-person final.
• Thursday 15 April is dedicated to arrival, hotel check-in and the opening event featuring keynote speakers from academia.
• The research competition takes place on Friday 16 April, when each team receives a new prompt and has the whole day to work on a paper. The challenge lasts approximately 14 hours and requires each team to produce a new paper.
• On Saturday 17 April, the papers are reviewed by Bocconi faculty and each team is required to prepare a presentation of its findings. The five strongest submissions advance to the presentation stage, where they present their work, answer questions from the jury and compete for the podium. The Challenge concludes with the awards ceremony and a closing event.

Official rulebooks and technical documents

There is no participation fee for any of the two rounds.

Covered Expenses

• Two nights of accommodation at the designated hotel: Thursday 15 April and Friday 16 April 2027.
• Meals provided during the Friday competition day, as specified in the official final-round schedule.
• Participation in the Thursday opening cocktail event following the keynote speech.
• Participation in the official Challenge events, including the opening event, keynote, competition activities and final ceremony. 

Expenses to be covered by the participant*

• Travel to and from Milan.
• Personal expenses and meals not explicitly included in the official schedule.
• Any type of Visa expense (if applicable).

*Note that each team might be able to apply for funding from their home university for coverage of the expenses that are not covered by the organizers.

Who can participate?

The Challenge is open to eligible students enrolled in any geographically European university* or higher education institution.
Participants and teams must respect the following rules:
• Exactly three students per team.
• Each student may participate with only one team.
• The following students are eligible to participate:
– 3rd year Bachelor students of 3-year programs.
– 3rd year and 4th year Bachelor students of 4-year programs.
– Master students of any program.
• PhD students are not eligible to participate.
• Each team must be composed only of students of the same university 
• There is no limit on the number of teams that each university may register.

* For the purposes of this competition, “geographical Europe” refers to the member states of the Council of Europe.

How registration works
Registration will open in mid-November 2026. One member acts as the team representative and completes a single registration for the whole team.

After registration
Registered teams must read the Preliminary Round Rulebook and the AI Use Rules. At the beginning of the chosen slot in February, all three members receive the prompt by email and the 48-hour competition window begins. Finalists are planned to be notified by 1 March 2027.