The T-Level AI Challenge
Digital T-Level students team up to build a working AI solution to a real problem set by a local business. We train them, mentor them, and film the whole thing.
Applications open now · Runs October to November 2026 · Finals December 2026 · Hampshire and the South East
A real brief, a real team, a working prototype
Over a few weeks, students form teams across colleges and tackle a genuine business problem. It's hands-on, it's filmed, and everyone walks away with something to show for it. Here's what each group gets out of it.
A portfolio piece that counts
Build a real AI solution, not a coursework exercise. You'll finish with something concrete to show employers and talk about at interview.
Fresh thinking on a real problem
Hand a team one of your nagging problems and watch them work it with current AI tools and a perspective you won't get in-house.
Built-in industry experience
Your students get mentored by industry, work to a live brief, and present at a public showcase. Real experience that sits straight on a CV.
Four phases, start to finish
Challenge launch
Businesses set the briefs, teams form across colleges, and everyone meets the people they’ll be working with.
Learn and design
AI tool primers and design sessions to understand the problem and shape a sensible approach to it.
Build and test
Teams build with a sponsor mentor alongside them, then test what they've made against the original brief.
Live pitches
Teams pitch their solutions live to a panel of business judges. The whole day is filmed for the programme.
Skills the region needs, built on real work
Local businesses get fresh ideas. Students get experience that means something. And the region grows the AI skills it's going to need anyway. Everyone gains, and we capture it all on film.
Planned figures for the founding cohort.
Three ways to take part
Businesses
Set a challenge and see what a sharp team can do with it.
- Bring a real problem to the table
- Meet the team working on it
- See a working prototype at the finals
Colleges
Register a cohort and give your students a project worth talking about.
- Enrol a team of Digital T-Level students
- Mentors and AI tool training provided
- A public showcase of your students' work
Partners and sponsors
Back the programme and put your name behind regional skills.
- Sponsor mentors or the finals day
- Feature in the filming and content
- Support regional digital skills
Put your hand up
Tell us who you are and how you'd like to take part. We'll be in touch with the details.
Questions, answered
Is there a cost to businesses?
No. Taking part is free for the founding cohort. You set a challenge and give a team some access to a contact who knows the problem - that's the commitment.
Do students need to be strong coders?
No. We run AI tool primers at the start, and a lot of the work is no-code or low-code. We're looking for problem-solvers, not just programmers.
What is the time commitment?
The challenge runs over about four weeks, with a few hours a week per team plus the kick-off and finals day. Businesses need to be reachable for the occasional question.
Who owns the work that gets built?
Students and their college own what they make. Businesses are free to use the ideas and prototypes that come out of their challenge. We'll confirm the details in writing before the programme starts.
Is the programme filmed?
Yes. We film parts of the programme - including the finals - for social media and the AiGentic Lab channels. We get consent from everyone involved before anything goes out.
Ready to get involved?
Set a challenge, register a cohort, or back the programme. The Autumn 2026 cohort is open now.