OctWave 3.0
Sri Lanka's premier undergraduate AI & Machine Learning competition
IEEE IAS Student Branch Chapter, University of Moratuwa
OctWave 3.0 is an AI and machine learning competition run by the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Student Branch Chapter at the University of Moratuwa. The program connects undergraduates across Sri Lanka to industry through expert workshops, an online Kaggle preliminary, and a physical final at UoM with real industry datasets and an industry judging panel. Knurdz partnered with IEEE IAS as web partner: we engineered and operate the event website and digital presence. The chapter owns competition content, workshops, and on-the-ground operations; Knurdz builds and runs the software layer delegates and organizers rely on online.
As web partner, Knurdz engineered the public event experience on octwave.com: a single digital home for OctWave 3.0 where students discover the competition, follow the multi-week timeline, access workshop recordings, and read rules and committee contacts. Hosting, deployment, and ongoing site operations are provisioned and managed by Knurdz.
What to Expect
- ▸4 expert-led workshops covering ML models, time-series data, data engineering, and Kaggle
- ▸Online Kaggle preliminary; top 10 teams advance to the physical final
- ▸Physical final at University of Moratuwa with an industry dataset, live presentations, and industry judges
- ▸Open to undergraduate teams across Sri Lanka (solo or up to 4 members per team)
Program Roadmap
Introductory session
Foundation week
Industry experts present AI and ML trends and set the foundation before the technical workshop series begins.
Workshops
4 sessions
Hands-on training across intro to ML, time-series analysis, data engineering, and the Kaggle platform, bridging academic theory with tools used in the preliminary round.
Preliminary round
Online · Kaggle
Kaggle challenge open to registered teams. Leaderboard results determine the top 10 teams that advance to the campus final.
Final round
Physical at University of Moratuwa
Industry dataset, live team presentations to an industry panel, and the awards ceremony on campus.
The Problem
Island-wide undergraduate AI competitions move fast: registration windows, four workshop tracks, Kaggle preliminaries, finalist announcements, and finale logistics all need a credible public face that stays current without pulling organizers into manual site updates. IEEE IAS needed a polished digital presence that matched the scale of OctWave 3.0 and stayed reliable from registration through the awards stage.
Public Experience
The live site presents OctWave 3.0 as Sri Lanka's premier undergraduate AI and ML competition: value pillars for industry-linked learning, a two-stage format, nationwide eligibility, and recognition for finalists. Editorial content on octwave.com (schedules, copy, recordings, and competition updates) is owned by the IEEE IAS chapter; Knurdz delivered and operates the platform experience.
- ▸Event overview and positioning for undergraduates across government and private institutions
- ▸Four-phase program structure: introductory session, workshops, online Kaggle preliminary, and physical final at University of Moratuwa
- ▸Workshop recordings hub for ML fundamentals, time-series and data engineering, and Kaggle workflow content
- ▸Five-week journey timeline from team registration through workshops, preliminary, finalist announcement, and grand finale
- ▸Published competition rules and guidelines for teams, eligibility, registration, and conduct
- ▸Organizing committee contact directory for co-chairs and chapter leadership
Infrastructure
Production hosting, deployment pipelines, and environment monitoring for octwave.com are operated on Knurdz infrastructure so the IEEE IAS chapter can focus on workshops, Kaggle administration, and the campus final while delegates use one consistent URL for the whole program.
How We Worked Together
- ▸Partnered with IEEE IAS Student Branch Chapter to translate OctWave 3.0 program phases into a structured public site and digital presence.
- ▸Shipped a durable web layer for registration-era messaging, workshop recordings, timeline updates, and rules publication as the competition progressed.
- ▸Maintained hosting and site health so island-wide teams and industry partners could rely on octwave.com throughout the six-week program.
Organized By
Workshop programs, competition rules, judging, awards, and all event content are owned and produced by the IEEE IAS Student Branch Chapter. Knurdz provided web engineering, hosting, and digital presence for OctWave 3.0.
- IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Student Branch Chapter
- IEEE Student Branch, University of Moratuwa
Status
Live at octwave.com. Team registration for this cycle is closed. Workshop recordings, timeline, rules, and competition updates remain on the live site.
Event Gallery
Moments from OctWave 3.0