Competition rules

1. The Smart Logistics Datathon 2026 is open to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled at universities in Asia.
2. Participants must form a team of two to three members. Cross-university and multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.
3. Each participant may join one team only. Team composition cannot be changed after finalist confirmation without the organiser’s written approval.
4. Participants must be available for all required activities and the full competition period.
5. Employees of the organiser or sponsors, their parent companies, affiliates and subsidiaries, and immediate family members of any of these parties must declare any actual or potential conflict of interest when registering.

• Registration is free. Meals and refreshments are provided during the competition.
• Overseas participants may receive a partial airfare subsidy, depending on their home university location, reimbursed on-site upon completion of the Datathon. Other expenses remain the participants’ responsibility.
• One night of hotel accommodation on October 29, 2026 is provided for overseas teams.

1. Applications are accepted online only through the University League registration page.
2. Applicants must provide complete and accurate team and participant information, including the required open-ended responses about modern logistics.
3. Each participant must declare either “Nil” or describe any actual or potential conflict of interest and their connection to the relevant organisation or person.
4. Submission does not guarantee selection. The organiser may request supporting documents to verify student status.
5. The application deadline is 23:59 HKT on September 23, 2026.

1. Professors will shortlist a maximum of 20 teams based on application quality, originality, clarity and team diversity.
2. Selected teams will be informed by email no later than September 29, 2026 and must return requested confirmation documents by the stated deadline.
3. An online briefing is scheduled for September 30, 2026; the confirmed time and access details will be sent to finalists.
4. An online dataset briefing and data analysis tools training workshop is scheduled for October 20, 2026.
5. Teams must report for on-site registration in the afternoon of October 29, 2026 at the Datathon venue.
6. An optional logistics infrastructure site visit will follow on-site registration. Details will be announced to finalist teams.
7. All teams attend seminars and site visits on October 30, followed by the opening ceremony and dataset release.
8. Teams have 35 non-stop hours to analyse the provided and publicly available data and develop valuable operational, service or business insights.
9. Each team has 10 minutes on November 1 to present and demonstrate its results to the judging panel.

Professors and senior industry executives assess finalists on:

• Creative use of data: Data processing and visualization; Exploration of other data sources.
• Methodology: Application of statistical and machine learning methodology; Effective use of AI for model building and analysis.
• Business savvy: Identification of business issues and opportunities; Specification of scope and potential impact.
• Significance of findings and recommendations: Findings and insights relevant to the identified issues; Competitiveness and novelty of outcomes / recommendations.
• Presentation skills: Clarity of the presentation; The effectiveness of communication and the ability to engage the audience.

• Participants must behave professionally, respect other teams and follow safety, venue and organiser instructions.
• Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, plagiarism, sabotage or unauthorised access to another team’s work is prohibited.
• Teams must produce their work during the competition. External materials and tools may be used only when lawful, properly attributed and consistent with briefing instructions.
• The organiser may sanction or disqualify participants for misconduct, rule breaches or material misrepresentation.

• Teams own the projects and intellectual property they develop, subject to any pre-existing third-party rights.
• Participants must not disclose confidential data or information supplied by AISCL or sponsors to unauthorised parties.
• By registering, participants grant AISCL and sponsors an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, distribute, display and perform submissions for non-commercial and promotional purposes.
• Participants remain responsible for ensuring their submissions do not infringe third-party rights or violate applicable law.