Our biggest cohort yet just crossed the finish line. Over ten weeks, six teams delivered working applied-AI projects to Chicago companies—drawing students from four of our partner schools into one of the most ambitious sessions we've run.

Each team started where every LEAD project starts: with a real problem a real company cared about, and the messy, incomplete data that comes with it. From scoping to a final demo, students worked directly with their sponsors, guided by faculty mentors along the way.

Six teams, one arc

The projects ranged across automation, prediction, and customer-facing tools—but every team followed the same ten-week path from kickoff to a prototype in the sponsor's hands. What stood out this term was the range of schools represented and how quickly cross-university teams found their footing together.

“They didn't just hand us a model—they understood our business and built something we can actually use.”

Thanks to the sponsors who brought real problems to the table, the faculty who mentored through them, and the students who did the work. On to the next cohort.