AI Nexus × Department of AIML
SYNAPSE
Organised by
AI Nexus × Department of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Jyothy Institute of Technology
Overview
One round. One real problem. A working product.
SYNAPSE is a 2.5-hour product-design build. Teams prototype a platform that academic administrators can actually use — not a slide deck, not an algorithm paper. What matters is the product: the workflow, the clarity, and the confidence it gives the people who run timetables.
Primary users
- — Academic Administrator
- — Timetable Coordinator
Format
2.5-hour build
Date
14 October 2026
Cohort
2nd Year
Deliverable
Interactive prototype
01 — The Problem
One slot. Thirteen forces.
Allocating one classroom sounds simple — until all of these must hold at once.
MON 10:00
Sem 3 · Section A
Room: Unassigned
Faculty: Clash
Move one piece and every other force shifts with it.
Today's process
⤺ Revise — loops back from Review to Draft
The hard part isn't the data — it's seeing everything at once.
02 — The Challenge
Design the product. Not the algorithm.
Prototype a platform that helps academic administrators allocate rooms, build timetables and resolve conflicts — with confidence.
01
Smart Classroom Allocation
The right room for every class.
02
Timetable Generation
A complete, valid draft in one pass.
03
Constraint Management
Hard rules and soft preferences.
04
Conflict Detection
Clashes flagged instantly.
05
Conflict Resolution
Fixes with clear trade-offs.
06
Dynamic Rescheduling
Re-plan only what's affected.
07
Explainable Recommendations
Every suggestion shows its why.
08
Schedule Editing
Drag, swap, override — validated live.
09
Analytics Dashboard
Workload and utilization at a glance.
10
Resource Utilization
Find idle rooms and overbooked labs.
Beyond the list
The feature we didn't list. Find it.
Design Principles
Complex inside. Calm on the surface.
Six principles. The illustration below is illustrative, not a solution to copy.
01
Reduce cognitive load
“Does each screen show only what needs a decision?”
02
Communicate conflicts clearly
“Can an admin spot every clash in five seconds?”
03
Explain recommendations
“Would an admin trust it without asking why?”
04
Prioritize what matters
“Is the most urgent problem the most visible?”
05
Support quick editing
“Can a change be made without leaving the grid?”
06
Make the complex feel simple
“Could a new coordinator use it on day one?”
| Room | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 14:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CR-201 · 60 | CS-301 | Clash ×2 | — | MA-202 |
| Lab-4 · 30 | — | CS-Lab | CS-Lab | — |
| CR-105 · 120 | Exam | Exam | Suggested → | — |
Illustration — calm surface, conflicts flagged where they appear
03 — Rules
What counts.
- 01The main deliverable is an interactive working prototype.
- 02The prototype should be clickable end to end.
- 03Teams may use any suitable design or development tool.
- 04The evaluation prioritizes the product, not the underlying code.
- 05Teams may make reasonable assumptions about departments, rooms, faculty, and rules.
- 06Prototype links must be publicly accessible.
- 07The submission screenshot must clearly represent the final solution.
- 08Submissions received after the deadline may not be considered.
- 09Design, development, and AI-assisted tools are permitted.
04 — Deliverable · Judging
Ship something that works.
✓ The one deliverable
Interactive Working Prototype
Clickable end to end. Mandatory for every team.
2.5
Hours to build
Any tool
Use whatever builds best.
Product over code
Judged on the product, not the code.
Assume freely
Departments, rooms, faculty, rules.
Evaluation · 100 points
Problem Understanding
15 pts
Product Thinking & Workflow Design
20 pts
UX & Information Architecture
20 pts
Handling Real-world Constraints
15 pts
Working Prototype
20 pts
Innovation & Practicality
10 pts
Build a product administrators would actually want to use.