AI and data science in the service of sustainability: Alizée Mesnard and Romain Torris, student engineers at Télécom SudParis, shone at the Hi!ckathon 2024, an international competition in artificial intelligence and data science. They respectively won the Best Pitch and Best Scientific Approach awards for their innovative project on water resource management. Discover their motivations, their challenges and their vision of the future.

Romain, a final-year student at Télécom SudParis and Master 2 Data Science student at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, explains: "It was in my second year, with the Machine Learning courses, that I began to take a serious interest in AI and data science". His choice was confirmed by his Cassiopée project, which focused on healthcare, and reinforced his desire to get involved in this field.

For her part, Alizée, a second-year student at Télécom SudParis, says it straight: "Since I started at Télécom SudParis, I've honed my interests around two main areas: data science and the energy transition. These two fields are closely linked, and the school has provided me with the ideal setting to explore them.And this through courses such as the carbon footprint of the AI life cycle and the challenges of energy consumption data, internships on data center energy management, and challenges such as "Save Energy, Save the World" and "Convergence". Today, his research project focuses on the generation of synthetic data linked to energy consumption.

The Hi!ckathon 2024: a stimulating challenge

The Hi!ckathon 2024 is an international competition organized by Hi!Paris on the theme of "AI and sustainability". The main theme is the management of water resources, a major global challenge.

"Our main challenge was to develop a Machine Learning model to predict water levels in the water tables during the summer. We had at our disposal a very large database (over 3 million rows), including meteorological, hydrological and socio-economic information. This project required a great deal of technical knowledge to build a high-performance model, but also strategic thinking to show how this solution could be deployed sustainably in a real-life context", as Romain explains.

Alizée has developed her strong interest in data science and artificial intelligence through her academic and extracurricular experiences. "I discovered this field through training courses offered by the Kryptosphere student association, by taking part in challenges on Kaggle, and through my courses at Télécom SudParis, particularly in neural networks. The Hi!ckathon 2024 represented a unique opportunity to put these budding skills into practice on a concrete case, while collaborating with a wide range of international profiles. Taking part in such a competition also gave me the opportunity to confront myself with a stimulating environment, encouraging creativity, innovation and teamwork".

Winning the Hi!ckathon 2024: best scientific approach and best pitch

Romain's team won the prize for best scientific approach, rewarding their ability to justify the scientific and commercialapproach proposed, but also to confront the state of the art in data science. Romain explains: "Our team, made up of students from Télécom SudParis, Centrale Supélec, ENSAE and HEC, was a major asset. Its interdisciplinarity enabled us to develop a technically robust and relevant solution. By enriching the initial database with additional information found online, we increased the precision of our model and were able to justify its relevance and effectiveness. The collegial spirit of the team members was a determining factor, enabling us to move forward quickly and efficiently in a demanding context".

Thanks to a clear, structured presentation and powerful storytelling, Alizée's team won the prize for best pitch. As Alizée explains: "Our fictional start-up deals with a universal problem: the impact of climate change and excessive exploitation of groundwater, causing hydrological droughts with major environmental and social consequences. In concrete terms, we have proposed an innovative solution, a Smart Water Grid, deployed on a digital twin of the local water network, enabling water flows to be optimized in real time using predictive models based on neural networks".

Memorable moments from the Hi!ckathon 2024

Romain's most intense moment?When we were nearing the end of the hackathon! At that point, our model was ranked third overall. This generated extra pressure, as we knew that other teams could overtake us in the final minutes. With this stress, we tried to work very quickly with the aim of optimizing our models and having better accuracy and aiming for first place." It has to be said, too, that his involvement with associations within the school has helped him to develop a strong capacity for teamwork, learning to collaborate with a variety of profiles and to manage collective projects.

Involved in the school's associative activities, and President of the Junior-Entreprise, Alizée has drawn strength from her past experiences, which, as she admits, " taught her to speak into a microphone in front of packed auditoriums! "The presentation of our final pitch was the most memorable and demanding moment for me. It was a unique opportunity to defend our project in front of a demanding, interdisciplinary jury. The satisfaction and pleasure of seeing our efforts rewarded with the prize for best pitch was also a real moment of emotion and pride".

Victory and future prospects

In addition to the solid grounding in applied mathematics, statistics and programming essential to Data Science at Télécom SudParis, Romain'sMachineLearning courses were very useful in introducing him to advanced data analysis techniques. "In particular, the Cassiopée project (Editor's note:2nd year pedagogical project in Research, Innovation and Development) enabled me to understand all the work involved in a complex problem with real stakes, from processing the raw data to interpreting the results. The aim of my Cassiopée project was to predict the volume of obstetrical activity at the CHSF (Centre Hospitalier Sud Francilien) to help midwives plan for peaks in activity".

This victory highlights two aspects he considers essential in the professional world: his technical skills in data science and his ability to collaborate effectively within a team."On a personal level, this experience was a real challenge in terms of managing pressure and deadlines. Taking part in this competition, with only two days to understand the problem, taught me to stay focused on the objectives. It also taught me to prioritize essential tasks to get a good result in a limited time."

Alizée's ambition is to work at the interface of data science and the energy transition, introducing advances in artificial intelligence. Its aim is to contribute to the development of concrete, sustainable solutions to reduce the environmental impact of human activities. "Télécom SudParis played a key role in my choice of career path. The school enabled me to explore different fields before clarifying my interest in data science and the energy transition. The digital responsibility courses in particular made me aware of the environmental impact of technology and the importance of designing sustainable solutions. At the same time, the technical modules in artificial intelligence and neural networks gave me the foundations I needed to tackle complex projects."

The hackathons and collaborative projects organized by the school encourage the application of a vast body of knowledge in a practical case, while developing cross-disciplinary skills such as project management and teamwork."In short, Télécom SudParis has given me the tools, inspiration and support I need to chart a career path in line with my values and ambitions."

A word of advice? Get out of your comfort zone

"Don't hesitate to take the plunge, even if you don't yet have all the technical skills, and even if you sign up for a challenge on your own: you'll find a team on the spot!" says Alizée. "Surround yourself with inspiring and motivated people: teamwork is often the best way to go further and overcome challenges.

Romain invites us: "Don't limit yourself to the projects proposed by the school. Take the initiative to work on personal projects and get out of your comfort zone. Explore subjects you're passionate about, apply your skills in a variety of contexts and set yourself apart. Affirm your personality and autonomy, your curiosity and motivation through these experiences."

Congratulations to Alizée, Romain and their team.