Students of the MIDS win 2nd place in the VGI Challenge and a prize of 3000 Euro
Denis Hoti, Ali Guliyev, Ruslan Tsibirov, and Veronika Rybak, third-semester Data Science students at the Mathematical Institute for Machine Learning and Data Science (MIDS), have secured 2nd place in the VGI Challenge with their project addressing the question, “How does the VGI Flexi move rural areas?” Their impressive achievement comes with a prize of 3000 Euro. The challenge saw participation from over 80 students in teams of 3 to 5, who had just one week to develop programming solutions to real-world problems posed by the Verkehrsverbund Großraum Ingolstadt (VGI). Teams could choose from three challenges designed by the VGI in collaboration with the Chair of Logistics and Operations Analytics. In addition to the VGI Flexi challenge, participants could also develop an interactive map for tracking fixed bus routes or design a group booking platform.
The team "FantasticFour" — the group name of the MIDS students — impressed the jury with their solution, which was evaluated by representatives from the Artificial Intelligence Network Ingolstadt, the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, and the VGI. The jury praised not only the user-friendly and innovative dashboard but also the students' strong understanding of the data. The developed tool revealed key insights, such as over 40% of rides being canceled and nearly 12% being aborted by drivers due to no-shows. The team analyzed the demand for the on-demand bus service by visualizing the distribution of canceled versus confirmed rides at specific times. They also programmed a machine learning model to predict the likelihood of passenger no-shows based on factors such as day, time, and route. To validate their calculations, the students even tested the VGI Flexi themselves, documenting their experiences during a ride at 2:30 am on a Tuesday night.
