Links
Overview
OctWave 3.0 is Sri Lanka's premier undergraduate AI and Machine Learning competition, organised by the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Student Branch Chapter at the University of Moratuwa. The program connects universities to industry through structured workshops, an online Kaggle preliminary, and a physical final at UoM with real industry datasets and an industry judging panel.
Knurdz partnered with IEEE IAS as web partner: we engineered and operate the public event website at octwave.com. The chapter owns competition content, workshops, and on-the-ground operations; Knurdz builds, deploys, and runs the digital presence delegates and partners rely on throughout the season.
The Problem
Island-wide undergraduate AI competitions move fast—registration windows, four workshop tracks, Kaggle preliminaries, finalist announcements, and finale logistics all need a credible public face that stays current without pulling organizers into manual site updates. IEEE IAS needed a polished digital home that matched the scale of OctWave 3.0 and remained reliable from registration through the awards stage.
About the Competition
OctWave is built for the next generation of AI engineers. It is open to undergraduate students from government and private institutions across Sri Lanka, competing solo or in teams of one to four members from the same university and academic batch (different faculties within the same institution are welcome).
Highlights
- ▸4 expert-led workshops
- ▸Online Kaggle preliminary round
- ▸Top 10 finalists advance to campus
- ▸Physical final at University of Moratuwa
- ▸Industry-endorsed certificates, prizes, and network access
Event Structure
- ▸Introductory session — Industry experts set the foundation with AI/ML trends.
- ▸Workshops (4 sessions) — Hands-on training in ML models, time series, data engineering, and Kaggle.
- ▸Preliminary round (online) — Kaggle challenge and report submission; top 10 teams advance.
- ▸Final round (physical at UOM) — Real-world dataset, live presentations to an industry panel, and awards.
Public Experience
The live site on octwave.com presents OctWave 3.0 as a structured, industry-linked program:
- ▸Event overview and positioning for undergraduates nationwide
- ▸Four-phase program structure from intro session through grand finale
- ▸Workshop recordings hub for ML fundamentals, time-series, data engineering, and Kaggle workflows
- ▸Five-week journey timeline from registration through workshops, preliminary, finalists, and awards
- ▸Published competition rules, eligibility, and conduct guidelines
- ▸Organizing committee directory and delegates guide / booklet access
- ▸Partner showcase including Knurdz Community as web partner
Editorial content (schedules, copy, recordings, and competition updates) is owned by the IEEE IAS chapter; Knurdz delivered and operates the platform experience.
Infrastructure
Production hosting, deployment pipelines, and environment monitoring for octwave.com are operated on Knurdz infrastructure so the IEEE IAS chapter can focus on workshops, Kaggle administration, and the campus final while teams and industry partners use one consistent URL for the whole program.
Organising Team
Co-chairs from IEEE IAS, University of Moratuwa:
- ▸Manushi Gunasekara
- ▸Hirun Jayalath
- ▸Lakmana Thabrew
Reach co-chairs through the Team section on the live site.
Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Framework | Next.js (App Router) |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS |
| Deployment | Knurdz-managed production hosting |
| Content | Chapter-owned competition copy, rules, and recordings |
Status
Live at octwave.com. Team registration for the current cycle is closed; workshop recordings, timeline, rules, and competition updates remain on the site. Source is open on GitHub at commit 3ac7feb on main.