The 2026 Machine Learning Marathon
Planning is underway for the 4th annual Machine Learning Marathon (MLM26)! Running from September to December, this 12-week hackathon offers real-world ML and AI projects (“Challenges“) catering to different skill levels, application areas, and ML/AI methods. Most challenges are inspired or directly sourced from labs at UW–Madison.
We’re currently in the project & advisor recruitment phase — stay tuned for details on this year’s challenges. Subscribe to the ML+X google group to stay informed.
Help shape MLM26!
Whether you have a research problem that needs ML muscle, expertise to share, or just want to get involved — we’d love to hear from you. We’re actively looking for:
- Challenge organizers — bring an ML/AI problem from your lab or organization
- Advisors — guide a team through the program as a domain expert
- Presenters & demo partners — showcase a tool, method, or research application to our community
- General volunteers — help facilitate sprints, workshops, and events
All roles are welcome regardless of background. Fill out the interest form and we’ll be in touch.
What to expect
Each fall, teams tackle gamified AI projects hosted on Kaggle — competing on real datasets across a range of methods and application areas. You’ll work with teammates across departments, get paired with a domain expert advisor, attend hands-on cloud workshops (AWS, Google Cloud), and contribute to resources that live on the ML+X Nexus long after the program ends.
“Just being surrounded by machine learning enthusiasts and professionals was really inspiring and helpful.” — Graduate student, MLM25
“One of the most impactful ML events I’ve ever been a part of.” — Academic staff, MLM25
“Collaborative work with a clearly defined goal was a nice contrast to PhD research.” — Graduate student, MLM25
“Way more interesting than my classes.” — Undergraduate student, MLM25
Who should participate?
Open to anyone at or affiliated with UW–Madison — undergrads, grad students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and community members. Past participants have ranged from complete beginners to AI experts.
Minimum qualifications: To set participants up for success, we ask that all participants meet the following prerequisites.
- Python basics, machine learning fundamentals, and GitHub (enough to collaborate). If you need to get up to speed, please complete the relevant self-paced workshop(s) prior to kickoff: Intro Python, Collaborating with GitHub Desktop, and/or Intro to Machine Learning.
Find teammates: The most important thing isn’t your experience level — it’s picking a challenge in your zone of capability and finding teammates who share your pace, interests, and learning goals. For the best Marathon experience, try to form a team before registration opens in August. The more cohesive your team, the more you can accomplish during the Marathon.
- The Data Science Hub Slack is a good place to introduce yourself and find teammates over the spring and summer. Once joined, check out the #welcome channel and the #ml-community channels to get plugged into our community virtually.
- Attend ML+X events throughout the semester to meet others in the community. Join the ML+X Google group to stay informed of upcoming events.
Thank you, sponsors!
Your support empowers Madison’s ML/AI community to tackle real‑world challenges, share hard‑won knowledge, and help one another succeed. We couldn’t do it without you.
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Interested in Sponsoring Us?
Help fuel our growing community and showcase your organization’s commitment to responsible, open ML/AI. Visit the sponsorship page to learn how your organization will be represented as a sponsor of ML+X.