{"slug": "my-journey-at-gen-ai-academy-apac-edition-building-the-future-with-ai-hardware", "title": "My Journey at Gen AI Academy APAC Edition: Building the Future with AI & Hardware", "summary": "A cybersecurity and computer science engineering student participating in Gen AI Academy's APAC Edition is building a 3D LiDAR-based system to assess shelter damage after natural disasters, alongside an AI platform for early vulnerability assessment of women's aspirations. The student highlights the importance of integrating hardware constraints, rapid decision-making, and community collaboration in AI development.", "body_md": "I'm halfway through Gen AI Academy's APAC Edition, and honestly? It's been the kind of experience that makes you realize how much you don't know — and how excited you should be about that.\n\nThe Setup\n\nComing in as a Cybersecurity & Computer Science Engineering student, I thought I had a decent grasp on AI. I was wrong in the best way possible. The academy isn't just about theory — it's about building, failing, learning, and building again.\n\nWhat's Actually Happening\n\nRight now, I'm juggling multiple tracks:\n\nHackTronix 2.0 (Track A) — We're building a 3D LiDAR-based system to assess shelter damage after natural disasters. The intersection of computer vision, hardware, and real-world impact is chef's kiss. It's one thing to learn about point clouds in a textbook. It's another to actually process them for something that could help people.\n\nEVA (Early Vulnerability Assessment for Women's Aspirations) — An AI platform we're developing during the hackathon. This one's personal because it's about creating tools that actually matter for underrepresented groups.\n\nThe Real Learning\n\nThe workshops have been solid, but here's what's actually changed how I think:\n\nAI isn't just software — Building something that works in the real world means understanding hardware constraints, edge cases, and the messy reality of actual deployment\n\nSpeed matters — Hackathon timelines force you to make decisions fast. Perfect is the enemy of done\n\nCommunity > Competition — Yeah, there's a leaderboard, but the best part? Knowing other people building cool stuff in your corner of the world\n\nThe Vibe\n\nThere's something special about being in a room full of people who get excited about LiDAR point clouds and AI ethics at the same time. The Track 2 workshop coming up (1:30 PM IST tomorrow) has credits for Codelab completion, and everyone's already strategizing.\n\nWhat's Next\n\nWe've got 16 days to push HackTronix and EVA closer to the finish line. The deadline's coming, but so is the moment where everything we've been building actually works (or spectacularly doesn't, which is also a learning).\n\nIf you're on the fence about applying to something like this — whether it's Gen AI Academy or any hackathon/bootcamp — just do it. The experience of building alongside people who are just as confused and excited as you is worth way more than the certificate.\n\nTo My Fellow Builders\n\nIf you're also at Gen AI Academy APAC or any similar program: what's your highlight so far? Drop a comment — I'd love to hear what everyone's working on.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/my-journey-at-gen-ai-academy-apac-edition-building-the-future-with-ai-hardware", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/suhail-18/my-journey-at-gen-ai-academy-apac-edition-building-the-future-with-ai-hardware-2j70", "published_at": "2026-08-15 08:17:09+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-15 09:11:54.501920+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "computer-vision", "ai-ethics", "ai-products", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Gen AI Academy", "HackTronix 2.0", "EVA", "LiDAR"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/my-journey-at-gen-ai-academy-apac-edition-building-the-future-with-ai-hardware", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/my-journey-at-gen-ai-academy-apac-edition-building-the-future-with-ai-hardware.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/my-journey-at-gen-ai-academy-apac-edition-building-the-future-with-ai-hardware.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/my-journey-at-gen-ai-academy-apac-edition-building-the-future-with-ai-hardware.jsonld"}}