Smart Buildings Challenge 2026

The Smart Buildings Challenge 2026 is an online machine learning competition on Kaggle, sponsored by the University of Washington and run as part of the NeurIPS 2026 competition track. It is hosted by the NSF AI Institute in Dynamic Systems, Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Washington and Kajima Corporation. Prizes total US$40,000 (about ₹38 lakh), first place on the main leaderboard wins US$5,750 (about ₹5.46 lakh), and final submissions close on 15 January 2027. It is open to individuals and teams worldwide, including India.

What the program offers

The prize money is split between a main leaderboard and two paper awards. The main leaderboard pays US$25,000: US$5,750 for first, US$3,750 for second, US$3,000 for third, and US$2,500 each for fourth to eighth. The NeurIPS poster paper awards pay US$1,000, US$750 and US$500 for the top three and US$250 each for fourth to fourteenth, for papers sent by 13 November 2026. The final paper awards pay US$3,000, US$1,750 and US$750 for the top three and US$500 each for fourth to twelfth, for papers sent by 15 January 2027. If a paper wins in the first round and a higher award in the final round, only the difference is paid. Winning solutions may also get the chance to be tested on three real buildings.

Who can apply

You need a registered Kaggle account, and only one. You must be at least 18, or the age of majority where you live if that is higher. Individuals and teams of up to five people can enter. The contest is not open to residents of Crimea, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Cuba, Iran or North Korea, or to anyone under US export controls or sanctions. Employees, interns, contractors, officers and directors of the University of Washington, Kaggle and their affiliates can take part but cannot win prizes. India is not excluded.

This is a technical contest rather than a funding program for companies. It suits machine learning engineers, researchers and students who know reinforcement learning or control. It does not suit a team that wants non-dilutive funding for a business, since prizes depend on your score or paper.

How to apply

Sign in to Kaggle and join the competition on its page. Accept the rules by the entry deadline of 3 January 2027 at 11:59 PM UTC, which is 5:29 AM IST on 4 January, and form or merge teams by the same date. The task is to train one heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) control policy on simulated buildings that still works on buildings it has not seen, which differ in size, layout, weather, materials and HVAC system. The policy must balance energy use, carbon and occupant comfort. You submit notebook code that runs on Kaggle, up to five entries a day, and you select up to two final submissions. Optionally you can submit a write-up on OpenReview for the paper awards. A practical tip: read the rules page in full before you start, because it is the binding document.

How applications are judged and what happens next

Leaderboard prizes go to the best-ranked teams on the final private leaderboard. Paper awards are judged on the quality and novelty of the method and the clarity of the writing, not only the score. Final submissions close on 15 January 2027 at 11:59 PM UTC, or 5:29 AM IST on 16 January. Potential winners must hand over their code and a reproducible description of the method, license the solution under CC-BY 4.0 and return prize acceptance documents, including US tax forms, before they are paid.

About the organisers

The competition is sponsored by the University of Washington and hosted by the NSF AI Institute in Dynamic Systems, Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Washington and Kajima Corporation, as part of the NeurIPS 2026 competition track. Kaggle is the platform on which it runs.

Things to check before you apply

• The competition data may be used only for non-commercial and academic purposes.
• Winners license their solution under CC-BY 4.0, so do not enter code you need to keep proprietary.
• Taxes on prizes are the winner's responsibility. A winner living outside the US signs a US tax form, and the prize is paid net of any tax the sponsor must withhold by law.
• The source does not say whether travel is needed; the contest runs online.