Pictured above: Tim Valicenti, Michiel Bakker, John Horton, Brian Ulicny, Danial Mirza, Maxime Basse, and Maya Nesen with the GenAI lab trophy.
Celebrating a Semester of Generative AI Breakthroughs
On Wednesday, May 14 the first-ever MIT GenAI Lab came to a close with final presentations that brought together students, faculty, mentors, and industry leaders to celebrate a semester of groundbreaking work. This new MIT Sloan Action Learning course sponsored by MIT IDE, Generative AI Lab: Action Learning Seminar on Generative AI, its Applications, and the Digital Economy, offers students hands-on experience in applying cutting-edge AI tools to real-world business challenges. The course emphasizes strategic implementation, practical problem-solving, and understanding the broader impact of generative AI on organizations and society.
Throughout the semester, student teams tackled complex business problems using generative AI, developing innovative solutions that reflect both the promise and the challenges of this rapidly evolving technology. These final presentations marked a milestone for the students as they demonstrated their ability to leverage generative AI to solve real-world challenges.
First Place
Congratulations to “Planning Operations with Space Assets”, represented by Maxime Basse, Maya Nesen, Brimar Olafsson, and Joseph Mezher from Team Accenture, and mentored by Brian Ulicny. This team impressed the judges with their forward-thinking approach to optimizing space asset planning, leveraging cutting-edge generative AI to solve complex logistical challenges.
Honorable Mentions
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“GenAI Wayfair Customer Journey Simulator” – Wayfair, represented by Khushi Patel, Imteek Singh, Matthew Poff, and Ankur Malik, mentored by Ryan Bonifacino
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“Robustness Enhancement for Visual Embedding at Wayfair with GenAI” – Wayfair, represented by Steve Zhou, Barry Li, Daniel Liu, and Leo He, mentored by Tanvi Shah
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“Securing Banking AI: A Red Teaming Approach” – BV, represented by Ben Barranco, Parker Clark, Ruxin Naik, and Jacob Shaked, mentored by Stan Yakoff
GenAI Lab faculty included John Horton, Tim Valicenti, and Michiel Bakker. The 2025 course TAs were Radhika Anbazhagan and Chris Hays, and the 2025 Final Presentations judges were Andrew McAfee, Danial Mirza, and Parker McKee.
