UCD COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT WINS HUAWEI TECH ARENA 2025
Team Dynamo A takes first place in Ireland's premier student hackathon, competing against 300+ participants
Dublin, Monday 24th November – Oluwadara Adedeji, a student at UCD School of Computer Science, has secured first place at the Huawei Tech Arena 2025, partnering with three students from Dublin City University to solve one of the most pressing challenges in artificial intelligence development.
Team Dynamo A - composed of Adedeji (UCD), Chinonso Osuji (DCU), Jidenna Okwarah (DCU), and Christopher Mc Aleer (DCU)—competed against over 300 enrolled students from universities across Ireland in the hackathon's ninth edition, ultimately claiming the top prize of €5,000.
Addressing Real-World AI Challenges
This year's competition focused on Large Language Model (LLM) inference optimization, addressing a critical barrier many companies face when exploring AI applications. With the substantial computational requirements for training, fine-tuning, and inference, organizations often exhaust limited budgets during development phases. Participants were challenged to optimize the inference pipeline while simultaneously increasing accuracy and decreasing latency—a balance crucial for making AI technology more accessible and cost-effective.
A Rigorous Competition
The competition unfolded in two distinct phases. During the two-week Phase 1 pre-qualification round, students were restricted to CPU-only inference, with the top 19 teams (fewer than 200 students) advancing to the final stage. Phase 2 intensified over a single weekend, allowing teams to leverage GPU acceleration for their solutions.
Of the 19 finalist teams, the top 8 presented their work to expert judges who evaluated solutions based on four key criteria: storytelling, cost-scalability analysis, flexibility, and technical implementation. Team Dynamo A's comprehensive approach and innovative solution earned them the judges' highest marks across all categories.
Building on a Strong Legacy
Since its inception in 2017, the Huawei Tech Arena has provided Irish university students with opportunities to tackle cutting-edge technical challenges and develop practical solutions to industry problems. The competition continues to grow in prestige and participation, attracting Ireland's brightest computing students each year.
Competitions like the Huawei Tech Arena provide invaluable experience for our students," said. "Oluwadara's success demonstrates the caliber of talent we're developing at UCD School of Computer Science and the collaborative spirit that drives innovation in the Irish tech ecosystem.
The UCD School of Computer Science congratulates Oluwadara Adedeji and Team Dynamo A on this outstanding achievement.
For more information about the Huawei Tech Arena, visit (opens in a new window)here
Published 24 Nov 2025