🧜‍♀️ The AI Collective Hampton Roads

About the challenge
Welcome to the AI for Learning & Development Build Challenge with the AI Collective Hampton Roads Chapter to be held at the Regent University Library in Virginia Beach.

This is a local build challenge with an in-person kickoff, followed by a two-week build phase, then an in-person presentation & judging event.

You'll have two weeks to build an AI application based on the problem statement shared at the kickoff event. This AI Build Challenge is open to adult participants of all skill levels, from experienced developers to beginner using no or low code tools. You're encouraged to use AI tools to further your development. After the build phase, you'll deliver an in-person presentation to judges and other attendees. The winning projects will receive prizes (TBA).

Kickoff on Thursday, June 4th from 6:30–8:00pm.
We encourage you to join us in person in the Regent Library Auditorum, but the kickoff will be also be recorded if you're unable to attend.

Build Phase from June 5th through 18th. You can work individually or in teams.

Presentations & Judging on Thursday, June 18th from 6:30–9:00pm. Return to the Regent Library Auditorium to share your work! Presentations must be delivered in person to be considered for judging and prizes.

Prizes
We’re excited to share that this build challenge will include a $1,000 prize pool for standout projects. Whether you’re a student, parent, educator, technologist, entrepreneur, or just curious about AI, this is a chance to team up, build something useful, and compete for real prizes while learning alongside the local Hampton Roads AI community. Prizes will recognize teams that bring strong ideas, practical solutions, creativity, and clear impact to the AI for Learning & Development space.

Get started
The first thing you should do is register through Devpost before the June 4th Kickoff.

You can work individually or in teams, but registration is important because space is limited. Then plan to come out to the Kickoff event to discover the problem statement and receive inspiration and development guidance from our AI Collective experts.

If you're unable to attend the in-person Kickoff, that's okay because we'll share a recording after the event with those who pre-register.

This is a beginner-friendly event. If you're never participated in a build challenge or hackathon, this is your opportunity! The Kickoff will include some initial guidance regarding topics and tools, and we'll make additional online resources available during the two week build phase.

Requirements

What to build
You'll build a project that uses AI to enhance learning and development (with more details unveiled at the Kickoff event). Projects will be evaluated on potential impact, not technical complexity.

What to submit

Prior to the in-person Presentations & Judging event, please submit the following in Devpost:

• Project Overview (e.g., PDF one-sheet, slidedeck, etc.)
• Code Repository (e.g., Github) and/or Project Link (e.g. website)

At the Presentations & Judging event, please prepare for the following:

• 3-5 minute presentation and/or demo
• 2-3 minute Q&A with judges
• In-person delivery (at least one team member in attendance)

Judging Criteria

• Impact and Relevance
  Does the solution address a real learning or development need? How meaningful is the potential impact on learners, educators, or organizations?
• Innovation & Creativity
  How original is the approach? Does the team use AI in a novel or surprising way to solve the problem?
• Functionality & Demo
  Does the solution work as demonstrated? Is the core concept functional, even if not fully polished?
• User Experience
  Is the solution intuitive and accessible? Would the target user actually want to use it?
• Presentation Quality
  Is the team’s pitch clear, compelling, and well-structured? Do they effectively communicate the problem, solution, and value?

New AI tools are dropping every week. Bookmarks are piling up. “To-be-studied” lists are growing faster than we can keep up with.
Sound familiar?

Peninsula Builders Study Group is a local initiative for students and developers of the Peninsula area who want to stop meaning to learn and start actually doing it—together.
There’s no pressure to be an expert, and no bootcamp intensity. Just a consistent habit, a room full of curious people, and the accountability that comes from showing up.

How it works:
We meet every two weeks on Tuesdays from 6:00–7:30 PM at CNU. Sessions are a mix of focused study and group discussion.

Things to bring:

• Laptop
• Earphones/headphones

Notice: This meeting will be recorded. By joining and remaining in this meeting, you consent to being recorded. If you do not consent, please do not join.

This event is capped at 500 attendees. Register now to secure your spot.

Claude + Browser Automation: Your AI Sees Your Screen — Claude can now see your browser. It reads pages, clicks buttons, fills forms, takes screenshots, and navigates sites — all from a conversation or a script. This isn't a future feature. It's live right now.

Three tools make this work: Claude Computer Use (full desktop control — screenshot, mouse, keyboard), Claude in Chrome MCP (browser-native tools — navigate, read pages, click, type), and Puppeteer MCP (headless automation for scripts and pipelines). Each solves different problems. This event shows you when to use which.

This is a live demo workshop. We'll automate real browser tasks from scratch — starting with simple page reads and ending with multi-step workflows that run unattended.

What we'll cover:

🖥️ The Browser Automation Stack Inside Claude

How Computer Use, Chrome MCP, and Puppeteer MCP work together — and when to use browser automation vs direct MCP integrations vs APIs.

🔧 Demos We'll Build Live:

• Page Reader & Data Extractor — point Claude at any webpage, extract structured data into a spreadsheet. No scraping code required.
• Form Filler & Submission Bot — automate repetitive form submissions across multiple sites using Claude in Chrome
• Research Automator — give Claude a research question, watch it open tabs, read pages, take notes, and compile a summary
• Visual Testing Agent — screenshot pages, compare layouts, flag visual regressions automatically
• Website Poster — post content to platforms that don't have API connectors using Puppeteer browser automation
• Multi-Step Workflow — chain browser actions: log into a site → navigate to dashboard → extract report → save to Google Drive → send summary via email

🔒 Security & Permission Models

What Claude can and can't see in your browser. Permission scoping, supervision best practices, and why browser agents need guardrails. Computer Use is still a research preview — we'll be honest about the limitations.

⚠️ Key Caveat: Claude Computer Use requires macOS. Chrome MCP and Puppeteer MCP work on all platforms. We'll cover all three so everyone leaves with something they can use immediately.

Who this is for: Anyone who spends time on repetitive browser tasks — filling forms, extracting data, posting content, running reports. Business owners, marketers, researchers, and developers alike. If you copy-paste between browser tabs, this event automates that. Prior experience with Claude is helpful but not required.

Who this is NOT for: People looking for a general AI overview. This is a hands-on workshop. Every demo involves real browser automation. If you want theory, see our earlier events in the series.

📚 Free resources at the event:

• Setup guide — follow along with every demo live
• Homework doc — extended exercises to keep building after the event
• Slide deck — full reference for everything we cover

🎯 Want to go deeper?