AWRC Voices: Bringing AI and sports engineering together in an international hackathon
Mahaa Irshad is a Sports Engineer in the Sports Engineering Research Group (SERG) and based at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre.
Towards the end of 2025, the Sports Engineering Research Group (SERG), based at the AWRC, hosted their first ever Hackathon in collaboration with the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico.
Over two intense days, 18 brilliant BEng students from ITESM joined forces with Sheffield Hallam University’s MSc Sports Engineering with AI students. Their mission? To build a complete sports analysis and feedback system from the ground up.
From the AWRC’s state-of-the-art Motion Analysis Lab (MAL) to the final pitch, four teams tackled:
- Sport selection and strategic planning
- High-quality data collection
- Background research and literature review
- The core challenge: PROGRAMMING!
- Live demonstrations and presentations
By combining biomechanical knowledge with cutting-edge pose estimation and object tracking models, these students turned raw data into actionable insights on player form and performance.
Beyond the code, this collaboration created a unique “pressure-cooker” environment where students applied theory to real-world sport problems. On top of technical skills, they learned how to communicate across cultures and disciplines – essential traits for any modern engineer.
A special thanks to ITESM Biomechanics Professor Marcos Moya Bencomo for his vision in bridging the gap between Tecnológico de Monterrey and Sheffield Hallam University.
Our MSc Sports Engineering with AI programme is designed to provide a high-performance environment where international exposure is the standard. Students are prepared to lead the next wave of sports technology on a global stage.
Applications are now open for September 2026. Learn more about the MSc Sports Engineering with AI or get in touch with us directly!