The award ceremony for the 2026 AAEOY National AI-Generated Content (AIGC) Video Challenge was successfully held on September 19, 2026, at the Santa Clara Convention Center as part of the AAEOY celebration.
Under the theme “Engineering Changes the World,” this national competition invited students, educators, professionals, and families to explore how engineering improves our lives and shapes our future. Participants used generative AI tools to transform their ideas into original and inspiring video stories.
The competition attracted about 50 registered teams from multiple CIE chapters and regions. Thirty-two teams completed their submissions, and the public voting campaign received more than 1,000 votes—double the program’s original engagement goal. This strong participation demonstrated the CIE community’s growing interest in AI, engineering, creativity, and responsible innovation.
Congratulations to Our Winners
We extend our warmest congratulations to all the winners of the 2026 AAEOY National AIGC Video Challenge.
Awards were presented across four divisions:
- Middle School
- High School
- College and Graduate School
- Adult and Professional
Awards were presented across four categories:
- Community and Culture
- Health and Wellness
- Science and Technology
- Other
And three Distinguished Awards:
- Engineering Mindset Award
- Film Innovation Award
- Most Popular Award
Will add pictures once main event committee release them
The winning projects distinguished themselves through their creativity, storytelling, technical execution, relevance to the competition theme, and effective use of generative AI.
Every participant deserves recognition for the imagination, dedication, and courage demonstrated throughout the competition. We hope this experience inspires all contestants to continue learning, creating, and using technology to make a positive difference.
Our Sincere Appreciation
This national program would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors and partners. We sincerely thank Dr. Chi-Ming Chen, Bloomway.ai, and Texas Instruments for their valuable contributions and commitment to advancing engineering and AI education.
We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to the National AIGC Committee for its leadership, expertise, dedication, and promotional support throughout the program.
We are deeply grateful to our distinguished judging panel, which included AAEOY award recipients, engineers, educators, executives, researchers, and industry leaders. Their time, professional expertise, thoughtful evaluations, and constructive feedback helped ensure a fair and meaningful competition.
Special thanks also go to the CIE National Council, AAEOY leadership, participating chapters, volunteers, parents, teachers, and community partners. The active participation and support of the DFW, Seattle, Southern California, San Francisco Bay Area, OCCESA, New Mexico, and Greater New York chapters and regions helped make this a truly national initiative.
Looking Ahead
In 2026, we launched a national program through the AAEOY platform that connects engineering, AI, education, and CIE chapters across the country while building momentum for the annual AAEOY celebration.
Building on this year’s success, our goal for 2027 is to increase participation, improve project quality, strengthen chapter engagement, and expand AAEOY’s educational impact.
Once again, congratulations to all our winners and participants. We sincerely thank every sponsor, judge, committee member, volunteer, chapter, parent, teacher, and supporter who helped make this inaugural national program a success.
2026 AAEOY National AIGC Committee
CIE-USA National Council