At the end of March, a hackathon organised within the Riga Stradiņš University (RSU) master’s study programme “Digital Strategies and Artificial Intelligence Management”, in cooperation with the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (CRPC), came to a close. During the hackathon, four student teams developed artificial intelligence (AI) solutions aimed at modernising consumer protection and increasing the efficiency of public administration processes.
A total of 23 students took part in the hackathon, working for a month with real data and challenges defined by CRPC experts. During the final presentations, the teams showcased their developed solutions, demonstrating how AI can help improve consumer protection and support more efficient institutional workflows.
“CRPC is sincerely grateful to the Riga Stradiņš University master’s programme ‘Digital Strategies and Artificial Intelligence Management’ for the successful cooperation in organising the hackathon. We were positively surprised by the students’ creativity and their ability to develop high‑quality, practically applicable solutions, including prototypes, within a short period of time. The hackathon has inspired us to continue working on implementing these solutions in practice—both to receive early signals from consumers about potential risks and to systematise them, as well as to help businesses navigate the complex landscape of product and service compliance. Our heartfelt thanks to the university and all participants for their contribution and the added value created together,”
said Zaiga Liepiņa, Director of CRPC.
The winning solution of the hackathon was “PTAC Sentinel”—an AI‑based system designed to proactively identify potentially dangerous or non‑compliant products before consumer complaints are submitted. The students’ solution includes monitoring social media trends, AI‑driven analysis and risk assessment of potentially dangerous products, automated verification of sellers and product reliability, and an early warning system for CRPC staff. Such an approach would support a shift from reactive complaint handling to proactive market surveillance, identifying risks before they affect a broad group of consumers.
In addition to the winning team, other student groups presented various AI solutions focused on the prioritisation and analysis of consumer complaints, social media strategies for early issue detection, automated tools for identifying market risks, and digital solutions for more efficient communication with consumers. Prototypes were also developed for systems capable of recognising and identifying products using AI in order to perform compliance assessments.
This initiative demonstrates that student ideas can evolve into practical solutions for public administration, while simultaneously fostering innovation and the implementation of technologies that are significant to society.
Author: Riga Stradiņš University