128 Black high school students take over CIBC Square for a one-day Generative AI Hackathon. During Black History Month, they design real-world AI solutions in banking, social impact, and mental health.
On Friday, February 20, 2026, the energy inside CIBC Square will feel different. Instead of the usual rhythm of Bay Street executives and financial briefings, the landmark downtown Toronto complex will welcome 128 Black high school students from across the GTA and Southern Ontario for a one-day Generative AI Hackathon. Timed during Black History Month, the event places Black youth at the forefront of technological innovation, decision-making, and design thinking inside one of Canada’s most influential financial institutions.
Hosted and sponsored by CIBC, this marks the third consecutive year the competition has been held at CIBC Square, and the largest cohort of high school students ever invited to the space. For many participants, it will be their first time engaging directly with corporate leaders, emerging technologies, and real-world business challenges at this scale. For the broader community, it represents a powerful narrative shift: Black students actively shaping the future of AI in Canada.
A leadership incubator rooted in purpose
The students competing are enrolled in Leadership by Design, the Lifelong Leadership Institute's flagship program. The three-year program serves academically motivated Black students in Grades 10 to 12 across southern Ontario. Rather than replicating the high school curriculum, Leadership by Design complements it by offering enriched learning experiences focused on leadership development, STEM exposure, civic engagement, and critical global issues, including democracy, climate change, human rights, and artificial intelligence.
Incorporated in 2013, the organization was founded with a clear mission: to equip Black youth with the leadership tools needed to seize opportunities, fulfil their ambitions, and contribute meaningfully to society. The platform chosen to meet that mission is intentional. Leadership, as the Institute frames it, is a transferable skill set that strengthens academic achievement, career readiness, and civic participation. Now in its 10th anniversary year, Leadership by Design continues to expand its reach and impact.
Designing AI solutions with launch potential
Throughout the day, student teams will be facilitated by CIBC staff as they conceptualize AI-powered solutions tied to three timely themes:
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AI in Banking
Exploring how generative AI can enhance customer service across chatbots, email, and phone systems to deliver faster, more human-centred support. -
AI for Social Good
Designing digital tools that connect job seekers from marginalized communities with employment opportunities and personalized upskilling resources. -
AI for Health and Well-Being
Developing concepts that integrate generative AI into digital platforms offering personalized mental health support and crisis intervention services.
Each team must build a viable concept with real-world application and launch potential. That means thinking beyond theory. Students will balance creativity with feasibility, ethics with innovation, and ambition with time constraints. Along the way, they will demonstrate collaboration, communication, intellectual curiosity, and disciplined time management.
Joshua Dorman, a Grade 12 student who participated in last year’s Hackathon, described the experience as transformative. He noted that seeing the range of innovative AI applications around the room expanded his understanding of what was possible.
A multigenerational learning experience
The Hackathon extends beyond the student competition. Parents will also be present throughout the day, participating in expert-led sessions delivered by CIBC professionals on topics including investment strategy, taxation, economic trends, and personal finance.
This dual-track format reinforces a powerful idea: empowerment is collective. As students explore future-facing technologies, families gain tools to navigate financial systems with greater confidence. Students will also receive exposure to personal banking fundamentals and career pathways within the financial services sector.
CIBC’s executive sponsor, Douglas Carter, Senior Vice-President of Technology Operations, has emphasized the event's design-thinking focus and the opportunity for students to tackle complex challenges through collaboration and innovation. Hosting the largest group of high school students ever invited to CIBC Square sends a clear message about inclusion and investment in emerging talent.
Reframing the Black History Month narrative
Black History Month often highlights past achievements. This event highlights current capabilities and future leadership. Inside a building synonymous with financial power and corporate influence, Black youth will debate ethical frameworks for AI, test business models, and pitch technology-driven solutions with measurable impact.
The symbolism matters. So does the substance.
In a city as diverse as Toronto, where technology, finance, and entrepreneurship shape economic opportunity, access to innovation spaces plays a defining role. By situating this Hackathon within CIBC Square, organizers bridge institutional influence with community aspiration. The result is a visible, practical demonstration of what inclusive innovation can look like.
Building what comes next
The students participating on February 20 are tomorrow’s engineers, founders, policy advisors, and corporate leaders. They are already building fluency in generative AI while grounding their work in ethics, equity, and community impact.
This Hackathon underscores a broader truth: leadership development, when paired with access and institutional partnership, can accelerate transformation. Black youth are engaging generative AI as designers and strategists, shaping solutions for banking, social mobility, and mental health.
The doors of CIBC Square will open to 128 students that morning. By the end of the day, what will have shifted is far larger than a single competition. It will be a renewed affirmation that innovation thrives when opportunity meets preparation, and when young leaders are trusted with complex challenges in real-world environments.
Black History Month 2026 will include many celebrations. This one will also include prototypes, pitches, and possibilities.
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