Replicate: A Research Replication Challenge

Replicate: A Research Replication Challenge Organized under Abhisarga - IIIT Sri City Replicate is a research-oriented competition designed to test participants’ ability to critically analyze and independently implement ideas from published research papers. In academic research, many papers present final results along with a high-level explanation of the methodology used to achieve them. However, exact implementation details, code, and data preprocessing pipelines are often incomplete or unavailable. This makes it difficult for others to independently validate the results. Replicate challenges participants to bridge this gap. Participants will analyze selected research papers and attempt to replicate the methodology and results described in them. The event encourages careful reading of research literature, systematic experimentation, and rigorous evaluation of experimental outcomes. Participants will gain hands-on experience with the practical aspects of research replication, including interpreting experimental setups, implementing algorithms from scratch, and critically evaluating discrepancies between expected and reproduced results. Eligibility Open to engineering undergraduate students Teams must consist of 2 to 4 members Participants from all colleges are eligible Event Timeline Registration Deadline: 14 March 2026 (via Unstop) Online Screening Quiz: 15 March 2026 Grand Finale: 26 – 28 March 2026 (Offline at IIIT Sri City as part of Abhisarga Fest) Screening Quiz The screening round will consist of an online quiz designed to assess participants’ understanding of: Research Literacy and Computer Science Fundamentals Further details regarding the quiz format and duration will be communicated to registered participants. Registration Participants must register through the Unstop platform. Registration Fee: Free Registration Deadline: 14 March 2026 Challenge Overview Participants will be provided with: Up to three research papers Relevant datasets and supporting information The selected papers will span different domains within Computer Science, ensuring a diverse set of challenges. Each participating team must select one paper and attempt to replicate the methodology described in it. Expected Deliverables Teams must submit the following: Implementation A clean and well-structured codebase implementing the methodology described in the selected research paper. Replication Report A concise report that includes: Description of the implemented methodology Experimental setup and assumptions Comparison between reproduced results and the results reported in the paper Observations explaining any differences or inconsistencies GitHub Repository All submissions must be hosted in a public GitHub repository containing: Source code Documentation Instructions to reproduce the experiments Evaluation Criteria Submissions will be evaluated based on the following factors: Methodology Reproduction Accuracy with which the implementation follows the approach described in the research paper. Result Similarity How closely the reproduced results match those reported in the original paper. Code Quality and Documentation Clarity, organization, and reproducibility of the submitted implementation. Analysis and Insight Depth of the replication report and the quality of reasoning behind observed discrepancies or results. Final Round Format The final round will be conducted offline at IIIT Sri City during Abhisarga. Teams will be given 4 hours to work on their selected research paper and produce the required deliverables, including implementation and replication analysis. Prizes and Recognition Total Prize Pool: ₹25,000 1st Prize: ₹7,500 2nd Prize: ₹5,000 3rd Prize: ₹3,000 Additional consolation prizes and goodies will also be awarded. All participants will receive participation certificates, and top-performing teams will receive appreciation certificates. Accommodation Accommodation for shortlisted teams during the onsite round will be arranged by IIIT Sri City.