Build an Embedding-Based Semantic Search for a Legal-Document Corpus
Overview
What this challenge is about.
Build a semantic search for 380k legal documents using embeddings. Evaluate against BM25 and design a hybrid system. Get a verifiable certificate.
The scenario
The Frankfurt legal-SaaS (around EUR 14M ARR, sells to mid-market law firms, retention bottleneck is search quality) has 2 well-funded US competitors closing in — semantic search is table stakes for renewal.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Build a semantic-search service that beats the keyword baseline on recall-at-10 and ships as a hybrid architecture.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Use pre-trained sentence-transformers for cross-lingual semantic search
- Compare semantic vs keyword retrieval with proper IR metrics
- Design hybrid retrieval architectures with reranking
- Translate evaluation results into production architecture decisions
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Machine Learning (CS Elective)
Master · General Studies
Strong alignment
This challenge maps to Machine Learning (CS Elective) at the Master level. It sharpens the same practical skills your coursework expects — but in a real industry context with actual constraints and deliverables.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Deep Learning
Design and train neural networks for complex pattern recognition tasks.
- Ml Applications
Apply ml applications to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Python Programming
Apply python programming to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Model Evaluation
Apply model evaluation to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Embeddings
Apply embeddings to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Information Retrieval
Apply information retrieval to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles: