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About the challenge Frontera Hacks is an inaugural 24-hour hackathon hosted by Frontera Devs that aims to foster a community of developers driven to innovate. At Frontera Hacks, we aim to provide an experience for developers of all skill levels to adopt skills taught outside of the classroom, collaborate with like-minded teams, and design projects with the potential to accelerate innovation in the Rio Grande Valley Requirements Your submission should consist of: A link to a public GitHub repository Please select an open-source license for your submission (e.g. MIT license). Please include a README.md with instructions for using your code. Answer the questions on the submission form about your idea, your implementation, and the potential impact. Create a short video to demonstrate the use of your tool. Please keep it under 3 mins. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $255 in prizes Best Overall $50 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $50! Best AI/ML Project (1st) $35 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $35! Best AI/ML Project (2nd) $25 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $25! Best Social Good Project (1st) $35 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $35! Best Social Good Project (2nd) $25 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $25! Best Enterprise Project (1st) $35 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $35! Best Enterprise Project (2nd) $25 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $25! Best Beginner Hack Project (1st) $25 in cash 1 winner Each member of the winning team will be awarded $25! Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Frontera Devs Austin Atchley Samuel Cavazos Cassandra Garza Ely Alamillo Judging Criteria Presentation How did the hacker present their hack? Did they include details of the technology? Did they include a live demo? Did they talk about their inspiration? Do you understand the goal of their hack? Implementation How did the hacker implement their idea? Did the technologies they used make sense for their idea? Did they make scalable options that leave them room for growth? Did they rely solely on external APIs or did they build a Unique Solution? Usablility What is the user experience of their hack like? Did they take into account who their target audience was? Would you use their app? How simple was it to get started? Concept Did they address a current concern that affects communities? Does their hack seem thought through? Did they consider any possible barriers users may face? Does their hack seem like it would create an Impact? Theme Did they clearly follow one or multiple of the hackathon's theme?

Join us for FullyHacks 2026, Cal State Fullerton's (CSUF) premier 24-hour, in-person hackathon, taking place from April 18th to April 19th at the CSUF Computer Science Building. This event brings together 200+ students from diverse backgrounds to collaborate on innovative projects, attend enriching workshops, and network with industry professionals. Requirements Project Description: A clear and concise explanation of your project, including its purpose, functionality, and the problem it addresses.​ Source Code: A link to your project's publicly accessible code repository (e.g., GitHub).​ Demo Video: A short video (maximum 3 minutes) demonstrating your project's features and functionality.​ Team Information: Names and roles of all team members. Track Selection: Indicate the track(s) your project is competing Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $1,000+ in prizes + other prizes Best Use of Gemini API 1 winner Google Swag Kits It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project? Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend? Best Use of ElevenLabs 1 winner Wireless Earbuds Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI. Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds! Best Use of Solana 1 winner Ledger Nano S Plus The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable. Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless. Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions. Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX). Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume. Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team! Best Use of DigitalOcean 1 winner Retro Wireless Mouse DigitalOcean offers a reliable and easy-to-use cloud platform for every stage of your project. Leverage core services like Droplets, Managed Databases, and App Platform to build, deploy, and scale your application effortlessly. Building with AI? DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI enables you to build, train, and deploy machine learning models, including access to GPU infrastructure and serverless inference! Sign up for DigitalOcean today and get $200 worth of free credits that you can use towards building your next great hack. Build with DigitalOcean's robust cloud infrastructure for a chance to win some great prizes for you and each of your teammates! Best Use of MongoDB Atlas 1 winner M5Stack IoT Kit MongoDB Atlas takes the leading modern database and makes it accessible in the cloud! Get started with a $50 credit for students or sign up for the Atlas free forever tier (no credit card required). Along with a suite of services and functionalities, you'll have everything you need to manage all of your data, and you can get a headstart with free resources from MongoDB University! Build a hack using MongoDB Atlas for a chance to win a M5Stack IoT Kit for you and each member of your group. Best Entertainment 1 winner 8BitDo Retro Joystick and Mechanical Keyboard Best Health & Wellness 1 winner Amazon Echo Dot Best Education & Social Justice 1 winner Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Headphones + 1-year subscription for NordVPN, NordPass, NordProtect, and Incogni Best Social Impact / Sustainability 1 winner 4K Mini Projector + 1 GB of free data for Saily Best Use of AI/ML 1 winner CRUA 24” 240Hz Gaming Monitor + 3-month access and $235 credit for nexos.ai + $500 Neon credits Best Beginner Hack 1 winner LEGO Set - Creator 3 in 1 Sea Animals: Beautiful Dolphins Most Technical 1 winner Demon Slayer Themed Pulsar X2V2 Gaming Mouse + $1k Neon credits Best UI/UX 1 winner Jellycat Amuseables Peanut Star Student Plushie Best Use of ArcGIS (Esri's Sponsored Track) 1 winner Esri Swag Bag + Portable Charger 50000mAh Power Bank Best Use of Human Delta Services - 1st Place $750 in cash 1 winner $750 Split Across Team, as well as a Guaranteed Interview at Human Delta Best Use of Human Delta Services - 2nd Place $250 in cash 1 winner $250 Split Across Team, as well as a Guaranteed Interview at Human Delta Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Bijon Desai Samuel Sandoval Pranjali Yadav Ethan Davidson Varun Misra Ryhan Hasan Adwaita Chokshi Karthik Gurunathan Harshul Jain Judging Criteria Project Criteria Projects will be judged based on how well they align with the track, as well as execution, innovation, presentation, technical ability, and more.

Part of the LGBTQ+ community and/or interested in tech? Come join us in this 30-hour Hackathon focusing on queer experiences. QueerCoded is Out in Tech's second LGBTQ+ hackathon event, coding with pride! Our event aims to organize a community event to give visibility to LGBTQ+ students in the tech industry. The hackathon will consist of opportunities for mentorship, workshops, social activities, chances to win prizes, and more. Food will be provided! Join our Discord AND Register below! Reigstration Discord Check out our Instagram for more info @rutgersoutintech Requirements Themes (Pick 1 or multiple): ❤️ LGBTQ+ Awareness and Advocacy ❤️ Mental Health and Wellness ❤️ Social Connection and Community ❤️ LGBTQ+ Joy (What are you passionate about? How does it tie to your queer identity in your work/creations?) ❤️ Celebrating Queer History / Queer Elders Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 4 non-cash prizes Canakit Raspberry Pi 4 1 winner Canakit Raspberry Pi 4 starter kit with case (32GB EVO+, case, 4GB RAM) Anker Bluetooth Speakers 2 winners Anker Bluetooth Speakers Drawing Tablet 1 winner Drawing Tablet Harbor Seal Plushie 1 winner Seal Plushie :) Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges OIT Officers Judging Criteria Impact How well does the project address a real need in the LGBTQ+ community or how does has it personally impacted the project developers themselves? Creativity How unique or innovative is the solution? Inclusivity Does the project consider diverse identities and experiences within the LGBTQ+ community? User Experience Is the project well designed and accessible?

About the challenge Create something that helps people get better access to things that matter in their everyday lives. This could include access to learning, information, opportunities, support, resources, or fun. Requirements What to Build An app or website Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 1 non-cash prize Top 3 Winners 1 winner There will be top 3 winners selected. Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Lucky Dhir Judging Criteria Collaboration & Teamwork Problem-Solving skills Technical Skills

You have 24 hours to build a full-stack solution. You will have to demo your solution in front of the judges. Here are some things that Phia has been super interested in recently: ​Autonomous Agents. What if your shopping agent could just... handle it? ​Personalized Shopping. What could improve shopping discovery? ​Social Shopping. How do you make shopping more social? If you have an outside-the-box idea that makes Phia smarter, faster, or more magical for shoppers, go wild. Requirements What to Submit Your submission must include all of the following: 2-minute demo video: show your product working, not your slides. Record a live walkthrough of the core user experience. Written project summary: cover what you built, the problem it solves, your technical stack, key decisions you made, and what you'd build next with more time. GitHub repository: public repo with a README. Code must be your own work, written during the hackathon. Live presentation: you'll demo in front of judges and take Q&A. Plan for 3 minutes of presentation and 2 minutes of questions. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $7,500 in prizes 1st Place $5,000 in cash 1 winner + Dinner with Phia Team, Fast Tracked Interview 2nd Place $2,500 in cash 1 winner + Fast Tracked Interview Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Phoebe Gates Co-Founder of Phia Sophia Kianni Co-Founder of Phia Sujal Dhakal Phia Engineer Jason Zhang Phia Engineer Felix Zhou Phia Head of Engineering Judging Criteria Technical Implementation Clarity of Presentation Impact Novelty

About BNFOthon BNFOthon is a Bioinformatics focused hackathon.The hackathon is a 24-hour coding experience, where you work as part of a team of up to four students (you *DO NOT* need to have a team or partner going into the event - there is a process for people to sign up for teams at the start) to solve/code/write/present a solution to a prompt of your choice. There are three themes for this year's event: Machine Learning Applications in Medicine Biomedical Ethics Biological Data Science Heres our Discord: https://discord.gg/MMRZTwza Requirements What to Submit Submission to Devpost before deadline Video Pitch (Maximum 5 minutes) - demoing and describing your project solution Any supplemental material, including but not limited to: code script, product design, etc. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 6 non-cash prizes Portable Projector 4 winners Big screen, tiny package kinda like carrying a movie theater in your pocket: The Portable Projector Google Nest Mini Speaker 4 winners A tiny AI sidekick. Always listening & never judging: The Google Nest Mini Speaker Phage Plushie 4 winners Back by popular demand: The Phage Plushie Lego Sets 3 winners A popular lego sets Minecraft and flower themed Blind boxes 4 winners Could be any type of Smiski or Sonny angels Spiderman Desk Light & blind bag 1 winner A set of Spider-man themed figurines Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Dr. William Benton, Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University Dr. Zachary N. Ghahramani, Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University Dr. Gamze Bulut, Ph.D Virginia Commonwealth University Judging Criteria Ambition, Innovation, Project Quality, Project Scope, and Presentation Quality.

HackKU is the annual 36-hour hackathon hosted by students from the Association for Computing Machinery at the University of Kansas. Participants will get to spend the weekend learning and developing their programming skills while working on a new project, while also having the opportunity to attend workshops, interact with industry sponsors, receive mentorship, and participate in fun events. We’ll also have free swag and food all weekend, and lots of prizes! Work with teams of up to 4 people to create unique solutions to real-world problems. Students from all different backgrounds and experience levels are encouraged to join us and explore their interests. Hackathon Sponsors Developer Tier Connector Tier Supporter Tier Prizes $6,290+ in prizes + other prizes$1,000 in crypto$5,290 Themed Track $1,200 in cash 1 winner Meta Glasses General Track 1st Place $1,000 in cash 1 winner Oculus Quest General Track 2nd Place $680 in cash 1 winner Galaxy Tab General Track 3rd Place $600 in cash 1 winner Beats Solo 4 Hacker’s Choice Award $360 in cash 1 winner Instax Mini 11 to the project with the most hearts on Devpost. Best Hardware Hack $270 in cash 1 winner Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, best project that makes an innovative use of hardware. Best Beginner Project (College/University) $240 in cash 1 winner Air Fryer to a team of 3 or more first-time hackathon participants Most Creative UI/UX $240 in cash 1 winner 3d ink pen to most creative, interesting, or beautiful UI/UX that delivers a quality experience for the user. Best High School Project $160 in cash 1 winner JBL GO 3 to a team of 3 or more high school students [MLH] Best Use of MongoDB Atlas || M5GO IoT Starter Kit $300 in cash 1 winner MongoDB Atlas takes the leading modern database and makes it accessible in the cloud! Get started with a $50 credit for students or sign up for the Atlas free forever tier (no credit card required). Along with a suite of services and functionalities, you'll have everything you need to manage all of your data, and you can get a headstart with free resources from MongoDB University! Build a hack using MongoDB Atlas for a chance to win a M5GO IoT Starter Kit for you and each member of your team. [MLH] Best Use of Solana || Ledger Nano S Plus $240 in cash 1 winner The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable. Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless. Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions. Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX). Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume. Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team! [MLH] Best Use of ElevenLabs || Wireless Earbuds 1 winner Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI. Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds! [MLH] Best Use of Gemini API || Google Swag Kits 1 winner It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project? Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice. Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers. Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more. Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend? [MLH] Best Use of DigitalOcean || Retro Wireless Mouse 1 winner DigitalOcean offers a reliable and easy-to-use cloud platform for every stage of your project. Leverage core services like Droplets, Managed Databases, and App Platform to build, deploy, and scale your application effortlessly. Building with AI? DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI enables you to build, train, and deploy machine learning models, including access to GPU infrastructure and serverless inference! Sign up for DigitalOcean today and get $200 worth of free credits that you can use towards building your next great hack. Build with DigitalOcean's robust cloud infrastructure for a chance to win some great prizes for you and each of your teammates! H&R Block | two Logitech G733 Lightspeed Wireless RGB Gaming Headset and two Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse + G213 Prodigy Gaming Keyboard Bundle 1 winner H&R Community Responsibility & Giveback: “Solving Everyday Challenges, Strengthening Every Community” This track highlights solutions that address everyday problems through a community-focused lens. Projects should demonstrate how thoughtful, practical ideas can create positive impact, promote responsibility, and improve the lives of others. Judges will prioritize solutions that are clear, actionable, and designed to scale beyond a single use case. Judging Criteria 1. Problem Relevance & Community Impact (30%) Does the project solve a real, everyday problem that affects a community? Is the problem clearly defined and the solution practical? Could this solution create broader impact if expanded? 2. Innovation & Creativity (20%) Is the approach creative or unique in solving the problem? Does it apply technology or ideas in a thoughtful and effective way? 3. Accessibility & Inclusivity (15%) Is the solution usable by a wide range of people? Does it consider accessibility, fairness, or underserved populations? 4. Presentation & Communication (15%) Was the solution clearly and confidently presented? Did the team effectively explain the problem, solution, and impact? Was the presentation organized and easy to follow? 5. Practical Application (10%) Is the solution realistic and feasible to implement? Does it demonstrate clear value in an everyday setting? 6. Sustainability & Responsibility (10%) Does the solution support long-term positive impact? Does it consider responsible use of resources and environmental impact? Total Score: 100 Prize: 1st Place Winner: two Logitech G733 Lightspeed Wireless RGB Gaming Headset and two Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse + G213 Prodigy Gaming Keyboard Bundle Security Benefit 1 winner Choose Your Financial Adventure: Life After Graduation – What If Description: Build an interactive experience that transforms financial planning into a game. Create a tool where users can simulate life after graduation by making choices around career paths, lifestyle, debt, and savings—and see how those decisions play out over time. Go beyond basic calculators by incorporating storytelling, real-world scenarios, and engaging design to help users understand the long-term impact of their financial decisions. 1st Place Winner: Airpods Pro 2nd Place Winner: Bluetooth Speaker 3rd Place Winner: $50 Visa Gift Card XRLP/Ripple $1,000 of XRLP 1 winner Lockton 1 winner 1st place: Apple – 11-Inch iPad A16 2nd place: Logitech – G915 G502 Mechanical Tactile Switch Gaming Keyboard and Wireless Optical Gaming Mouse 3rd place: SteelSeries – Arctis Nova 5 Wireless Gaming Headset Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges More info coming soon! Judging Criteria Tech Stack The tools chosen are an ideal fit for the project, or otherwise especially impressive. Learning Each team member learned a challenging new tool or concept relative to their previous skill level. Documentation The project includes an informative README, and code is commented using industry-standard practices. Organization Code is well-organized with clear documentation of dependencies, use of modules where appropriate, and good use of function and/or classes to partition data and computation in a sensible way. User Interface UI is easy to use, user-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing. Completeness Project is reasonably complete given the time constraints. Presentation Presentation is informative, enthusiastic, and concise. All team members participate. Novelty Solution is innovative, creative, and original. Theme (If Applicable) Project is a perfect fit for the theme.

hack.msa is the first Muslim hackathon by Texas MSA at the University of Texas at Austin. A hackthon is a space for students of any major to come together and come up with creative solutions using technology. They are a place to learn, to meet others, and to innovate. We designed this hackathon to be beginner-friendly, and we will have plenty of mentors and workshops to guide you. Check out https://hackmsa.com/ for additional information! Spirit of the Competition Remember that hackathons are like marathons. Some people go to compete, but most people take part to better themselves and have fun. Regardless of why you're at a hackathon, ensure you're upholding the hacker spirit and Community Values by collaborating with other teams, helping beginners, and having fun. Requirements All projects must be built during the hacking period from 11:30 am CST on April 18th to 11:30 am CST on April 19th, 2025. The project should be submitted to this DevPost, and team member(s) must be present in person during judging to be considered! Team size must be between 1-5 people. Demos After hacking finishes, teams will show their projects to each other and to the judges. Either via a prerecorded video (typically at digital events or live demos at physical hackathons). You are strongly encouraged to present a demo of what you have built. Pitches and presentations are discouraged. You are not judged on the quality of your pitch or the quality of your idea. As you are judged on what you built, you'll only hurt yourself by not showing a demo. You are encouraged to present what you have done even if your hack is broken or you weren’t able to finish. It's okay if you didn't finish your hack—that happens all the time! Completion is only one part of the judging criteria, so you might still do well. Demoing is not just about the competition. It's a chance to share with others what you learned and what you tried to build—that's what hacking's all about! In the case that you don't have anything to demo, you can give a presentation about what you tried and what you learned. Hearing what other people learned is interesting and inspiring for other attendees. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $5,000 in prizes Main Track - 3rd Place $500 in cash 1 winner Main Track - 2nd Place $1,000 in cash 1 winner Main Track - 1st Place $2,000 in cash 1 winner Giving Back Track $500 in cash 1 winner Go-to-Market Track $500 in cash 1 winner Med Tech Track $500 in cash 1 winner Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Texas MSA Judging Criteria Creativity Implementation Presentation Learning

StarkHacks is the world's largest hardware hackathon, presented by the Humanoid Robot Club and AMD, and cohosted by Ford Motor Company. It is a 36 hour project sprint where you can build any physical project with other smart people. You get access to free food, free equipment like 3D printers, soldering stations, microcontrollers, sensors, and more, and a community ready to build. The Humanoid Robot Club Purdue, a student club building world's first humanoid robot for space, StarkHacks is meant to give students of all experience levels a chance to prototype, solder, and ship physical projects without any limitations. This is your chance to join 1000+ of the best hardware students from all over the world and set a World Record! Requirements You can build anything physical from drones, to robotic arms, to smart trash cans, to cool 3d printed games! You can also can hack on any pre-existing hardware like meta ray bans, google home, etc. to build cool new applications! Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 3 non-cash prizes grand prize 1 winner suepr cool shit sgsg 1 winner sagsgagaga ai and automation 1 winner sasaowihgowhqgohwogho Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges TBD TBD Judging Criteria TBD TBD

UCI AWS Cloud Hacks 2026 is a premier 2-day hackathon hosted by AWS Cloud Clubs @ UCI in collaboration with AI@UCI. This event is designed to empower students to build the next generation of AI-powered applications using the scale and versatility of the AWS cloud. Whether you are a cloud novice or a seasoned builder, join us for a weekend of innovation, hands-on learning, and community building. What to expect: Hands-on Mentorship: Get guidance from industry professionals and AWS experts. Technical Workshops: Level up your skills with deep dives into AI and Cloud services. Networking: Connect with like-minded builders and potential employers. Free Food & Swag: Fuel your creativity with catered meals and exclusive AWS merch! Requirements What to Build Participants are challenged to build projects leveraging AWS services. Your project should solve a real-world problem or explore a creative use case for cloud-based artificial intelligence. What to Submit To be eligible for judging, teams must provide: A link to your public GitHub repository containing the source code. A brief video demo (3 minutes max) explaining the problem, the AWS services used, and a walkthrough of the working prototype. A detailed Devpost project page including a description of how your app uses AWS and AI. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 3 non-cash prizes AWS Track First Place 3 winners 1. Echo Shows 2. Echo dots 3. Amazon gift cards Best AI Safety Track: 1 winner $50 Gift Cards for each Winner AI for Environment Impact Track 1 winner $100 Gift Card for winning team Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges AWS Club Judging Criteria Usage of AWS services

Carolina Quantum Hacks is a student-led hackathon hosted by Quantum Computing @ UNC where participants build creative, hands-on projects using quantum computing concepts like superposition and entanglement. Teams explore applications ranging from quantum art to optimization using tools like Qiskit, with a focus on experimentation, learning, and innovation. Requirements Carolina Quantum Hacks 2026: Challenge Set Hosted by Quantum Computing @ UNC 📍 April 18–19, 2026 Submission Requirements Each team must submit: A GitHub repository link Include a detailed README explaining your project A 3-5 minute video Clearly describe your project, approach, and code Team responsibilities Team size: 1-4 members Beginner Track: Quantum Artistry Create quantum-generated visual art using measurement results from a quantum circuit. Build a circuit (e.g., using superposition and simple entanglement) that produces bitstrings, then map those outputs to visual elements like color, shape, size, or position to generate an image, animation, or pattern. Your submission should clearly show the connection between your circuit design and the final visual result, along with your code and a brief explanation. Advanced Track: Quantum Optimization Arena Build a quantum or hybrid quantum-classical solution to an optimization problem. Choose a structured problem (e.g., scheduling, portfolio optimization, network optimization), define your objective, and implement a parameterized quantum circuit or hybrid workflow. Experiment with different circuit designs, cost functions, and optimization strategies, and evaluate your results. Submit your code and a clear explanation of your approach, what you tried, and what worked. Build Your Own: Free Form Challenge Create an open-ended quantum computing project that demonstrates both creativity and technical understanding. This can include tools, simulations, games, visualizations, or applications that meaningfully use quantum concepts. Your project should be functional, clearly incorporate quantum elements, and communicate the underlying ideas. Submit your code along with a brief explanation of what you built and how quantum computing is used. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 3 non-cash prizes Beginner Track - UNC Tumblers 4 winners UNC themed tumblers Advanced Track - Apple Airtag & Powerbank 4 winners Apple airtags and powerbanks. Build Your Own: UNCQC Hoodies 2 winners Cool hoodies! Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Saki Male QUNCQC Grant McKenzie UNCQC Judging Criteria Technical Implementation Quality and correctness of the quantum component, including effective use of quantum concepts (e.g., superposition, entanglement, variational circuits) and tools such as Qiskit. Creativity & Innovation Originality of the idea, uniqueness of the approach, and how creatively quantum computing is applied to the problem or concept. Execution & Functionality Completeness, usability, and overall functionality of the project, including code quality and robustness. Presentation & Communication Clarity and effectiveness of the project presentation, including the 3–5 minute video, explanation of the approach, and overall storytelling.

About Emerging Technology Studio and the Library Makerlab is hosting Designer's Edge, a Design Competition similar to a hackathon but for design! The competition lasts 30 hours, BUT you do not need to be present the whole time. You will be tasked to design a product centered around a theme and create a presentation to compete with for awards and prizes in different categories! Award Categories There are 4 Award Categories for this event: Best 3D Any 3D Render, Model, etc. Best 2D Any Art, Graphic Design, etc. Best UI/UX Any UI/UX design for a website, game, etc. Best Physical Must present a physical item during judging! Requirements What to Submit In order to be eligible for a reward, you must submit progress checks throughout the event to show that you have been consistently working on your submission. If you do not submit a progress check on time, you will be ineligible for an award. Please let an staff member know if you missed any Progress Checks. Submit your final submission on devpost Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 3 non-cash prizes The Pad Climbing Day Passes 1 winner Multiple passes will be split amongst award categories Strange Brew Gift Cards 1 winner Multiple gift cards will be split amongst award categories Robot City Games & Arcade Gift Cards 1 winner Multiple gift cards will be split amongst award categories Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges ETS Judges Emerging Technology Studio Makerlab Judges Bartle Library Makerlab Judging Criteria Theme How does the project embody the theme? Design and Innovation How innovative and intentional are the design choices? Note: If your submission is more aesthetics based, this category will be judged for aesthetics instead. Creativity and Originality How is this project distinct from existing work?

About the challenge This is a hackathon from JPS GWC. Requirements What to Submit: A video of your creation showing how it works and running it. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $100 in prizes Best Hack $50 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place $35 in cash 1 winner 3rd Place $15 in cash 1 winner Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Sneho Ghosh Judging Criteria Creativity The program shows creativity and its the theme in a unique way Code The code is functional and doesn't have any errors Presentation Video was creative and shows effort put into the creation.

About the challenge See how fast you can build with CMU's Claude Builder Club x CMUAI Hackathon, sponsored by Anthropic. This will be a 1.5-hour hackathon, so build and ship quickly! Project prompt will be announced day of! Requirements What to Build You’ll only have one and a half hours of coding time, so bring your fastest ideas and your sharpest teamwork. Every project must integrate Claude, Anthropic’s powerful AI assistant, in a meaningful way. What to Submit Just submit a GitHub link to your project! If you are new to GitHub, ask evelynwu@andrew.cmu.edu for help! Judging will be done in-person. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $1,700 in prizes 1st Place $700 in cash 1 winner $200 Cash and $500 Anthropic Credits 2nd Place $600 in cash 1 winner $600 Anthropic Credits 3rd Place $400 in cash 1 winner $600 Anthropic Credits Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges In Person Judging Criteria Innovation & Impact This will be judged based on how innovative and impactful your project is. Think of how you can build a novel project with real impact to solve real world problems. Claude Usage Gain more points for integrating Claude more effectively.

Important note: Users may combine their chosen prompt with external data sources or APIs to enhance their solution, provided that all incorporated data is authentic and not synthetically generated. However, the prompt itself must remain the clear primary driver of the solution, meaning it is used significantly, directly, and in an obvious way rather than being overshadowed by external inputs. Theme 1: Decoding Virality in 2026: What makes a YouTube Trend? The Problem Statement/Challenge: Every day, millions of videos compete for one of the most coveted spots on the internet - YouTube's Trending page. Some videos explode overnight. Others quietly accumulate millions of views before anyone notices. However, most disappear entirely. Your challenge: Use real 2026 YouTube trending data to uncover what separates the videos that succeed from the ones that don't - and build something useful with that knowledge. This isn't about finding the highest view count. It’s about trying to understand the mechanics behind what makes a video viral - from its tags and topics to its viewer engagement. Whoever cracks that code holds real power in the modern attention economy. What You’re Doing: You are a product team at a startup that's just been handed a goldmine of YouTube trending data. Your investors aren't asking for a report. They're asking for a working product - something tangible a user could open, interact with, and walk away from with a meaningful advantage. Your job is to identify a real problem, use the data to understand it deeply, and then build a product that solves it. That product could be a web app, a browser tool, a dashboard, a recommendation engine, an API, or anything else your team can ship in the time available. The data informs the product - but the product is the deliverable. Build for a real user. Solve a real problem. Show it working. Your Dataset: You are working with a snapshot dataset of YouTube's trending videos from 2026, collected across multiple trending cycles for 11 different countries. This dataset provides country-wise YouTube trending video snapshots with engagement metrics and metadata. YouTube Trending Videos Dataset (2026): https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/bsthere/youtube-trending-videos-stats-2026 Your Tasks: There is no single correct answer here. You choose the problem, the angle, and the solution. Below are suggested directions — treat them as starting points, not constraints. 1. Define Your User & Their Problem Who are you building for — a solo creator, a brand marketing team, a media agency, a platform analyst? What specific question are you answering with this data? Why does it matter - what's the real-world consequence of getting it right or wrong? 2. Design & Build Your Product What does your product actually do? Define its core feature set clearly. What frustration, inefficiency, or blind spot does your target user have today? Your product should be interactive or demonstrable. A live demo, a functional prototype, or a working interface will always beat a static slide deck. 3. Validate & Pitch Your Solution Who would use this, and how would they discover it? How do you know it works? Show evidence - test cases, sample outputs, user scenarios. What do future versions look like? A credible roadmap shows you've thought beyond the hackathon. Examples & Suggestions (Optional Section, a bit extra) These are just some illustrative ideas, to get your creative juices flowing. You are encouraged to go beyond them: Trend Velocity Analysis: Using publish_time and trending_date, identify how quickly different categories trend and whether speed correlates with longevity on the trending page. Engagement Fingerprinting: Build category-level "engagement profiles" using like, dislike, and comment ratios to identify which content types provoke action vs. passive consumption. Tag & Title Intelligence: Apply NLP to tags, title, and description to identify linguistic patterns (word choice, length, punctuation, capitalisation) that appear more frequently in trending videos. Creator Tier Analysis: Segment channels by size using channel_id and examine whether smaller creators’ trend differently (faster, shorter, different categories) than established ones. Creator's Cheat Sheet: Synthesise your findings into a practical, data-backed guide: the best category, optimal publish window, recommended engagement targets, and title strategies most associated with trending. Controversy vs. Positivity: Explore whether high dislike ratios help or hurt trending performance, and what that means for content strategy. Theme 2: The Geography of Everything Pick any decision a business makes and you'll find geography underneath it. Where to open the next store. Who the competitors really are. How long the delivery driver actually spends in traffic. Which suburbs are saturated with cafés and which ones haven't seen a new gym in five years. Until recently, this kind of information lived inside Google, Apple, and a handful of paid data vendors who charged tens of thousands a year for the privilege. Then Foursquare quietly open-sourced their entire database of points of interest, all 100 million of them, and the playing field shifted. Your job for this hackathon is to take that dataset and turn it into something a real person or business would actually want to use. The brief is deliberately wide. There is no fixed user, no fixed product, no right answer. A franchise expansion manager has one question, a tourist arriving in Sydney has another, a council planner thinking about service deserts has a third, and a logistics team mapping delivery zones has a fourth. Your job is to pick a question worth answering, build the thing that answers it, and show it working. The product is the deliverable, not the analysis. A web app, a dashboard, a recommendation engine, a planning tool, an API, a search experience: anything that someone could open and walk away from with an answer. How sharply you scope the user and the question matters more than how clever your model is. A focused product solving a specific problem will beat a sprawling piece of analysis every time. Australia is the obvious starting point, but the dataset covers the entire planet, and if your product makes more sense pointed at Tokyo, Jakarta, or Cape Town, defend that choice and run with it. Your Data Playground: Foursquare Open Source Places (Advanced) https://huggingface.co/datasets/foursquare/fsq-os-places 100 million real global points of interest, refreshed monthly. Restaurants, gyms, clinics, retailers, schools, parks, hotels, anything with a name on a map. Each record carries latitude and longitude, a hierarchical category, an address, websites and social handles where available, and a confidence score for whether the place still exists. Filtered to Australia, you'll get somewhere between 2 and 4 million rows. The same data quietly powers products at Uber, Coca-Cola, and hundreds of location-based companies. The dataset ships as Parquet rather than CSV, which is fine because Python handles Parquet natively through libraries like polars, pandas, and pyarrow. Hugging Face gates the dataset behind a one-click access request that auto-approves within a few minutes, so create a free account and request access before you start coding. Read the schema documentation here before you write a single line: https://docs.foursquare.com/data-products/docs/places-os-data-schema Theme 3: Improving Transportation in NSW Prompt: Urban transportation systems are designed to move millions of people efficiently, yet everyday journeys are often unpredictable, fragmented, or inconvenient. Delays, missed connections, and inconsistent information can disrupt even the simplest trips. Travellers frequently rely on multiple sources to plan and adjust their journeys, but these tools do not always reflect the real-world experience of navigating the network. Thus, commuters must constantly make decisions on the go—when to leave, which route to take, and how to adapt when plans change—often with incomplete or unreliable information. Use open transport and mobility data, design a functional product, tool, or prototype (e.g. website, app, or interactive dashboard) that helps people better navigate, understand, or improve their journeys throughout the state. Your solution should demonstrate clear user interaction and practical usability. To start, you can try thinking about… Identify the problem: What transport-related problem are you investigating? Why does this problem matter economically, socially, or operationally? Identify the user/use-case: Who experiences this problem (commuters, planners, operators)? Realistically, how would they use your solution? Identify your solution: What features and functionality does your tool provide to solve this problem? Would data help power these features? Datasets: Although Open Data Transport NSW has a wide array of datasets that can help your product, not all of them are clean and easy to work with. The following are some datasets we suggest you start with, as they’re more up-to-date and are suitable for coding — but feel free to browse through the database at your own leisure to discover more exciting connections and opportunities. The * links have APIs, which can be used to build dashboards, if you’re feeling ambitious. Though not all are updated in real time, so read carefully! Routes (mostly shapefiles, so use in combination with other datasets!) : All*, General Bus, Major Event Bus, Train, Bicycle Cycleways Traffic Related: Live Traffic Hazards*, Roads Traffic Volume Counts*, NSW Crash Data Timetables & Public Transport Trackers : Realtime Vehicle Positions v2* , Realtime Public Transport Alerts v2*, Realtime Trip Updates v2*, Trip Planner APIs*, Timetables* Infrastructure : Bike Parking Locations (Sheds & Lockers) Bus Shelter Locations Rest Areas* EV Charging Locations Street Light Locations Transport Station Locations : All, Trains Surveys/Reports: Fare Compliance Survey Household Travel Survey Opal Recorded Trips (aggregated from tap on/offs) : All, Bus, Light Rail, Train and Metro, Ferry Examples / Suggestions to help you get started: A route optimisation tool that suggests better routes based on congestion + delays A commuter dashboard that predicts delays and suggests alternatives A planner tool that identifies underserved areas and simulates new routes A safety app highlighting crash hotspots and safer travel paths A fare optimisation tool helping users minimise travel costs Requirements Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $1,300 in prizes FIRST $700 in cash 1 winner SECOND $400 in cash 1 winner THIRD $200 in cash 1 winner Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges ANUBHAV GHOSH Blackbird Ventures - Investments Team VITTORIA SALIM Microsoft - Software Engineer ALEXANDER WHITEHEAD Quantium - Lead Analyst SETH ABOOD One Ventures - Analyst DAN COUGLAN Airtree - Investment Principal Judging Criteria 1. Product Design Intuitive design, smooth user flow; Complex data made visual & easy to understand 2. Data Strategy Thorough data cleaning; Strategic feature engineering; Combined datasets for deeper insights 3. Technical Execution Relevant algorithms for the task; Clean, logical structure; Works reliably to show the idea 4. Commercial Feasibility Targets a specific audience; Backed by solid research; Delivers clear, practical value 5. Innovation Fresh perspective with unique insights; Data-driven idea that creates a competitive edge 6. Pitch + Q&A Concise, engaging communication; Strong justification of decisions; Handles questions with confidence & depth

Open Innovation Challenge: AI for Real-World Impact The main theme of the hackathon will be Artificial Intelligence, focused on the development of innovative solutions that use AI to solve real problems, optimize processes and create new digital experiences. Requirements The participants should provide comprehensive documentation of their project, including its purpose, objectives, and the issue it aims to address. They should offer a clear explanation of the proposed solution and how it effectively tackles the identified problem. Technical Merit: Participants must submit the source code of their project, preferably hosted in a version control repository such as GitHub. Additionally, they should include technical documentation that elucidates the system architecture, the technologies employed, and any significant technical decisions made during the development process. Implementation Progress: Participants are required to present a functional demonstration of their project in a video lasting a maximum of 4 minutes. This video should showcase the project's functionality and how it addresses the identified problem. Furthermore, participants should detail the tests conducted to validate the functionality of the project and provide evidence of its effectiveness. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 12 non-cash prizes Monitor Gamer LG UltraGear 27” (144Hz) 1 winner A 27” Full HD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, delivering smooth and responsive visuals. Perfect for both development work and gaming. Teclado Gamer MSI Forge GK600 TKL Wireless RGB 1 winner A compact tenkeyless wireless keyboard with RGB lighting. Built for speed, comfort, and a clean setup. Mochila ASUS ROG BP1800 para laptop 1 winner A durable and spacious backpack designed for laptops up to 18”. Ideal for safely carrying your gear in style. Mouse Gamer Corsair Katar Pro Wireless 1 winner A lightweight wireless mouse with high-precision tracking (up to 10,000 DPI). Great for productivity, coding, and competitive gaming. Best Use of Gemini API 1 winner Google Swag Kits It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project? Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend? Silla Gamer Acteck Flux Lite 1 winner An ergonomic chair with breathable mesh back support, designed for comfort during long work or coding sessions. Best Use of ElevenLabs 1 winner Wireless Earbuds Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI. Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds! Cargador UGREEN GaN 30W USB-C 1 winner A compact and powerful charger with GaN technology, perfect for fast and efficient charging of modern devices. Best Use of Solana 1 winner Ledger Nano S Plus The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable. Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless. Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions. Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX). Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume. Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team! Best Use of Vultr 1 winner Portable Screens Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck! Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team! Amazon Echo Pop (asistente de voz) 1 winner A smart speaker with Alexa built-in. Control your smart home, play music, or get information using voice commands. Best Use of MongoDB Atlas 1 winner M5Stack IoT Kit MongoDB Atlas takes the leading modern database and makes it accessible in the cloud! Get started with a $50 credit for students or sign up for the Atlas free forever tier (no credit card required). Along with a suite of services and functionalities, you'll have everything you need to manage all of your data, and you can get a headstart with free resources from MongoDB University! Build a hack using MongoDB Atlas for a chance to win a M5Stack IoT Kit for you and each member of your group. Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Alberto Camarena MLH Judging Criteria Criteria General Importance and relevance of the problem to be solved Creativity, originality, and innovation Project implementation progress Technical merit

Schedule: April 17th, 2026 Time Event 2:00 - 4:00pm Registration 4:15pm Opening Ceremony 5:15 - 6:00pm Dinner and networking social 6:00pm Code until dawn! April 18th, 2026 Time Event 12:00am-4:59pm Code Until Dawn! 5:00pm Deadline for submission 5:15pm Judging Begins 6:30pm-7:00pm Dinner 7:00pm Judging Period Ends 7:30pm Closing Ceremony 9:30pm-12:00am Post-Hackathon Celebration Gala Hosted by Luddy Student Government. Gala RSVP Requirements What to Submit All teams should submit their codebase and a video presentation for their teams to present. Certain cases may have additional materials required for submission. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $9,000 in prizes 1st Place Team - Case 1 Undergrad $1,000 in cash 1 winner 1st Place Team - Case 1 Grad $1,000 in cash 1 winner 1st Place Team - Case 2 Undergrad $1,000 in cash 1 winner 1st Place Team - Case 2 Grad $1,000 in cash 1 winner 1st Place Team - Case 3 Undergrad $1,000 in cash 1 winner 1st Place Team - Case 3 Grad $1,000 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place Team - Case 1 Undergrad $500 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place Team - Case 1 Grad $500 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place Team - Case 2 Undergrad $500 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place Team - Case 2 Grad $500 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place Team - Case 3 Undergrad $500 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place Team - Case 3 Grad $500 in cash 1 winner Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Mandya Ramesh, Akhilesh Gowda Senior Full Stack Engineer Nakul Havaldar Applied Machine Learning Scientist 2 @ The Washington Post Shubham Kulkarni Product Designer at QVC Suchi H Founding Engineer @ AIR Health Co. Aditya Mistry Echai Host & Rev-ops Associate Vishal Paul Senior Software Engineer, Risk Platforms, PayPal Brij Mohan Vice President – Principal Software Development Dishant Shahani Tech Lead, AI/ML Infrastructure, Meta Navaneeth Mourya Naveed Uddin Mohammed Network Security Engineer | Researcher in AI, Cybersecurity, and Networking Faizel Khan Lead AI Engineer Judging Criteria Innovation and Creativity How unique and novel is the solution? Technical Feasibility and Execution Quality of code, functionality of the prototype, and use of technology. Impact and Viability Potential real-world impact and sustainability of the solution. Presentation and Communication Clarity of the pitch, demonstration, and documentation.

AI For Good Join us for an exciting AI Hackathon where innovation meets real-world impact. This event challenges participants to design and build intelligent solutions that tackle everyday problems using the power of Artificial Intelligence. From simplifying daily tasks to improving accessibility, healthcare, education, and productivity — your ideas can make a difference. Work in teams, brainstorm creative solutions, and develop prototypes using cutting-edge AI tools and technologies. Whether it’s automating routines, enhancing decision-making, or creating smart assistants, the goal is simple: solve real problems that people face every day. Code. Build. Impact. Requirements What to Build Build an AI-powered solution that solves a real-world, everyday problem. Your project should focus on practical impact — something people can actually use in their daily lives. You can explore areas like: Productivity & time management Health & wellness Education & learning Accessibility & inclusion Smart automation Personal assistants or recommendation systems Use AI technologies such as machine learning, NLP, computer vision, or generative AI to create a working prototype or proof of concept. What to Submit Please submit the following: Project Title & Description – Clearly explain the problem and your solution Demo Video (2–3 mins) – Show how your project works GitHub Repository – Source code with proper README Live Demo Link (optional but recommended) Tech Stack – Tools, frameworks, and APIs used Presentation (optional) – Slides explaining your idea and impact Make sure your submission clearly demonstrates how your solution solves an everyday problem using AI. Hackathon Sponsors Prizes 1 non-cash prize Vercel Monthly Plan 1 winner Vercel Membership for three months will be awarded. Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Zaina Mariyam Judging Criteria Authenticity Authenticity will play a crucial role in the judging process. Use of AI tools is allowed, but projects should demonstrate genuine understanding and meaningful contribution. Any form of plagiarism or pre-built solutions may lead to disqualification.

HACKMESA 2026 unites 16 community colleges across Southern California for a 24-hour hackathon in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. Our mission is simple: prove that groundbreaking tech isn't just built at four-year universities. With workshops, mentorship, and thousands in prizes, HACKMESA empowers community college students to build real projects, gain industry experience, and launch their tech careers. Requirements 🔥 HACKMESA Project Submission Outline 1. Project Name A short, catchy title that reflects your project. 2. Reason for Making the Project (Inspiration/Problem Statement) What inspired your team to build this? What problem are you trying to solve? Who does it help and how? 3. Project Description What does your project do? How do users interact with it? Any special features, unique innovations, or standout aspects? 4. Tech Stack List of tools, languages, and frameworks used. Examples: Frontend: React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS Backend: Node.js, Express, Supabase, Firebase Database: PostgreSQL, MongoDB Other Tools: Docker, OpenAI API, Figma 5. Source Code / Devpost Link GitHub or GitLab repository (include frontend/backend links if separate) Any deployment/hosted links (demo video, live site, etc.) 6. (Optional) Challenges & Future Plans What were the biggest challenges your team faced? What do you plan to improve if given more time? Hackathon Sponsors Prizes $4,700+ in prizes + other prizes 1st Place $2,000 in cash 1 winner 2nd Place $1,500 in cash 1 winner 3rd Place $1,000 in cash 1 winner Best Beginner Hack 1 winner Awarded to the best project created entirely by first-time hackers (all team members must be first-time participants). Best Technical Implementation 1 winner Recognizes the project with the most impressive technical execution. Best UI/UX 1 winner Awarded for excellence in user interface design and overall user experience. Most Innovative 1 winner Given to the project that demonstrates the highest level of creativity and originality. Best Game Development 1 winner Must be in the Gaming / Entertainment Track and must be related to games. 4 Tickets to LA Dodgers Game Best Use of Eleven Labs 1 winner Prize: Wireless Earbuds Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI. Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds! Best Use of Gemini API 1 winner It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project? Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend? Best Use of Snowflake API 1 winner Prize: Raspberry Pi 4 Play with industry-leading LLMs on a single account using the Snowflake APIs. Adding AI capabilities into your application can be as simple as a single CURL command to Snowflake’s REST API. Build customized applications, RAG powered chat bots, or embed AI-powered features into your app in half the time with half the hassle. Get started for free with a special, student 120-day Snowflake trial and check out this repository for an example of the Snowflake REST API in action. Best Use of Solana 1 winner Prize: Ledger Nano S Plus The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable. Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless. Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions. Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX). Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume. Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team! Best Use of Vultr 1 winner Prize: Portable Screens Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck! Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team! Hologram Lab - AI UGC Ad Research Agent $200 in cash 1 winner Build an AI agent that generates high-performing ad ideas by analyzing top UGC content in your industry. Given a brand description and style preferences, the agent researches winning ads, extracts patterns, and outputs tailored creative directions. Devpost Achievements Submitting to this hackathon could earn you: <%= name %> <% if (has_levels) { %> level <%= next_level %> <% } %> Judges Stephen Cropper Judging Criteria Presentation