Hackathon

Rules

How it runs

1. The Hackathon tests a team’s ability to carry a conceptual challenge through to a market-oriented solution: a functional prototype, sound business and marketing thinking, and the ability to communicate and defend the result under questioning. It runs as a single continuous stage, with no elimination rounds unless the Organising Committee announces otherwise.
2. Each school nominates three students. They do not necessarily compete together as a school team: they are combined with students from other schools to form cross-school Companies. The number of Companies, schools per Company and members per Company are set by the Organising Committee on final participation strength. For example, if 15 schools take part, five Companies of three schools each may be formed, giving approximately 15 members per Company. Allocation cannot be requested or altered.
3. After the Opening Ceremony and Company formation, and before the Problem Statements are released, each Company appoints a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Technology Officer and a Chief Marketing Officer through the prescribed chit-picking process. Judges may question any Company Member, whatever their role.
4. Companies then receive a set of Problem Statements organised under multiple Sustainable Development Goals, and each selects one. The Problem Statements are confidential until their official release.
5. The Development Period runs from the release of the Problem Statements to the submission deadline set by the Organising Committee. Every Company must produce three interconnected outputs: a Functional Prototype (hardware, software or a combination), a Business/Financial Strategy, and a Marketing Strategy. Concept art, static slides, wireframes or mock-ups alone are not a functioning prototype, and any simulated functionality must be disclosed.
6. The solution must be substantially developed by the Company during the Development Period. Pre-built solutions, outside development assistance and outsourcing of any technical, marketing or financial work are not permitted.
7. AI tools are permitted. Each Company must disclose the AI tools used, the purpose of each, and the significant components that were AI-assisted, and every Company Member must be able to explain the final output, including AI-assisted components.
8. Participants bring their own laptops; internet access is provided by the host school. Mobile phones and personal hotspots are prohibited during the competition unless the Organising Committee permits them for a specific purpose, and any group chat used within or between Companies must include a member of the Organising Team.
9. The event concludes with a 15-minute Corporate Pitch to the Judging Panel, in which all Company Members should take part, followed by a Question-and-Answer session whose duration will be specified before the event.

Fabrication. Hardware is optional. Campus fabrication facilities, including 3D printing, may be made available for approved hardware development. A hardware solution earns no extra credit for containing physical components, and a software-only solution is not disadvantaged.

Company structure. To be announced · TBC

Judging

• Scored out of 100 across three pillars and eighteen criteria
• Judges assess the evidence a Company presents through its Prototype, Submission, Corporate Pitch and Q&A
• Hardware integration and AI transparency are not marked criteria: hardware is optional, and AI use must be declared and understood
• Ties go to the higher Programming, Technology & Product Development score, then Core Functionality & Working Prototype, then Financial & Business Viability, then Marketing & Market Strategy, then Judging Panel deliberation

Can you build it? Can you sell it? Can you sustain it?