HackNC 2026 will take place from October 9th to 11th at UNC Chapel-Hill!
HackNC is a weekend for students of all skill levels to broaden their talents. Your challenge is to make an awesome project in just 24 hours. You will have access to hands-on workshops and demos from our sponsors to immerse yourself in all the awesome things happening right now with technology - not to mention all of the free food, merch, stickers, and swag!
HackNC begins with just a weekend, but we hope you're ready to learn new skills, make friends, and foster ideas here that flourish!
Requirements
Submission + Judging
HackNC 2026 Devpost: https://hacknc-2026.devpost.com/
SUBMISSION OF BOTH YOUR VIDEO AND YOUR CODE IS MANDATORY We will not be giving extensions. Hackers can submit ahead of time then edit until the deadline!
- Create your Devpost submission on our HackNC 2026 Devpost BY 10:00 AM EST on Sunday, October 11.
- Every team can only submit one project. Multiple submissions per team will not be allowed.
- Every submission must include a GitHub link to any code written for the hack, unless previous arrangements were made with the Directors.
- We will not be accepting cross-posted submissions to other hackathons, or submissions that have been developed (either partially or fully) prior to the official start of hacking for HackNC.
- Every submission must include a max. 2-minute long demo video showcasing the features of the project.
- We cannot guarantee that judges will fully watch your video if they’re longer than 2 minutes.
- Projects without a demo video will not be judged. These videos will be shown to our judges and if your project ends up winning a general category or track prize, it may be played/published on our social media channels.
Devpost Submission
- Visit our Devpost page and create a Devpost account
- Make sure all of your teammates also create accounts so you can add them when you submit your project
- Have one member of your team start a submission for our hackathon
- Fill out the necessary questions and choose the prizes that you’re competing for
- You must answer whether you want to be considered for the beginner or general track
- You may opt into any of our other tracks (Sponsor Track, Community Track, etc.)
Video Creation Tips
- Here are our recommended methods for creating videos:
- OBS Studio
- Join a Zoom call, screen share, and record it
- Mac Screen Recorder
- Some tips from organizers and mentors:
- (1) Have a clear, concise explanation for what you built and what problem you are solving
- (2) Show a walkthrough demo of a key user journey
- (3) Mention any sponsor technologies you used if you are going for their prizes
- (4) Try to speak at a relatively fast pace (don't go overboard though) so you can communicate more information about your project
- (5) Focus on what’s unique about your project
Demo Fair (12-1:30 PM October 11)
- Use the Tables tab on our Devpost to find your assigned table on Sunday. 3 judges will come around to your table for your presentation and to ask 1-2 questions.
- You have 4 minutes with each judge: 2 minutes to demo and 2 minutes to answer questions.
- At least one representative from your team is required to be at your table when a judge is present. Failure to be present will result in a score of 0 from that judge.
- After all 3 judges have visited your table, feel free to walk around and check out other teams’ projects!
- Winners will be announced at the closing ceremony at 3:00 PM in Hamilton Hall 100.
The Submission → Judging Flow
- You must submit your project to Devpost by 10:00 AM EST on Sunday October 11th. This submission must include only one project including a GitHub link and 2-minute (max) demo video.
- Once submitted, your team will be assigned a demo fair table by 11:00 AM. Please make your way to that table and set up your demo.
- From 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM, 3 judges will separately make their way to your team’s table.
- You have 4 minutes with each judge: 2 minutes to demo, and 2 minutes to answer a question asked by the judge. Y
- At least one representative from your team is required to be at your table when a judge is present. Failure to be present will result in a score of 0 from that judge.
- The 3 judges will score you based on those 4 minutes and the scores will be consolidated during deliberations.
- After 3 judges have visited, you are free to socialize or pack up until the closing ceremony at 3:00 PM (Pauli Murray (Hamilton) 100).
- Winners will be announced at the closing ceremony at 3:00 PM in Pauli Murray (Hamilton) Hall 100.
Prizes
HackNC General - 1st Place
Choose 1 from:
- AirPods 4 with Noise Cancelling
- Kodak PixPro FZ45 Digicam
- Nespresso Vertuo Pop+
+ MLH Winner Pin
HackNC General - 2nd Place
Choose 1 from:
- AULA F75 Mechanical Keyboard
- Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Headphones
- Fitbit Inspire 3
+ MLH Winner Pin
HackNC General - 3rd Place
Choose 1 from:
- Anker Power Bank
- JBL Go 4 Speaker
+ MLH Winner Pin
HackNC Beginner - 1st Place
Choose 1 from:
- AirPods 4 with Noise Cancelling
- Kodak PixPro FZ45 Digicam
- Nespresso Vertuo Pop+
HackNC Beginner - 2nd Place
Choose 1 from:
- AULA F75 Mechanical Keyboard
- Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Headphones
- Fitbit Inspire 3
HackNC Beginner - 3rd Place
Choose 1 from:
- Anker Power Bank
- JBL Go 4 Speaker
HackNC Frutiger Aero - 1st Place
Choose 1 from:
- Ocean Mechanical Keyboard
- JBL Go 5 Speaker
HackNC Frutiger Aero - 2nd Place
Choose 1 from:
- Jellyfish Lamp
- Aqua Mouse
- Ocean Projector
HackNC Best Community Hack
$70 GoHeels Carolina Gear Gift Card
HackNC Ig Turing
Dolphin Plush
[MLH] Best Use of ElevenLabs
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!
[MLH] Best Use of Gemini API
MLH 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?
[MLH] Best Use of Solana
Assorted Prizes
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 Tiger Data
Stream Deck Mini
Building high-performance apps under hackathon deadlines shouldn't mean spending half your weekend configuring complex databases or learning obscure query languages. Tiger Data extends PostgreSQL to give student developers an ultra-fast foundation for real-time data, time-series metrics, and complex analytics.
Why build with Tiger Data this weekend?
Standard SQL Power: Query massive datasets instantly using the SQL you already know, with no complex NoSQL aggregation pipelines required.
Unified Data Stack: Store relational user profiles and high-frequency metric streams side-by-side in a single database.
Instant Dashboards: Serve lag-free, real-time frontend charts using pre-computed Continuous Aggregates.
90%+ Data Compression: Store millions of events on free-tier cloud instances without running out of disk space.
Whether you’re building real-time IoT monitoring, AI-driven analytics dashboards, or financial prediction engines, show us how Tiger Data powers your project. The team that demonstrates the most innovative, impactful, and performance-driven use of Tiger Data will take home some great prizes!
[MLH] Best Use of Snowflake API
Arduino Student Kit
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.
[MLH] Best Use of .Tech
Desktop Microphone & a Free .Tech Domain Name for up to 10 years!
Make your Team’s Achievements timeless: Win a .Tech Domain Name for up to 10 years to Showcase and Expand Your Project, Plus Desktop Mics for Effortless Collaboration on Zoom, empowering you to build even more cool things together!
[Photon] Best iMessage Agent - 1st Place
$400 cash + $300 Photon credits + fast track to the final interview round with Photon team
[Photon] Best iMessage Agent - 2nd Place
$200 cash + $100 Photon credits
[Capital One] The Best Use of Nessie
$250 Giftogram gift card for each member of the winning team
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Roopashree Bommaganahalli
Riju John Xavier
Prashant Kulli
Priyanshu Sinha
Arpit Parekh
Maheswari Palle
Srinivasulu Rajala
Zaineel Mithani
Ben Chukwumobi
Arunima Mittra
Govind Kannanchath
Maninder Jeet Singh
Ujwal Suresh Vanjare
Yashas Majmudar
Prakasam Venkatachalam
Christopher McClanahan
Manideep Reddy Gillela
Gaurav Shah
Srujan Kumar Gandla
Munzer Al Azzeh
Srujan Kumar Gandla
Pururva Lakkad
Hrishika Roychoudhury
Aishwarya Nair
Sadia Kamal
Michael Dacany
Marc Gammon
Leila Maleki DevRel
Julie Chen
Pushpendra Pandey
Swarup Dongare
Shreyas Joshi
Rizwan Syed
Brij Mohan
Nilesh D
Dhavalkumar Patel
Tony Qin
Jack Huo
Judging Criteria
-
Application/Impact
Does the project have any feasible application and/or have a social impact that goes above and beyond? Will this help the community with a real problem they are facing? Can this be implemented? Will people find value and use your project? -
Functionality/Quality
Is the project free of major bugs? Does it look appealing? The UI/UX doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect, but if we're having a hard time understanding the project by looking at it, there may be a problem. -
Creativity
Is this project unique and innovative? Is it a solution or creation we have never seen before? A better way of doing something? -
Technical Complexity
The team should display a good level of knowledge in terms of the technology they’ve used in implementing their project. They are able to answer questions about their code -
Presentation
The team is able to fully present the functionalities of their project, including what they wish to expand on in the future. They are able to confidently answer the judge's questions.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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