Dates
Registration opened: Sunday, October 11, 2026
First live session: Sunday, October 11, 2026
Registration: Rolling. Students may register at any time until the submission deadline.
Submission deadline: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at [11:59 PM Eastern Time]
Demo Day and winners announced: Friday, October 30, 2026
Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted. STEM2Connect may change these dates only if necessary, and will notify all registered participants through Devpost if it does.
Eligibility
The hackathon is open to students aged 13 or older who are currently enrolled in middle school, high school, college, or university at the time of registration, including adult university students. Non-students are not eligible.
Participants may compete individually or in teams of up to 6 people. Each participant may be a member of only one team. Participants who register after the hackathon has started may join an existing team or compete on their own.
No coding experience is required.
STEM2Connect staff, mentors, and judges are not eligible to compete. Their immediate family members may compete if they meet the other eligibility requirements.
Participation is void where prohibited by law.
Project and Submission Requirements
Track. Each project must address a problem in one of the five tracks: Education, Healthcare, Sustainability, Scientific Research, or Community Impact.
AI tools and features. AI coding assistants are allowed with disclosure and attribution. Describe which tools you used and what they contributed in your README and Devpost description. An AI feature in the working project is strongly recommended and can strengthen your submission, but is not mandatory for participants who lack API credits. See Resources for free options.
Functionality. Each project must be a working solution that can be demonstrated, such as a website, app, chatbot, or data tool. Slide decks, mockups, and concept descriptions alone do not qualify.
New work. Projects must be created during the hackathon period, between October 11, 2026 and October 28, 2026. Teams may use open-source libraries, public datasets, and third-party APIs, but must credit them in their README.
Platform. Projects may run on any operating system or device. Judges must be able to access the project or view it working in the demo video.
Original work. Projects must be the team’s own work and must not infringe on anyone else’s intellectual property. Teams own the projects they create.
Content. Projects must not contain harmful, offensive, or misleading content, and must not collect personal data from users without their consent.
Each team must submit the following on Devpost by October 28, 2026, at [11:59 PM Eastern Time]:
GitHub repository. A link to a public repository containing the project’s source code and a README that explains what the project does, how to run it, and which AI tools or services it uses.
Demo video. A link to a video on YouTube or Vimeo, 6 minutes or less, that shows the project working. Videos must be publicly visible or unlisted.
Project description. A completed Devpost submission form that includes the project name, the problem it addresses, how it uses AI, and what the team learned.
Track selection. The track the project is entered in.
Team members. All team members must be added to the submission on Devpost.
Each team may submit only one project. Teams may edit their submission until the deadline. Submissions missing any required item will not be eligible for judging.
Demo Day presentation. Each team must present its project on Demo Day, October 30, 2026. Teams may present live or provide a prerecorded presentation if they cannot attend live.
Prizes
Gold (1st Place Overall)
A STEM2Connect Gold Certificate of Achievement, a featured spotlight post and story on STEM2Connect’s social media channels, and AI tool credits.
Silver (2nd Place Overall)
A STEM2Connect Silver Certificate of Achievement, a featured spotlight post on STEM2Connect’s social media channels, and AI tool credits.
Bronze (3rd Place Overall)
A STEM2Connect Bronze Certificate of Achievement and a featured spotlight post on STEM2Connect’s social media channels.
Track Winners (5 winners, one per track)
One winner each in Education, Healthcare, Sustainability, Scientific Research, and Community Impact. Each track winner receives a STEM2Connect Track Winner Certificate and a shout-out on STEM2Connect’s social media channels.
All participants who submit a complete project and present on Demo Day, live or by prerecorded presentation, receive a STEM2Connect Certificate of Participation.
A project may win only one prize. If an overall winner also has the top score in its track, the track prize goes to the next highest-scoring project in that track.
Judging Criteria and Winner Selection
Judges will score each project in five equally weighted categories:
Problem and Impact. Does the project address a real, clearly defined problem? Could it make a meaningful difference for the people it is built for?
Use of AI. Does the project use AI in a way that is central to the solution, not added on for the sake of it?
Functionality. Does the project work as shown? Is it a real, usable solution rather than a concept?
Learning and Growth. Did the team stretch beyond what they knew before? Can they explain what they learned and what they would do differently?
Presentation. Does the team clearly explain the problem, the solution, and their next steps on Demo Day and in their demo video?
Projects will be judged by a panel of mentors, industry professionals, and STEM2Connect team members.
Judges will review all complete submissions between October 28 and October 30, 2026, and will score each team’s live or prerecorded presentation on Demo Day, October 30, 2026. Winners will be announced at the end of Demo Day.
If two projects receive the same score, the project with the higher Problem and Impact score wins. All judging decisions are final.