What is a Hackathon?

A hackathon is a fast-paced, collaborative event—typically lasting 24 to 48 hours—where programmers, designers, and domain experts team up to build functioning software or hardware prototypes. Participants pitch their completed projects to judges to win prizes, secure funding, or network with industry recruiters. [1, 2, 3, 4]

How Hackathons Work

Team Formation: People join solo or form small teams of 2 to 5 members with balanced coding and design skills. [1]
The Challenge: Teams select a specific theme, open-ended problem, or sponsor-provided track (such as AI, fintech, or healthcare). [1, 2]
Rapid Building: Teams code, design, and troubleshoot intensively over a short period, often fueled by mentor feedback and sponsor workshops. [1, 2]
The Pitch: Teams present a live demo of their working project to a panel of judges who score them on creativity, execution, and usefulness.