Dates

You must have your team registered on Devpost by 11:00pm on Saturday 11/7. You can still edit your post and add your project up until the final deadline.

Final Submissions are due at 12:00 PM on Sunday 11/8. Submissions are only through Devpost.

Note that if you are doing the CTF "track" you are still required to submit for both deadlines.

Eligibility

We follow the MLH rules, MLH Code of Conduct, and UTD Code of Conduct.

Directors, Organizers, Volunteers, Mentors, Sponsors, Vendors, and anyone affiliated with operations behind HackUTD are NOT eligible to submit a project. 

All projects must be started at HackUTD.

AI usage is encouraged, but you must submit an idea that you developed in some way, no stealing existing projects/ideas.

Maximum Team Size of 4 for prizes. All Team members must be added to the Devpost submission in order to recieve prizes.

Projects must be submitted on or before the Sunday, November 8 @ 12:00pm deadline. This is a HARD stop and submissions after this time will NOT be considered.

Project and Submission Rules

Any violation of these rules will result in immediate disqualification of your team and project

  • 4 hackers maximum per team 
  • Only submit to HackUTD, projects that submit to other hackathons will be disqualified
  • All code must be pushed BEFORE the deadline and linked to Devpost. No code = disqualificiation
  • Submitting only copied idea/code will result in project disqualification
  • Each hacker is only allowed to submit only one project during this hackathon
  • No coding/building before noon on Saturday (but you are encouraged to ideate) 
  • You must be present at judging to qualify for a prize.

Prizes

To win prizes you must demo your project during judging and at be present at closing ceremony to accept your prize. If there are extenuating circumstances and one of your team members is not there to demo your project, or not present at closing ceremony, we can mail them their prize.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Judging will be science fair style. Your project will be viewed by 1 or more judges, depending on how many tracks you submit to. You will be judged on the following criteria:

Innovation and Creativity: How unique or original is the project idea? Does it present a new solution to a problem or use technology in an unexpected way? 

Technical Complexity: How technically challenging is the project? Did the team push the boundaries with complex algorithms, integrations, or hardware? 

Completeness: Does the project work as intended? Are there any major bugs or broken features?

Design: How user-friendly and visually appealing is the project? Is the interface intuitive and easy to navigate? Your app should reflect that you put thought into accessibility, layout, visual design, and the intuitiveness of the user journey.

Impact: Does the project address a real problem, and could it be used in a real-world context? How impactful could it be? More points if your project has potential beyond HackUTD. Solve a meaningful problem or have a clear target audience.

Presentation: How well did the team communicate their project and its purpose? Did they clearly explain the problem, solution, and technical choices? Points are awarded for clarity, confidence, and storytelling.