Scratch to Hack

Scratch to Hack

Organized by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Akal University, Talwandi Sabo

Get ready to think, build, innovate, and hack! Scratch to Hack is an inter-hackathon designed to bring together students and aspiring innovators to develop creative, technology-driven solutions to real-world problem statements. Participants will have the opportunity to collaborate, build a working prototype, showcase their technical skills, and present their ideas before a panel of judges.

Important Dates & Timeline

- 03 October 2026 (Saturday) | 10:00 AM: Hackathon officially starts & Tracks announced -

05 October 2026 (Monday) | 10:00 AM: PPT Submission Deadline

- 05 Ocotber 2026 (Monday) | 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: PPT Round Results announced (Qualified teams begin working on their projects) -

06 – 08 Ocotober 2026: Hackathon Building Phase

- 08 Ocotober 2026 | 11:50 PM: Final Project Submission (Includes GitHub repository code & demonstration video) - 9 October 2026 | 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM: Project Discussion & Evaluation

Event Details

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Venue: Akal University Conference Room

- Registration Fee: ₹600 per team -

Registration Opens: 19 September 2026

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Registration Deadline: 02 October 2026

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Team Formation Deadline: 03 October 2026  (8:00 AM)

Logistics & Hospitality

• Expenses: All travel and personal expenses must be covered by the participants on their own.
• Registration Fee: ₹600 per team (payable during registration).
• Meals & Refreshments: Refreshments will be provided only on the last day of the event.

Eligibility & Team Formation

- Each team must consist of exactly 6 members. - All members of a team must belong to the same educational institution. - Each participant can be part of only one team. - Participants must provide valid identification and institutional credentials when required. - Every team member must complete the required registration and verification process.

What You'll Do

- Teams will work on official problem statements and challenge tracks announced for the Hackathon. Participants are expected to develop their solutions during the designated hacking period and should be able to explain their project's architecture, functionality, implementation, and technology stack. Teams may use legitimate open-source libraries, frameworks, APIs, datasets, development platforms, and AI tools, subject to their applicable licenses and terms of use. Significant AI-assisted components must be disclosed, and participants must be capable of explaining the technical components of their solution.

Evaluation Criteria

Projects will be evaluated on factors including:

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Innovation & Creativity

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Technical Excellence

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Problem Relevance

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Impact & Scalability

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User Experience

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Functionality

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Presentation & Demonstration

Teams should be prepared to demonstrate their project and answer questions during the Project Discussion round. The decision of the appointed judging panel will be final.

Submission Requirements

Teams will be required to submit:

- Presentation Submission (by 05 October, 10:00 AM) - Source Code (GitHub Repository link)(by 08 October,11:50 PM) -

Working Prototype & Demonstration Video

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Project Description & Technical Documentation

- Details of Technology Stack & Third-party resources used

Code of Conduct

All participants are expected to maintain a professional, respectful, collaborative, and safe environment throughout the event. Harassment, discrimination, hate speech, threats, violence, deliberate disruption, theft, vandalism, unauthorized access, plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of misconduct are strictly prohibited. Unauthorized cybersecurity testing, attacks on other projects, or disruption of event infrastructure will lead to immediate disqualification and escalation to University authorities.