Opportunity brief
HACKFORGE 2026 — 24-Hour Overnight Hackathon:
HackForge 2026 is a 24-hour overnight offline hackathon designed for engineering students to solve real-world problems by building practical, working solutions.
The event will begin with a preliminary online round, followed by the main 24-hour offline hackathon at Mukesh Patel School of Technology and Engineering (MPSTME), Mumbai.
Participants will compete across two tracks, with teams free to choose the track that best suits their interests and technical strengths.
Event Details:
- Event: HackForge 2026
- Mode: Offline
- Duration: 24 Hours
- Date: 17th October 2026, 6:00 PM – 18th October 2026, 6:00 PM
- Venue: Mukesh Patel School of Technology and Engineering (MPSTME), Mumbai
- Team Size: 3 Members
- Eligibility: Engineering Students
- Registration Fee: ₹600 per team
Preliminary Online Round:
Before the main offline hackathon, teams will participate in a preliminary online round.
- Dates: To be announced
Further details regarding the online round and selection process will be communicated to registered participants.
Tracks:
Participants can choose one of the two tracks during registration.
Track 1: Intermediate — Secure & Smart Automation
- Build intelligent and secure automated systems designed for real-world environments. The track focuses on combining automation, smart decision-making, and security to create dependable solutions.
Track 2: Advanced — Quantitative Systems
- Build efficient solutions for complex problems involving scale, optimization, algorithms, and real-world constraints. Solutions should be capable of handling demanding computational requirements while remaining practical and efficient.
Note: The selected track cannot be changed after registration unless permitted by the organizing team.
Hackathon Timeline:
17th October 2026
- 6:00 PM — Hackathon Begins: The event officially begins with the release of the problem statements.
- 7:00 PM — Build Phase Begins: Teams begin working on their selected problem statement.
18th October 2026
- 3:00 PM — Build Phase Ends: The development period concludes and teams submit their final projects and required deliverables.
- 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM — Judging & Project Presentations: Teams will present and demonstrate their solutions to the judging panel.
- 6:00 PM onwards — Prize Distribution: The winners of the Intermediate and Advanced tracks will be announced and awarded their prizes, trophies, and winner certificates.
Submission Requirements:
Each team must submit:
- GitHub Repository: A GitHub repository containing the project's source code.
- Project Presentation: A PPT explaining the problem, proposed solution, technical approach, implementation, and impact.
- Prototype: A working prototype or demonstration of the solution, wherever applicable.
GitHub repository and PPT submission are mandatory.
Judging Criteria:
Projects will be evaluated based on:
- Problem Understanding
- Technical Implementation
- Functionality
- Innovation & Creativity
- Practicality & Scalability
- Presentation & Demonstration
Prizes:
There will be one winner from each track.
Intermediate Track:
₹6,000 Team Prize
- The winning team will receive prize money, winner certificates, and a trophy.
Advanced Track:
₹9,000 Team Prize
- The winning team will receive prize money, winner certificates, and a trophy.
- The prize money is awarded to the winning team as a whole.
Certificates:
- All eligible participants will receive Participation Certificates.
- Winning teams will receive Winner Certificates, along with their respective prize money and trophies.
Rules & Regulations:
- Each team must consist of exactly 3 members.
- Each participant can be part of only one team.
- Inter-college teams are allowed.
- Participants can choose their preferred track during registration.
- Teams must develop their solutions within the designated build period.
- Problem statements will be released at the beginning of the offline hackathon.
- All submitted work must be original.
- Plagiarism or copying another team's work will result in disqualification.
- Participants may use open-source tools, libraries, and resources.
- Teams must submit all required deliverables before the submission deadline.
- The decision of the judging panel will be final and binding.