Opportunity brief

Overview

ARGONYX '26 is a 24-hour hackathon that simulates a real-world startup environment. It challenges teams to rapidly prototype innovative solutions, solve real-world problems, collaborate across disciplines, and pitch their working prototypes to a panel of judges.

Organizers

School of Computer Science and Engineering, RV University
IEEE SB RVU
ECell, The Entrepreneurship Cell
Viksha, The Coding Club

Eligibility

Open to all undergraduate students.
Valid college ID is mandatory.
Inter-college teams are allowed.
Inter-specialization teams are allowed.
Team size: 2 to 4 members.
Team participation is mandatory.

Event Format

Round 1: Online Screening

Teams must submit a PPT presenting their proposed idea and solution.
The PPT must follow the prescribed format/template provided by the organizers.
PPT Template: https://canva.link/ttr06t6h3ftu6mc
Evaluation will be based on innovation, feasibility, clarity, problem-solution fit, and other criteria mentioned in the Round 1 evaluation rubric.
Shortlisted teams will qualify for the offline hackathon.
Registration fee: ₹100 per team.
The registration fee is non-refundable.

Round 2: Offline Hackathon

Date: 25th to 26th September 2026
Start Time: 25th September 2026, 11:00 AM onwards
Venue: RV University
Duration: 24 hours
Format: On-site coding, prototyping, development, and final idea pitching.

Shortlisted teams will be notified after Round 1 and must confirm their participation by paying ₹800 per team. This fee is non-refundable and covers the facilities provided during the offline hackathon.

Facilities provided include:

Food
Refreshments
High-speed internet
Breakout rooms
Other event amenities

Rules

All solutions must be original. Plagiarism or direct copying of existing solutions is not permitted.
Teams must build or substantially refine their solution during the allotted hackathon period on-site.
All team members must complete registration before the registration deadline.
Travel and accommodation expenses must be borne by the participants.
Registration and participation fees are non-refundable.
Participants must follow all instructions provided by the organizers, mentors, volunteers, and judges.
Any form of unfair assistance, plagiarism, or violation of the event rules may result in disqualification.

Problem Statements

Explore the official ARGONYX '26 problem statements and choose a challenge that aligns with your team's interests, skills, and ideas.

Problem Statements:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15URpbtRGYWSZCcHLmdpTreDony6AQnAlK9aCPlayxOY/edit?tab=t.0

Teams are encouraged to carefully review the available problem statements before preparing their submission.

Submission Deliverables

Shortlisted teams participating in the offline hackathon must submit:

A working prototype
Source code repository
2-minute demo video
Final pitch deck with a maximum of 8 slides

Final Presentation

Each team will be given:

5 minutes for the final pitch
2 minutes for Q&A

Additional presentation requirements:

Live demonstration of the project is mandatory.
A backup demo video may be used in case of technical difficulties.
All team members must participate in the final presentation.
Teams should clearly communicate the problem, solution, implementation, impact, and market relevance of their project.
Presentation quality, storytelling, and the ability to communicate the value of the solution will be considered during judging.

Round 1 Evaluation

Round 1 will be evaluated out of 100 points based on the following criteria:

Criteria

Maximum Points

Problem-Solution Fit

Market & User Need

Innovation & Creativity

Technical Feasibility & Execution

Potential Impact

Scalability & Future Scope

Community Engagement & Open Source Contribution

Total

100

Each criterion will be scored based on how clearly the team understands the problem, the quality and originality of the solution, its feasibility, potential impact, community engagement, and scope for growth.

GitHub & Open Source Community Contributions

The final 15 points of the Round 1 evaluation are allocated to GitHub & Open Source Community Contributions.

Participants can earn these points by making meaningful contributions to the sponsor's GitHub repository.

Contributions may include:

Meaningful code contributions and commits
Fixing bugs or improving existing features
Adding new features or functionality
Improving documentation
Creating useful examples, guides, or technical resources
Identifying and resolving issues in the repository
Meaningful collaboration and improvements to the sponsor's project

Note: Contributions should be genuine, relevant, and meaningful to the sponsor's repository. Simply creating commits without substantial contribution will not qualify for full marks.

Sponsor Resources

Studio1: https://dub.sh/studio1-argonyx
Sponsor GitHub Repository: https://dub.sh/repo-argonyx
Raah.dev Web Analytics App: https://dub.sh/raah-argonyx

Round 2 Judging Criteria

The final offline hackathon will be evaluated based on:

Innovation: 25%
Technical Implementation: 25%
Presentation & Storytelling: 25%
Business Impact & Market Potential: 25%

Additional Recognition & Career Opportunities

Best UI/UX Team

The team recognized as Best UI/UX Team will receive an opportunity to sit for a direct interview with Studio1 for a Developer role.

AI Developer Relations Engineer

Direct interview opportunity with Studio1 for an AI Developer Relations Engineer role.

The ideal candidate is a developer who is strong in building AI agents and working with GenAI, with a video-first DevRel mindset, someone who can create clear video explanations, demos or tutorials showcasing what they build.

Overall Best Project

The Overall Best Project will be recognized based on the quality of the project developed during the hackathon, including factors such as:

Working implementation
Frontend and UI/UX quality
Technical execution
Project demonstration
Demo video
Documentation and project content
Overall presentation
Problem-solving approach
Potential real-world impact

The selected team will with best UI/UX will receive an opportunity to sit for a direct interview with Studio1 for a Developer role.

Promotion & Social Media Bonus

Participants are encouraged to promote ARGONYX '26 and showcase their project through social media.

Teams that actively promote their participation and project on social media may earn bonus points during evaluation.
Teams can create and host a static website showcasing their project, idea, features, team, and development journey. Teams may use platforms such as Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, or any other suitable hosting service.
Teams are encouraged to integrate Raah into their project website. Raah is a web analytics platform that helps teams track their website traffic and gain visibility through the Raah dashboard.
Participants can add the Raah badge to their project website. Website traffic and project visibility may be considered for team rankings and bonus points.
The hosted website should be shared through a LinkedIn post along with a brief description of the project.
Participants are encouraged to use Raah for tracking and showcasing their website analytics: https://raah.dev/
In the LinkedIn post, participants should tag Studio1 (Raah's LinkedIn presence) and the relevant ARGONYX '26 organizing handles, including SoCSE, RV University; Viksha – The Coding Club; ECell, RV University and IEEE RVU.
Teams may also share their project development journey, demos, blogs, videos, or other meaningful technical content on LinkedIn.
Social media promotion should be genuine and relevant to the project. Spam, misleading engagement, or artificial promotion will not be considered for bonus points.

Official Social Media Accounts

Studio1

X: @Studio1HQ
LinkedIn: Studio1 on LinkedIn
YouTube: Studio1 on YouTube

Raah.dev

- X: @raahdotdev

Collaboration

ARGONYX '26 is being conducted in collaboration with Studio1 and the following three organizing clubs:

IEEE SB RVU
ECell, The Entrepreneurship Cell
Viksha, The Coding Club

Important Dates & Deadlines:

Registration opens: 4th September 2026, 11:00 AM IST
Submission & registration deadline: 18th September 2026
Round 1 results: 21st September 2026
Round 2 (offline hackathon): 25th–26th September 2026