About the challenge

NGN Hacks 2026 is a worldwide online hackathon for high school students in Grades 9–12 who want to build, learn, and create something meaningful with technology.

This hackathon is open to beginners and experienced hackers. You do not need to be an expert coder to join. The goal is to learn, work with others, solve a real problem, and build a project you are proud of.

Participants can create projects in areas like artificial intelligence, education, sustainability, health, productivity, accessibility, finance, cybersecurity, and other creative technology ideas.

NGN Hacks is designed to help students gain real experience, improve their skills, meet other motivated students, and build something they can add to their portfolio, resume, or university applications.

Free Sponsered Resources

Access to all the resources below will only get announced on August 7th on Devpost & Discord Announcements which are the main communication channels for this hackathon. 
Every participant get free SelfCAD full feature license keys to build 3D Models for their submissions during the time of the hackathon
Every participant gets one month of DevSwarm Pro which is worth $8 USD for each participant at Next Generation Hacks.
Every participant can redeem 500 YouCam API units, valid for one year, to build their project using premium AI photo-editing and virtual try-on tools. The sponsorship supports up to 300 redemptions, representing $8,250 USD in value based on YouCam’s publicly listed pay-as-you-go price.
Every participant will receieve Inference Sponsorship (Worth $25 per person): Inference access for all participants for one month in Featherless AI

Get started

1. Register for the hackathon on Devpost.

2. Join the NGN Hacks community and check for updates.

3. Form a team or compete individually.

4. Read the rules, judging criteria, and prize information.

5. Choose a problem you want to solve.

6. Build your project during the hackathon.

7. Submit your project before the deadline.

You can work alone or with a team. Your project does not have to be perfect. What matters most is that you show creativity, effort, problem-solving, and a clear explanation of what you built.

The hackathon will run online from August 7 to August 9, 2026. 

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Daniel Martinez (August 7 - 3PM ET)

Daniel Martinez is a 19 year old YC-backed founder building the future of education and AI. Daniel is the founder of VibeGrade, Units and TypeOS, has been featured by Forbes, and began building startups as a teenager after dropping out of high school when he was 17 years old to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.

Instagram: CLICK HERE!
LinkedIn: CLICK HERE!

Raffi Krikorian (August 7 - 1:30 PM ET)

Raffi Krikorian is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Mozilla, where he leads the organization's global efforts to develop trustworthy, open-source AI and ensure the internet remains an open, accessible public resource.

Krikorian joined Mozilla in late 2025 after a rich career in technology, politics, and philanthropy, including previous roles as the CTO of Emerson Collective, the first CTO of the Democratic National Committee, Head of Uber's Advanced Technologies Center, and Vice President of Platform Engineering at Twitter.

Krikorian attended MIT and was a student of Neil Gershenfeld's. His work involved creating a new type of network for everyday devices called "Internet-0" (an analogue to the Internet of Things).

LinkedIn: CLICK HERE!

Wikipedia: CLICK HERE!

• Creativity and Originality
  How unique, interesting, and creative is the project idea? Judges will look for original thinking, creative problem-solving, and ideas that are not just simple copies of existing apps, websites, or tools.
• Impact and Usefulness
  How well does the project solve a real problem or help a specific group of people? Judges will look at who the project is for, why the problem matters, and how useful the solution could be in real life.
• Technical Quality
  How well was the project built? Judges will look at the tools used, the features included, the amount of effort shown, and how well the project works as a demo, prototype, or finished product.
• Design and User Experience
  How clear, organized, and easy to use is the project? Judges will look at the layout, visuals, navigation, and overall experience for the user.
• Presentation and Exploration
  How clearly does the team explain the project? Judges will look at the Devpost description, demo video, screenshots, links, and how well the team explains what they built, how it works, and why it matters.
• Completion and Execution
  How complete is the project by the submission deadline? Judges will look for clear progress, effort, and a working demo, prototype, or proof of concept. The project does not need to be perfect, but it should be understandable and well executed.