Dates August 7 - 9

Eligibility

NGN Hacks 2026 is open to high school students in Grades 9-12 from anywhere in the world.

Participants may compete individually or as part of a team. Students of all experience levels are welcome, including beginners who are new to coding, design, entrepreneurship, or hackathons.

To participate, you must:

Be a high school student in Grades 9-12
Register for the hackathon on Devpost
Follow all hackathon rules and submission requirements
Create your project during the hackathon period
Submit your project before the deadline

Participants do not need to have advanced coding experience. NGN Hacks is meant to be a learning experience where students can build skills, solve problems, and create something meaningful.

Teams may include students from different schools, cities, or countries. Each participant is responsible for making sure their submission is original and follows the rules.

Prizes

NGN Hacks 2026 will recognize the top projects based on creativity, impact, technical quality, presentation, and overall execution.

Prize categories may include:

1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place

Additional prizes include the following:

Most creative solution

Best beginner project

Best Use of Featherless AI

Best Use of SelfCAD


Prize details will be shared on the official Devpost page. Prizes are awarded based on the final judging results.

To be eligible for prizes, participants must submit a complete project before the deadline and follow all hackathon rules.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Projects will be judged based on the final Devpost submission, demo, explanation, and overall quality of the project.

Judging Criteria

1. Creativity and Originality

Judges will look at how unique, interesting, and creative the project idea is.

Strong projects should show original thinking and not just copy an existing app, website, or tool.

2. Impact and Usefulness

Judges will look at whether the project solves a real problem or helps a specific group of people.

Strong projects should clearly explain who the project is for and why it matters.

3. Technical Quality

Judges will look at how well the project was built.

This includes the tools used, the effort shown, the features included, and how well the project works as a demo, prototype, or finished product.

4. Design and User Experience

Judges will look at how easy the project is to understand, use, and navigate.

Strong projects should have a clean design, clear layout, and a good experience for the user.

5. Presentation and Explanation

Judges will look at how clearly the team explains the project.

The Devpost description, demo video, screenshots, and links should help judges understand what was built, how it works, and why it is useful.

6. Completion and Execution

Judges will look at how complete the project is by the submission deadline.

A project does not need to be perfect, but it should show clear progress, effort, and a working demo, prototype, or proof of concept.

Winner Selection

After submissions close, eligible projects will be reviewed by the judges.

Winners will be selected based on the judging criteria listed above.

Judges may consider the overall strength of the project, including the idea, impact, technical work, design, presentation, and completion.

Projects that are late, incomplete, missing required links, or do not follow the hackathon rules may not be eligible for prizes.

The judges’ decisions are final.