About the challenge
Emerald Innovation Challenge 2026 is a full-day hackathon for middle and high school students. You will get a chance to work individually or in teams to code incredible projects, explore new technologies, and turn bold ideas into working prototypes. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced coder, this hackathon is a welcoming environment to learn, experiment, and push your skills further. In addition to hacking, you will get to enjoy free food, meet like-minded peers, and be part of an energetic, supportive community. At the end of the event, all will pitch their projects to judges and compete for massive prizes, recognition, and special awards celebrating innovation, design, AI, and real-world impact. With prizes, sponsors, and a supportive community, Emerald Innovation Challenge 2026 is a space where your ideas can come alive.
THEME [Was released the day of]: Build technology solutions that help people, communities, and the world around uslive more sustainably
Get started
Ready to join Emerald Innovation Challenge 2026?
Complete your registration at hack.emeraldtech.org This makes sure we have you on the official roster, and keep you updated with event details.
That’s it! Whether you’re coming solo or with a team, this is your first step toward an incredible hacking experience at Emerald High School.
Pitching Suggestions:
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Giving Judges a Demo of your project
-
Explain the Inspiration / Approach to the theme
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Tech Stack / Tools / Software used to develop your project
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Describing how your project works
- Have a slideshow to accompany you while pitching
3 MIN PRESENTATION TIME, 1 MIN JUDGES Q&A
Requirements
Participants may submit any type of project, including websites, mobile apps, games, hardware simulations, or block-based coding projects, as long as the project meaningfully relates to the prompt or tracks announced on the day of the hackathon.
As this is a hackathon, all projects submitted must have a software element to it.
Some things we recommend you submit through Devpost are:
- Pictures of your project (screenshots of code, the website, or stock images relating to your project)
- A way to access your project (Could be a website, a published app, etc.)
- A presentation of your project for the judges
- Description of how you built your project, your tech stack, inspiration behind your project, and the challenges you faced during the build process.
- Video demonstration of your project
Prizes
1st Place
- 2y CodeCrafters VIP Membership (Worth $720)
- InterviewBuddy AI Interview Voucher
- 10% Off InterviewBuddy Expert 1:1 Mock Interviews
- 2 XYZ Domains
- 1y Scrimba Pro Subscription for each of the members (worth $295 each)
- 1x Aops Voucher
- 1y CoCalc Academic License
- Featherless AI Scale Plan ($300)
- InterviewCake Full Access License (7 Days)
- Each member receives 3 Months of Pro Tier of ElevenLabs
- Custom Certificate
2nd Place
- 1y CodeCrafters VIP Membership (Worth $360)
- InterviewBuddy AI Interview Voucher
- 10% Off InterviewBuddy Expert 1:1 Mock Interviews
- 2 XYZ Domains
- 1y Scrimba Pro Subscription for each of the members (worth $295 each)
- 1x Aops Voucher
- 6mon CoCalc Academic License
- Featherless AI Scale Plan ($150)
- InterviewCake Full Access License (7 Days)
- Custom Certificate
3rd Place
- 6mon CodeCrafters VIP Membership (Worth $360)
- InterviewBuddy AI Interview Voucher
- 10% Off InterviewBuddy Expert 1:1 Mock Interviews
- 2 XYZ Domains
- 1y Scrimba Pro Subscription for each of the members (worth $295 each)
- 1x Aops Voucher
- 3mon CoCalc Academic License
- Featherless AI Scale Plan ($75)
- InterviewCake Full Access License (7 Days)
- Custom Certificate
Best UI/UX
- InterviewBuddy AI Interview Voucher
- 10% Off InterviewBuddy Expert 1:1 Mock Interviews
- 1 XYZ Domain
- 1y Scrimba Pro Subscription for each of the members (worth $295 each)
- 3mon CoCalc Academic License
- InterviewCake Full Access License (7 Days)
- Custom Certificate
Best Real-World Applicability
- InterviewBuddy AI Interview Voucher
- 10% Off InterviewBuddy Expert 1:1 Mock Interviews
- 1 XYZ Domain
- 1y Scrimba Pro Subscription for each of the members (worth $295 each)
- 3mon CoCalc Academic License
- InterviewCake Full Access License (7 Days)
- Custom Certificate
Best AI Implementation
- InterviewBuddy AI Interview Voucher
- 10% Off InterviewBuddy Expert 1:1 Mock Interviews
- 1 XYZ Domain
- 1x Aops Voucher
- 1y Scrimba Pro Subscription for each of the members (worth $295 each)
- 3mon CoCalc Academic License
- InterviewCake Full Access License (7 Days)
- Custom Certificate
Most Innovative
- InterviewBuddy AI Interview Voucher
- 10% Off InterviewBuddy Expert 1:1 Mock Interviews
- 1 XYZ Domain
- 1x Aops Voucher
- 1y Scrimba Pro Subscription for each of the members (worth $295 each)
- 3mon CoCalc Academic License
- InterviewCake Full Access License (7 Days)
- Custom Certificate
All Participants
- 1mon of Featherless AI Premium
- 1mon of ElevenLabs Creative Tier
- Free food, snacks, lunch
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Rajeev Gupta
CPO @ Cowbell Cyber
Ram Viswanadha
Software Engineer
Sanjeev Kasarabada
Software Engineer
Sanjib Sengupta
Software Engineer
Bharat Paliwal
President of Emerald Academic Foundation
Suneeth Maraboina
Audio Engineer at Apple
Judging Criteria
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Technical Implementation _/10
Complexity and efficiency of the solution. How well was it executed from a technical perspective? -
Innovation & Creativity _/20
Uniqueness and originality of the project. How different is it from existing solutions? -
Design, UI, & UX & Presentation _/10
Is the project well-designed and user-friendly? Does it provide a good user experience? How was their presentation and demo? -
Relevance & Impact _/20
How well it addresses the given problem and its potential real-world impact.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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