Hack404 is a 36-hour hackathon in the heart of Downtown Toronto that brings together high school and post-secondary students to explore emerging technologies and develop real-world solutions through innovation and collaboration. Hack404 is not just about coding; it is about helping students see how technology can shape the future and serve their communities. We're focused on our three pillars: education, innovation, and community. As a beginner friendly hackathon, Hack404 is split into two streams: Open and Beginner.

Beginner teams will attend 3-5 workshops and create multiple "microhacks" rather than a single large project. Then, they'll be judged portfolio-style, where they showcase their top 3 mini-hacks and are evaluated based on their technical execution, creativity, and innovation.

Hackers will have 36 hours to create an innovative project in line with our three pillars—education, innovation, and community—and a problem statement that will be announced during opening ceremonies. We'll also be hosting activities and workshops throughout the weekend!

Requirements

  • Teams must be groups of 1-4 (beginner stream hackers must be in teams of 3-4)
    • Beginner stream hackers must attend a minimum of 3 microhacks
    • Mixing streams is not permitted (either all open or all beginner in a team)
  • All teams must submit their project on Devpost with a video demo (optional) of their project that is under 1 minute long. This could be useful for backup in case of technical issues during the live pitch.
  • Teams must live pitch their project during judging rounds to be eligible for prizes
  • No reusing past projects - This will get you disqualified from Hack404
  • Edits to projects must only be made between (pitch deck, GitHub, etc) 9 PM EST on Friday, July 4, 2025 to at 9 AM EST on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
  • All code will have to be made publically available in order for the judges and organizers to look through it. You can use a platform such as github, or gitlab

What to submit:

  • Beginners: Pitch deck + 3 project links (github, notebook, 3d model, etc.)
  • Open: Github repo (public visibility)

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$3,600+ in prizes
+ other prizes
1st Overall
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

2nd Overall
$600 in cash
1 winner

3rd Overall
$400 in cash
1 winner

1st Beginner Stream
$800 in cash
1 winner

2nd Beginner Stream
$500 in cash
1 winner

3rd Beginner Stream
$300 in cash
1 winner

Best Hack for a Social Cause
1 winner

- Each member will receive a CN Tower Lego set

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Judge

Judge

Judging Criteria

  • Originality
    How original or creative was the hack?
  • Engagement
    How many workshops did the team attend and how did they make use of what they learned in their project?
  • Technical/Functional
    How technically impressive was the project? Was the project functional? Was the technical problem that the team tackled difficult? Did it use a particularly unique technique or many different components?
  • Innovation
    Has this been done before at a hackathon in the past? Have you seen something similar and if you have, has it been improved?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Tell your friends

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.