Why HackSMU?
THIS IS AN IN-PERSON HACKATHON
Join us on April 11-12, 2026, at Southern Methodist University for HackSMU VII, a 24-hour hackathon where innovation and creativity converge. Open to students of all backgrounds and skill levels, this event features diverse tracks like AI, UI/UX, First-Time Hackers, and sustainability. You'll solve real-world challenges, participate in workshops, and receive guidance from experienced mentors.
Connect with industry professionals, recruiters, and fellow hackers while competing for exciting prizes. Enjoy a fun and engaging experience with mini-games, free swag, and meals to keep you energized. Don’t miss this opportunity to push your boundaries and make lasting connections. Register now and be part of HackSMU VI!.
More information at https://hacksmu.org!
Schedule
Saturday, April 11, 2026
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9 AM-11 AM - Hacker Check-In
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, 1st Floor (Entryway)
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9 AM-11 AM - Sponsor Tabling
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, 220 BC (Open Walls)
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11 AM-11:50 AM - Opening Ceremony
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Oren Family Auditorium
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11:50 AM-12 PM - Team Building
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Oren Family Auditorium
- 12 PM - Hacking Begins
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1 PM-2 PM - Lunch
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Atrium
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2:30 PM-3:30 PM - Workshop: Shaping the Future of Water with Modular Pumping Solutions w/ Grundfos
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Chamber
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4 PM-5 PM - Online Workshop: Voices of the Wild: Understanding Elephant Communication w/ ElephantVoices
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Chamber
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5:30 PM-6:30 PM - Workshop: Digital Infrastructure Workforce Panel w/ Infrastructure Masons
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Chamber
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7 PM-8 PM - Dinner
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Atrium
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8:30 PM-9:30 PM - Event: MS Paint Bob Ross w/ Major League Hacking
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Chamber
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10 PM-11 PM - Event w/ Major League Hacking
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Chamber
Sunday, April 12, 2026
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9 AM-10 AM - Breakfast
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Atrium
- 11 AM - Submission Deadline 1-Hour Warning
- 12 PM - Hacking Ends
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12 PM-1 PM - Lunch
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Atrium
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1 PM-3:30 PM - Judging
- Location: James M. Collins Executive Education Center, Commons
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3:30 PM-4:20 PM - Judging Deliberation
- Location:James M. Collins Executive Education Center
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4:30 PM-5:20 PM - Closing Ceremony
- Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Oren Family Auditorium
Requirements
Submissions must include a link to the repository of your project, preferably on GitHub. List the challenges and tracks your project fulfills in the description. You can have multiple tracks and challenges listed in your project, given your project fulfils the requirements of multiple tracks.
Challenges
Best Use of AI
Best UI/UX Design
Best First-Time Hacker (at least 1 team member is a first time hackathon participant)
MLH Challenges
⭐ Google Swag Kits ⭐
⭐ Wireless Earbuds ⭐
⭐ Ledger Nano S Plus ⭐
⭐ Wireless Headphones ⭐
⭐ Retro Wireless Mouse ⭐
⭐ Wireless Headphones ⭐
Tracks
General Track - Overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd (Everyone is automatically in the running for this)
iMasons Track
Grundfos Track
Prizes
iMasons
1st Place: Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) glasses
2nd Place: Apple Watch SE 3
Grundfos
1st Place: Xbox Series S (512 GB)
2nd Place: Switch 32GB Lite - Nintendo Switch Lite
Overall 1st Place
iPad Wi-Fi 128GB
Overall 2nd Place
Roku - 40" Class Select Series Full HD (1080p) LED Smart RokuTV (2026)
Overall 3rd Place
Apple - AirPods 4
Best Use of AI
Backbone - One - PlayStation & Xbox Edition (Lightning) - Mobile Gaming Controller for iPhone
Most Innovative Idea
JBL - Go 4 Portable Bluetooth Speaker - 2024 - Black
Best UI/UX Design
Roku - Streaming Stick Plus 2025 - 4K & HDR Streaming Device for TV with Voice Remote - Black
Best First-Time Hackers
JBL - Tune 245NC True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds - Black
Best Use of Gemini API
It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?
Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice
Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers
Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more
Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?
Best Use of Solana
The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.
Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.
Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.
Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).
Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.
Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!
Best Use of ElevenLabs
Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI.
Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win wireless earbuds!
Best Use of Auth0
Auth0 wants your applications to be secure! Why spend hours building features like social sign-in, Multi-Factor Authentication, and passwordless log-in when you can enable them through Auth0 straight out of the box? Auth0 is free to try, doesn’t require a credit card, and allows for up to 7,000 free active users and unlimited log-ins. Make your new account today and use any of the Auth0 APIs for a chance to win a pair of wireless headphones for you and each member of your team!
Best Use of Auth0 AI Agents
As AI agents become more autonomous, security is more critical than ever. We’re looking for the most innovative implementation of Auth0 for AI Agents. Show us how you use Auth0’s robust APIs to manage identities, secure agent-to-user interactions, and protect your application’s integrity.
Why Auth0?
Zero Friction: 7,000 free monthly active users.
Zero Risk: No credit card needed to sign up.
Total Security: Industry-leading MFA and social integrations.
Best Use of DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI
DigitalOcean Gradient™ AI is a unified AI cloud for building, training, and deploying machine learning models and AI agents. Get access to GPU infrastructure like DigitalOcean GPU Droplets and Bare Metal servers, along with serverless inference and 1-Click Models for instant deployment of your favorite LLMs!!
Sign up for DigitalOcean today and get $200 worth of free credits that you can use towards building your next Gradient-powered hack. Enable your next project with DigitalOcean GradientTM AI for a chance to win some great prizes for you and each of your team mates!
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Dean Nelson
Chairman & Founder of Infrastructure Masons
Angela Chan
Ops and AI Leader at Schneider Electric, CEO of Hackathons International
Dr. Denitza Arguirova
Director, Data Center Strategy at Crusoe
Ashley Dirou
Global Sales Development Manager, CBS, Data Centers at Grundfos
Nadiia Nichoha
Employer Branding Manager at Grundfos
Saurabh Kansara
Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon
Sai Vikas Devisetty
Cloud Technical Account Manager at Amazon Web Services
Sudheer Kumar
Lead GenAI Engineer at Visa
Harkirat Kaur
Quantitative Research Vice President at JP Morgan Chase
Deepna Thalanki
Software Engineer II at Uber Freight
Shreyas Jagadeep Shete
ML & AI Team Manager at Cognizant, FAANG Consultant
Sai Vishnu Bolisetty
Digital Health Management Consultant-3 at Baylor Scott and White Health
Archana Sundar
Lead Specialist in Conversational AI at HCLAmericas
Jatin Joshi
Vice President, Software Engineering at U.S. Bank
Sanjoy Sarkar
Senior Vice President, Senior Director - Head of Enterprise Workflow Automation & Robotics at First Citizens Bank
Abrar Ahmed Syed
Advisor Application Designer at Gainwell Technologies LLC
Abhay Garg
Founding Platform Engineer @ Braes | Co-Founder @ MotionSync
Sreenivasa Reddy Hulebeedu Reddy
Principal/Lead Software Engineer at Varenya Inc
Unnathi Vithlani
Cybersecurity Analyst at Advanced Image
Sumit Singh
Software Engineer at MinMax Technologies
Judging Criteria
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Technology
How advanced and effective is the use of technology in the project? -
Presentation
Clarity, engagement, and professionalism of the presentation -
Innovation/Creativity
Originality of the idea and creative problem-solving -
Execution
Quality of the implementation and how well the project functions -
Theme
Relevance to the hackathon theme and integration of the theme in the project Theme: “Retro-futurism meets optimism — build the future the way we once imagined it.”
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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