The Official Hackathon of Queen's University

We’re bringing together students from all over Canada for a wild 36 hours - designing, developing, and demoing from our home base at Queen’s University. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned veteran, QHacks has something to satisfy your interests! This weekend is about inclusiveness for all disciplines - students from any level of skill, from any field of study, are encouraged to bring their innovative ideas for a weekend of problem-solving! The only prerequisites for this weekend are a love for tech and drive to learn! We can't wait to see you there!

Requirements

For the main prize track, we are looking for projects that strive to "Improve the Future Quality of Life" by building a sustainable and altruistic world. Participants should develop solutions that aim to spark a new "Golden Era" specifically for vulnerable communities or aging industries. Whether you are revitalizing old systems or creating brand-new tools for social good, your project should focus on long-term sustainability: meeting the needs of today while ensuring future generations have even better opportunities to thrive. We want to see impactful, socially responsible hacks that don't just solve a temporary problem, but pave the way for a flourishing, high-quality future for everyone.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$1,400+ in prizes
+ other prizes
First Place
1 winner

Sony WH-1000XM5B Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones

Second Place
1 winner

MSI MAG 274CQF, 27" Curve Gaming Monitor 1500R, 2560 x 1440 (QHD)

Third Place
1 winner

JBL Go 4 - Ultra-Portable, Waterproof and Dustproof Bluetooth Speaker

National Bank of Canada Prize Track
$500 in cash
1 winner

The winning team for this challenge will be awarded $500 per hacker on the team.

City of Kingston Prize Track
3 winners

The creators of the top submissions, selected by the Mayor and senior staff, will be invited to present their proposals at the Pitch Competition later this spring, to a panel of leaders with expertise in municipal government, entrepreneurship and innovation. These teams will compete for a $10,000 prize to support the implementation of their idea.

CSE Prize Track
1 winner

Winner of the CTF will earn custom swag bags and merch by CSE.

Gradium Prize Track
$300 in cash
3 winners

The winning teaming will win $300 and 1 million free credits.

Best Use of Gemini API
1 winner

{Google Swag Bag Kits} 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
1 winner

{Ledger Nano S-Plus Physical Crypto Wallets} 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
1 winner

{Wireless Earbuds} 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 Vultr
1 winner

Portable Screens
Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck!

Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team!

Best Use of Snowflake API
1 winner

Arduino Tiny ML Kit
Play with industry-leading LLMs on a single account using the Snowflake APIs. Adding AI capabilities into your application can be as simple as a single CURL command to Snowflake’s REST API.

Build customized applications, RAG powered chat bots, or embed AI-powered features into your app in half the time with half the hassle. Get started for free with a special, student 120-day Snowflake trial and check out this repository for an example of the Snowflake REST API in action.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Vinicius Porfirio

Vinicius Porfirio

Ruslan Kain

Ruslan Kain

David Feldt

David Feldt

Sajeel Purewal

Sajeel Purewal

Sean Whitehall

Sean Whitehall

Michaelah Wales

Michaelah Wales

Eric Medina

Eric Medina

Kaito Hara-Lee

Kaito Hara-Lee

Murtada Aldallal

Murtada Aldallal

Graydon Smith

Graydon Smith

Steven Zhang

Steven Zhang

Abbey Cameron

Abbey Cameron

Nicholas Mertin

Nicholas Mertin

Jatinder Bhola

Jatinder Bhola

Sean Wylie

Sean Wylie

Ilyas Erdogen

Ilyas Erdogen

Judging Criteria

  • Implementation
    Focus on working features Consider use of technologies/frameworks Look for scalability considerations
  • Design & User Experience
    Consider UI aesthetics Assess ease-of-use for user Evaluate responsiveness and accessibility Look for design consistency
  • Innovation & Social Impact
    Consider market need and viability Assess implementation feasibility Evaluate clarity on target audience Look for creative problem-solving
  • Pitch & Presentation
    Consider clarity of explanation Assess structure of presentation Evaluate effectiveness of demo Consider Q&A Responses
  • Theme Alignment
    Look beyond basic LLM implementation Assess understanding of AI concepts

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

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