THE HACKATHON

The Hackathon unfolds entirely online, but its challenges are rooted firmly in the offline world. Teams of 3–5 log in from different schools internationally, moving through ten days that start with a kickoff and prompt release, flow through mentor-led workshops, and planning sessions, and culminate in an intense build phase before final submissions.​ Each team must ship three things: a documented GitHub repository, a clear technical or scientific pitch deck (optional), and a video of up to three minutes that shows their solution in action. As they debug, refactor, and cut features to meet the deadline, they see how code and systems can be more than clever projects, they can become tools that help communities stand stronger long after the emergency passes, not just patch holes in the moment.