🛠 BUILD APPLICATIONS & GAMES

Create anything you want, the limit is your imagination. You can build any app or game for any platform in any language you desire, let your creativity take the wheel.

📚 FOR STUDENTS

Many middle and high school students are interested in computer science, but aren’t completely sure if they want to commit to it. Creating projects of your choice is the most fun part about this field, so all the students can experience what it really means to be an engineer outside the limits of the classroom.

💻IT'S ONLINE

You don’t even have to get up! Everything is done online for your safety and convenience, so you can participate in the comfort of your home without having to prepare and carry all your necessities with you, making the event much more relaxing for everyone.

🤓NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED

It can be scary joining with little or no knowledge of computer science. We want to assure you that it’s not just accepted, but rather encouraged! Everyone has to start somewhere, and Cohack is an environment where you can learn without having to worry about grades or judgment.

👾FUN ACTIVITIES

No, you aren’t expected to code for the whole 24 hours of the event, that’s ridiculous! Everyone needs a break to relax and come back to work refreshed, so we have fun activities such as games spaced out throughout the event to give you that opportunity.

✍LEARN ALONG THE WAY

We will have workshops of all levels throughout the event, so even the most skilled will likely leave with something new. This is a great opportunity to hear from real industry professionals and gain valuable experience in a more relaxed way than you would in school.

🏅FRIENDLY COMPETITION

We understand that everyone will be at a different level and that’s OK! We aren’t grading you, and no one else will judge you or your project. This is a friendly competition focused on self improvement and gaining experience, and all participants will come out with something, so there’s no reason to be stressed.

🎁EPIC PRIZES

We will ensure that participants of all levels have a chance at winning cool prizes from ourselves and our sponsors like the ones listed further below!

BEST ECHOAR

• $50 Amazon gift card (per team)
• 1 month free Business Tier access (per member)

BEST BEGINNER

• $25 AoPS coupons (per member)
• 1Password family plan for 1 year (per member)

BEST COVID-RELATED

• 1 year Wolfram|One Personal Edition (per member)
• 1 year Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per member)
• 1Password family plan for 1 year (per member)

BEST EDUCATIONAL

• Centered lifetime access (per member)

Is the hackathon free to enter?

Yes.

How old do I have to be?

The hackathon is oriented around middle and high school students, who are around 12-18 years old. But if you are outside that range and the description sounds like something you’d like to participate in, contact us and we can figure something out.

Do I need a team?

No, you don’t need a team to participate — there will be opportunities to find teams to work with during the hackathon. Working by yourself is perfectly fine as well. However, having teammates allows you to have a wider range of skills on your side, which helps with developing a project, so we strongly encourage you to find a team. Teams will be 1-4 people, and they will be registered when you are submitting your project, so don’t worry about officializing them earlier than that.

Do I need to know how to code?

No, there will be workshops and experts to help you learn and build your first project. While coding knowledge helps, teams require expertise in other areas as well, such as UI design, marketing, public speaking, and copywriting.

Can I prepare code beforehand?

No, you may brainstorm ideas beforehand, but you should only implement your project and write code during the hackathon. You are completely free to use open-source software libraries, however.

How can we communicate to form teams or ask questions?

Everyone who signs up will be invited to join our Discord where we will send you all the updates, you can ask us questions, or find a team.

How do I submit my project for judging?

Projects will be submitted digitally on Devpost. Your submission will be a 3 minute video of your final product, as well as a simple poster explaining the idea.

Will there be prizes?

Yes, top 3 winners will receive prizes which are detailed elsewhere. There will also be specialized awards with smaller prizes. On top of that, everyone who participates will receive complementary merch!

I can’t find the themes anywhere!?

That’s right! We are not enforcing any themes or topics, make whatever you want! However there are certain prize categories that do focus on certain things which you might want to keep in mind, but otherwise you have absolutely 0 restrictions regarding the topic.