Dates

  • Submissions open: Saturday, November 14, 12:00 PM ET, when hacking begins
  • Submission deadline: Sunday, November 15, 12:00 PM ET. No late entries.
  • Judging: Sunday, November 15, 1:15 to 2:15 PM ET, science-fair style, in the Student Center Ballroom
  • Winners announced: Sunday, November 15, 3:00 to 4:00 PM ET, at the closing ceremony

Eligibility

  • Hack The Nest is open to students who are registered and checked in at the event.
  • Teams of 1 to 4. Every member is registered and checked in at Hack The Nest.
  • Hackers must be at least 13 years old. Hackers under 18 attend under guardian supervision and sign in and out each day at the Student Center.

Project and Submission Requirements

  • All project code is written during the 24 hours. Ideas and planning beforehand are fine.
  • Every submission needs a public GitHub repository and a demo video of 3 minutes or less.
  • AI tools are allowed. Say which ones you used and how. Judges score what your team built and can explain.
  • Public, synthetic or your own data only. No real patient data and no medical advice.
  • Partner codes and keys are for your team: never in public channels, never committed to GitHub.
  • A project can enter one main track, plus any partner, academic and MLH prizes that fit. A project can win at most one academic track.
  • Final submissions close Sunday, November 15 at 12:00 PM ET. No late entries.

Prizes

  • Prizes are listed in the Prizes section of this page.
  • "Each" means every member of the winning team.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Main tracks and overall prizes are judged on five criteria:

  • Does it work. A live demo of the core feature, not slides or a mockup.
  • Technical challenge. A hard problem solved with real use of the track's technology.
  • Originality and impact. A fresh idea with a clear user and a clear problem.
  • Design and usability. A stranger can use it in a minute.
  • Learning and growth. The team picked up a new tool, language or field.
  • Partner tracks add one criterion: meaningful use of the partner's tool or data.
  • Best Use of Base44 is a community vote.
  • The Department of Computer Science Track uses its own 100 points: technical depth 30, engineering practice 25, code quality 20, robustness 15, documentation 10.
  • MLH judges its own tracks.
  • A team member must be at the demo table during judging, Sunday 1:15 to 2:15 PM ET.
  • Organizers and judges make the final call on eligibility and winners.

Conduct

  • We follow the MLH Code of Conduct: https://mlh.io/code-of-conduct. Be kind, include people, help anyone who is stuck.
  • Borrowed hardware goes back. g.tec equipment needs a signed waiver.
  • Campus rules apply: no alcohol, drugs or weapons.

Report a problem to any organizer, in the help channel on Discord, or to [email protected]. MLH incidents line: +1 409 202 6060.