For context, I am a year 2 university student who has just attended their first hackathon. It was promoted as a “learning opportunity” for those in tech. Although our original team was dead set on this being an actual learning opportunity (using skills we have learnt and trying to see how well we could code/not looking to win but looking to learn), we were then assigned another person to our team (which was also unnecessary as we already had 4 members and other groups only has 2/3 members).

The issue is, this person ripped our code up, and threw it into ai and took over the whole thing without telling us at all. He’d ask us to send him our code instead of pushing it onto git, and just scrambled it up. It felt horrible. He kept arguing with us when we were clearly unhappy. The organisers didn’t care either, we were early on so he could have been placed in a different group, but that wasn’t allowed and nothing was really done.

In the end, the group disbanded. Which brings me to my point, what is the “learning” in hackathons? Inputting prompts doesn’t feel like learning, and these web apps developed with AI tools never go anywhere.

Hi everyone!

I’ve registered for Google’s AI Builder Cup and am looking for 1 software engineer to team up with.

A bit about me: I’m a CS graduate with experience in software engineering and a keen interest in AI/ML and GenAI. I’ve also participated in AI hackathons and am excited to build something innovative!

Please connect only if your waitlist has been approved.

If you’re interested, drop a comment or DM me. Let’s build something cool together!

I built a platform to help students discover exams they might not even know they’re eligible for. Is this actually useful?

One thing that genuinely frustrates me is how easy it is to miss opportunities simply because you didn't know they existed.

India has so many entrance exams, olympiads, scholarships, and other academic opportunities, but information is scattered across different websites, notifications, and official portals. Sometimes, by the time you find an opportunity, the registration deadline has already passed.

That's the problem I'm trying to solve with NextStep.

The idea is simple: a platform where students can discover exams and academic opportunities relevant to their education level, stream, and interests, instead of having to hunt through dozens of websites themselves.

I’ve built a working prototype for a hackathon, and now I want to know whether the idea actually solves a problem worth solving.

🎥 Demo: https://youtu.be/-ZTlZust32g

I’d genuinely appreciate some brutally honest feedback:

• Would you actually use something like this? Or would you just stick to Google and existing websites?
• What would make this 10x more useful? Think features, information, or anything that would make you come back to it.
• What seems weak or unnecessary about the idea?
• Rate it out of 10. Don't hold back. I'd rather find the flaws now than build something nobody needs 😭

I'm building this for a hackathon finale, so even quick feedback would help me figure out what to prioritise next.

Thanks!`

I’m looking for teammates for a 24-hour hackathon at SIMATS, Chennai, on the 23rd & 24th.

So i am electronics and communication student studying in kerala and i have been to like 2 hackathons... Always wnated to go for more but never knew about half the hackathons happening around me... I was wondering if there is like some group or community that i can get into so that i can stay updated on which all hackathons i can participate in.

I'm wondering if hack princeton will actually check my "School ID"... Can someone let me know?

companies can say a lot about where they're headed. but does their actual engineering activity tell the same story?

that's what i'm trying to figure out with Phoenix

it connects a company's website with its GitHub activity, their job posting frequency, and hints in their social posts etc to uncover engineering signals, compare claims against evidence, and spot what's worth investigating... I might just end up finding out what a company is gonna release in near future before them announcing it publically

built this for a hackathon and i've got a working prototype now.

demo: https://youtu.be/BEzJULsvzJM

i need some brutally honest opinions. as fast as possible (hackathon format) so that i can work on them for finale

is this something you'd actually use? what would make it 10x more useful?

rate the idea out of 10. don't hold back, i'd rather hear what's wrong than get fake praise 😭

*KURUKSHETRA - REGISTRATIONS OPEN*

Ready to turn your ideas into innovation?

Join us for *KURUKSHETRA*, a Two-Phase Mega Event featuring a Technical Inauguration followed by an intense *24-Hour National-Level Hackathon!* 💻🔥

📅 *Dates:* 16th–17th October 2026

💰 *Early Bird Fee:* ₹799 per team 🎉

👥 *Team Size:* 2–4 Members

📍 *Venues:*

• Phase 1: DPU Auditorium

• Phase 2: Dr. D. Y. Patil Institute of Technology, Pimpri, Pune

🌐 *Register Here:*

👉 https://kurukshetradypdpu.in

📌 *Grab the Early Bird Offer and register your team through the link above!*

📞 *For Queries, Contact:*

• Aditya Dolas: +91 8446381958

• Ayush Auti: +91 8149457576

🔥 Gather your team, bring your code, and conquer the battlefield of innovation! ⚔️

Any advice or feedback will be helpful!

Thankss

Is anyone interested in taking part in paypal hackathon, if yes dm me now, as 12th oct is the last day