Project and Submission Requirements

  • Participants must be registered for HackTCNJ 2027.

  • Participants may compete individually or as part of a team.

  • All projects must be original and primarily developed during the hackathon.

  • Open-source libraries, frameworks, APIs, and other publicly available resources may be used, provided their licenses and usage requirements are followed.

  • Any pre-existing code, assets, or AI-generated materials must be appropriately disclosed.

  • Participants must submit their projects through Devpost before the official submission deadline.

  • All team members must contribute meaningfully to their projects.

  • Participants must follow the event's code of conduct and treat fellow hackers, organizers, mentors, and judges respectfully.

  • Plagiarism, harassment, cheating, and other forms of misconduct are prohibited.

Prizes

Projects will have the opportunity to compete in several categories, including:

  • 🏆 Best Overall: Awarded to the strongest overall project.

  • 🎨 Most Creative: Recognizes exceptional creativity and originality.

  • 💡 Most Innovative: Recognizes an innovative application of technology.

  • 🌟 Best High School/Freshman Project: Recognizes an outstanding project created by eligible beginner-level participants.

Additional sponsored challenges and prizes may be announced closer to the event.

Final prize categories, eligibility criteria, and awards are subject to confirmation by the organizing team.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Projects will be evaluated by a panel of judges, which may include alumni, industry professionals, and other invited guests.

Judges will consider:

  1. Innovation and Creativity: How original and imaginative is the project?

  2. Technical Implementation: How effectively were technologies and programming concepts used?

  3. Functionality: How well does the project work, and how complete is the implementation?

  4. Impact and Usefulness: Does the project address a meaningful problem or provide value?

  5. Presentation: How effectively does the team communicate and demonstrate its project?

Winners will be selected based on the judges' evaluations and announced during the closing ceremony.

Code of Conduct: All participants must comply with the official HackTCNJ 2027 code of conduct, which will be published before the event.

Prizes

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection