Welcome to DevFest Hackathon 2026! 🌴

🚨 IMPORTANT: OFFICIAL EVENTBRITE REGISTRATION REQUIRED! 🚨 Clicking "Join Hackathon" on Devpost allows you to submit your project, but it does not grant you entry to the event. To officially participate and attend in person at UCF Downtown, you MUST purchase your ticket on our official Eventbrite page: 👉 Get Your Eventbrite Ticket Here

Join us for an electrifying three-day sprint to build GenAI-powered apps. This flagship event is designed to spark innovation and connect the brightest minds in tech right here in Orlando.

This is a welcoming space where people of all backgrounds come together to imagine, build, and share ideas for a better future. Instead of focusing on competition or speed, we emphasize collaboration, creativity, and community impact. With AI transforming the world, we approach it as a tool for augmentation and not replacement, treating it as a partner that supports human creativity, connection, and problem-solving.

Whether you are a coder, designer, storyteller, or community builder, there is a place for your voice. Together, we will explore how to use AI responsibly and ethically, ensuring that innovation is guided by inclusivity, fairness, and care for people.

Why Join Us?

  • 🤖 Build with AI: Craft groundbreaking solutions using Google's Gemini AI suite, powerful tools from our amazing sponsors, and any other technologies you love to use to bring your vision to life.

  • 🔗 Forge Connections: Network with brilliant minds, share insights, and form lasting friendships and collaborations in our dedicated team workspaces.

  • 📈 Elevate Your Impact: Whether you are an experienced industry professional, a curious beginner, or a creative visionary, this is your stage to showcase your ingenuity, expand your skills, and build impressive projects.

🏆 Tracks & Challenges

Whether you are a builder or a visionary, we have a path for you. Choose from one of our three core tracks:

  • Devs Track: Build useful software, including scalable APIs, web and mobile applications, or machine learning solutions.

  • Game Devs Track: Create playable prototypes, inventive game loops, and interactive media experiences.

  • Data for Good Track: Use data, analytics, and visualizations to address challenges in our Central Florida region like education or growing learning environments.

Requirements

What to Build

We challenge you to build an innovative GenAI-powered application, game, or data visualization. Your project should focus on collaboration and community impact, leveraging tools like Google's Gemini AI suite, Google Cloud Platform, Firebase, or any of our sponsors' technologies.

What to Submit

  • A working prototype or project demo video showcasing your solution.

  • Links to your code repository (e.g., GitHub) so the judges can review your work.

  • A brief description of how your team tackled the challenge, how you integrated GenAI tools, and the impact your project aims to achieve.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$800+ in prizes
+ other prizes
1st Place Team
$500 in cash
1 winner

2nd Place Team
$200 in cash
1 winner

3rd Place Team
$100 in cash
1 winner

JetBrains Access Code
6 winners

An exclusive access code and resources provided by our community supporter JetBrains!

Kodeco Access Code
10 winners

Kodeco, our community supporter, is providing us with an exclusive access code and 10 complimentary coupons for Kodeco books.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

TBA

TBA

Judging Criteria

  • Impact
    Does the project address a real-world problem or benefit the Central Florida community?
  • Innovation
    How creative, unique, and original is the solution?
  • Technical Execution
    Does the prototype work? How well are the technologies and APIs implemented?
  • Presentation
    Is the project well-communicated, and is the demo clear?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

Hackathon sponsors

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.