Code of conduct: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BZpkVIujCwb86WPuMrXEJqIFjWvmcNMzJ-L_5wOVorw/edit?usp=sharing

1. Judging Structure

The hackathon consists of two judging rounds.

Round 1 — Track-Level Evaluation

  • Applies to all participating teams

  • Teams compete within their respective tracks:

    • AI

    • Sustainability

    • FinTech

    • Health

    • Education

    • Logistics

    • Open Track, etc

  • Outcome: Selection of the Top 10 teams overall across all tracks

Round 2 — Final Presentations (Top 10 Teams Only)

  • Only the Top 10 teams from Round 1 advance

  • Focuses on both:

    • Validation of the solution, and

    • Evaluation of the founders and team behind the product

  • Outcome:

    • Confirmation of teams progressing to the Buildathon

    • Final ranking for cash prizes

    • Possible substitution from the Top 20 if required

2. Round 1: Track-Level Evaluation Criteria

Goal: Identify the strongest projects per track based on technical execution, innovation, impact, and business viability.

These criteria are used unchanged to evaluate all teams in Round 1.

Category

Weight

Description

Innovation & Creativity

20%

Uniqueness and originality of the idea

Technical Execution

25%

Quality of execution, functional completeness, integration of tools/APIs, and overall user experience & design (usability, accessibility, visual coherence)

Impact & Scalability

20%

Potential to solve real problems at scale and bring about value and impact through meaningful change

Theme Alignment & Business Viability

25%

Relevance to Build Things People Need and the strength of the solution’s market fit, sustainability, user needs, and feasibility beyond the hackathon

Documentation & Presentation

10%

Clarity and professionalism of documentation, product design, demo, and presentation materials

 

  3. Additional Rules for Round 1 (Track-Level)

  • GitHub history must show incremental work during the hackathon
    (no pre-built submissions with a single large commit before the deadline)

  • All required deliverables must be submitted before the deadline

  • Judges may consult mentors for technical or contextual clarification where necessary

  • Required deliverables include:

    • Public GitHub repository

    • 5–10 minute demo video

    • Pitch slides

    • Design assets (if applicable)

    • Clear description of team member contributions

4. Round 2: Final Round Evaluation (Top 10 Teams)

Round 2 evaluates the solution clarity and maturity and the people behind it.

At this stage, all teams have demonstrated strong product quality. Final decisions therefore place significant emphasis on founder motivation, team commitment, and readiness to continue building beyond the hackathon.

4.1 Solution Clarity & Maturity (For Final Top-10 Ranking) (20%)

This is not re-judging the whole product — it’s about articulation and validation.

  • Clarity of problem and solution framing.

  • Clear understanding of user needs (constraints and pain points).

  • Feasibility explanation. Including gaps, weaknesses in solution/approach/assumptions, future immediate improvements. 

  • Realism of roadmap and immediate priorities.

4.2 Founder & Team Commitment (Buildathon Criterion) (80%)

This criterion assesses whether a team is suitable to progress into the Buildathon, where sustained effort and long-term execution are required.

Founder & Team Commitment is evaluated across four dimensions:

🔥 Founder–Problem Fit (20%)

  • Depth of personal, professional, or contextual connection to the problem

  • Empathy and understanding of users and their pain points/constraints



🧠 Learning Mindset (20%)

  • Openness to feedback and critique

  • Willingness to iterate, adapt, or pivot based on new information

🤝 Team Commitment (20%)

  • Clarity of roles and responsibilities

  • Evidence of team alignment and intent to continue working together

🏃🏾‍♂️ Execution Energy (20%)

  • Realistic understanding of what it will take to continue building

  • Clear next steps beyond the hackathon

  • Commitment that goes beyond prize money or short-term incentives

Note: Founder & Team Commitment is not a re-ranking of teams, but a readiness and seriousness assessment used to confirm Buildathon eligibility. The Buildathon is not awarded to the best weekend project, but to the teams most likely to stay the course and build something that matters.

5. Buildathon Progression Rules

  • The Top 10 teams from Round 1 are conditionally selected for the Buildathon.

  • Progression is confirmed based on Round 2 evaluation, particularly the Founder & Team Commitment assessment.

Substitution Policy

  • If a Top 10 team is unable to progress to the Buildathon due to:

    • insufficient time commitment,

    • inability to meet participation requirements, or

    • team disbandment,

  • Their Buildathon slot will be reassigned to the next highest-ranked team from the Top 20, in order of Round 1 ranking, provided that team meets the Founder & Team Commitment requirements.

This ensures fairness while maintaining the quality and seriousness of the Buildathon cohort.




6. Disqualification Rules

A team may be disqualified at any stage for:

  • Submitting pre-existing or reused projects without clear evidence of hackathon-built work

  • Missing required deliverables

  • Violating the Code of Conduct

7. Tiebreakers

In the event of a tie:

  1. Higher Impact & Scalability score

  2. Higher Technical Execution score

  3. Final decision by the CodeXtreme Team

Final Principles

  • The hackathon rewards teams that can build strong solutions.
    The Buildathon supports teams that are committed to continuing the work.

  • Failure to qualify for the Buildathon does not automatically disqualify a team from receiving hackathon awards, provided they are ranked accordingly based on product performance.

  • Final prize rankings are determined using a weighted combination of Round 1 product scores and Round 2 final presentation scores. Progression to the Buildathon is determined separately and is conditional upon meeting Founder & Team Commitment requirements.

Final Ranking Logic

For each Top 10 team:

  • Round 1 Score → normalized to 100

  • Round 2 Score → normalized to 100 (Solution clarity + Founder/Team signals)

Final Ranking Score

Final Score = (0.7 × Round 1 Score) + (0.3 × Round 2 Score)