Durham Build Day is a 4-hour mini-hackathon sprint on Tuesday, May 17th (16:00–21:30) at the Venture Lab. A collaboration between Atom bank, Entrepreneurs Durham, and CompSoc, the event challenges top builders to create startup-ready projects for a chance to win up to £200.
Schedule & Highlights-
16:00: Hackathon begins.
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20:00: Hacking concludes.
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20:30: Keynote by Edward Twiddy (Co-Founder, Atom bank).
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21:15: Q&A featuring Hammed Arowosegbe (Co-Founder, SwiftXR).
Requirements
Focus on solving a specific problem with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that demonstrates clear technical execution and scalability:
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Agentic Workflows: Specialized AI agents for niche industries, like automated legal research or startup advisory tools.
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Hiring Solutions: Skill-verification sandboxes that replace traditional CVs with short, practical coding challenges.
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Fintech Micro-SaaS: Automated dashboards for student societies or small businesses to track burn rates and financial health.
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Skill Marketplaces: Hyper-local platforms for trading high-value technical skills with integrated reputation systems.
Go beyond the code to show the potential for a real business:
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60-Second Demo: A concise video showing the user flow and the value created, not just the code.
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Problem-Solution Fit: A clear explanation of the target customer and how your hack solves their primary frustration.
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Future Roadmap: A brief "next steps" section detailing how you would scale the tech and acquire your first 10 users.
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Production-Ready Code: Ensure your GitHub includes a professional README and clear setup instructions for "top builders."
Prizes
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Nathan Jones
Organizer
Judging Criteria
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Technical Execution
The quality and functionality of the code or prototype built during the sprint. -
Innovation & Creativity
How unique and creative the solution is in addressing a specific problem. -
Startup Potential
What is the chance that this idea could turn into a startup?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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