General Rules
All attendees will agree to the Hackbu 2025−2026 Code of Conduct. If you are in violation of this code you will be asked to leave the premises. If you believe another person is in violation of the code, please contact an organizer as soon as possible.
In particular: We do not reserve the entire ITC. Please remain in the designated areas at all times.
Competition Rules
You may compete as an individual, or as a group of up to 4 members. The number of members in your group will not affect your individual prizes.
All submitted code must be either original or clearly credited. Plagiarised and uncredited code will be grounds for disqualification.
Use of AI
We do not expressly forbid the use of Large Language Models (LLMs). However, we ask that all use of AI be clearly documented in your submission and when discussing your project with the judges, who will make the final recommendations regarding your project.
- We recommend that you avoid the use of AI coding assistants. By reducing your cognitive load, you reduce the benefits you gain from this experience.
- This does not apply to projects with human-made code that use AI/LLM endpoints or APIs.
Prizes
There will be five (5) prize categories. Winners will be decided by a weighted vote from our judges. If a project wins in a category, each member of the team will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. Due to university policies, these prizes will be provided some days after the hackathon.
Projects may only win in a single category.
You do not need to formally indicate your intention to participate in a prize category, as the nominations will be performed by our judges. However, you may wish to clarify the goals of your project during your group’s demonstration for the Personal Finance and User Interface categories.
Best Overall Hack: This prize will be awarded to the best-scoring group. There is no theme, so make whatever you like! All groups will be eligible.
Best Personal Finance Hack: Sponsored by Visions FCU, this prize will be awarded to the best-scoring project nominated for the category by a majority of judges. Projects that encourage financial education or are themselves a personal finance tool will be considered (automatic receipt scanner, anyone?).
Best User Interface Hack: Sponsored by Rubenstein Ventures, this prize will be awarded to the best-scoring project nominated for the category by a majority of judges. Projects that demonstrate creative, unique, and innovative user interfaces/experiences will be considered
Best Harpur Hack: Sponsored by Binghamton Codes, this prize will be awarded to the best-scoring project by a team majorily composed of non-Watson students: if more than 50% of your team is from another college, you are automatically eligible.
Students from other universities count as Watson students for these purposes if they are in an engineering program.
Best Beginner Hack: This prize will be awarded to the best-scoring group who meets the following criteria:
- This is the first hackathon attended by each member of the group
- All members of the group are undergraduates