Global Virtual Hackathon 2026
A free, international, fully online hackathon for students aged 14 to 18, hosted by Canadian International School, Singapore.
What it is
Teams of two to four students build a working project under a sealed challenge that is revealed only at the opening ceremony, so no one can pre-build. They then defend it: first a personalised, on-camera question-and-answer round about their own code, and, for finalists, a live interview with the judges. Building with AI tools is allowed, but every team must understand and be able to explain its own work.
How it works
- Sealed challenge. The theme is announced ahead of time; the specific challenge is revealed at the opening ceremony.
- Round 1 — Project. A working project, a public source-code repository, a written project page, and a short demo video.
- Round 2 — Personalised interview. A recorded, on-camera round where each team answers questions generated from its own codebase, to confirm genuine understanding and authorship.
- Round 3 — Live interview. Finalists meet the judges live.
- Judging is by human judges, within each age division. It is assisted by automated tools, but every decision is made by people.
Key facts
- Cost: free to enter.
- Who: students aged 14 to 18, any school worldwide, in teams of two to four.
- Divisions: Junior (ages 14 to 15) and Senior (ages 16 to 18), judged separately.
- Prize: USD 750 (SGD 1,000) first prize per division.
- Registration opens: 20 August 2026.
- Opening ceremony and challenge reveal: 13 November 2026.
- Supervising teacher: every team names a teacher at a member's school, who confirms the team.
How to register
Registration opens on 20 August 2026 on this site (with JavaScript enabled). A team registers once under one shared account, lists its two to four members, and names a supervising teacher, who must confirm the team. A parent or guardian must give consent for every member before the team takes part.
Legal and safeguarding
Full documents (these links open in the interactive site): Terms of Participation, Privacy Policy, Code of Conduct, Safeguarding Statement, Parental/Guardian Consent, and Supervising Teacher Agreement.
In short: the event is for under-18s, so a parent or guardian must consent for each member, and a supervising teacher confirms each team and retains the signed consents. Participants keep ownership of their work; the organiser is granted a licence only to run, judge, and promote the event. The Round 2 interview is recorded.
Contact
Organisers: organisers@gvhackathon.com