Dates

All times are Pacific Time.

  • Registration opens: Sunday, November 22, 2026
  • Registration closes: Saturday, January 16, 2027
  • Build week: Saturday, February 6 – Friday, February 12, 2027
  • Submission deadline: Friday, February 12, 2027, at midnight PT (end of the day)
  • Judging period: February 13–19, 2027
  • Winners announced: Saturday, February 20, 2027

Eligibility

  • Only current BASIS students are eligible. The hackathon is open to high school students (grades 9–12) currently enrolled at any BASIS school.
  • When you register, we collect your BASIS school name and your BASIS school email address. Organizers use them to verify that every team member is a current BASIS student.
  • Teams that include an ineligible participant, or that give false registration information, may be disqualified at any time, including after judging.
  • Teams must have 2–4 students. Solo entries are not allowed. Team members don’t need to attend the same BASIS campus.
  • Every team member must register on this Devpost page by January 16, 2027.
  • Each participant may be on only one team.
  • Participants under 18 must have parent or guardian permission to participate.
  • Organizers (BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, Stanford NNEA, and the student organizing team), judges, and their immediate family members are not eligible to win prizes.

Project and Submission Requirements

  • Tracks. Every project must enter one of the four tracks: AI + Health, AI + Education, AI + Accessibility & Inclusion, or AI + Sustainability & Community.
  • Meaningful use of AI. AI must be central to the project, not a basic chatbot or simple API wrapper.
  • Real users. Every project must involve at least one real person who experiences the problem being addressed, in design, testing, or feedback. The submission must describe this involvement with evidence.
  • Built during the hackathon. Projects must be substantially built during build week (Feb 6–12, 2027). Any pre-existing code or assets must be clearly disclosed. Don’t push commits to your repository after the deadline.
  • Original work. All content must be the team’s own work or properly licensed. Third-party assets must be credited and used according to their licenses.
  • Responsible design. Teams should consider privacy, security, fairness, and potential harms, and must not build technology that enables discrimination, harassment, or deception. Get permission from anyone you interview or test with, and don’t share their personal information without consent. Projects on health, education, or other sensitive topics must state their prototype’s limitations and must not present AI output as professional medical, legal, or clinical advice.
  • Language. Written parts of the submission must be in English. Demo videos must be in English or include English subtitles.
  • A complete submission includes:
    • A demo video of 3 minutes or less on YouTube or Vimeo (public or unlisted)
    • A written project description
    • A link to a public GitHub repository
    • The team’s track
  • Late or incomplete submissions will not be judged. Organizers may disqualify projects that break these rules.

Prizes

Total prize pool: $10,200

  • Grand Prize – $1,500. Best overall project across all four tracks.
  • AI + Health – 1st $1,000 · 2nd $500 · 3rd $300. Best projects in Track 1.
  • AI + Education – 1st $1,000 · 2nd $500 · 3rd $300. Best projects in Track 2.
  • AI + Accessibility & Inclusion – 1st $1,000 · 2nd $500 · 3rd $300. Best projects in Track 3.
  • AI + Sustainability & Community – 1st $1,000 · 2nd $500 · 3rd $300. Best projects in Track 4.
  • People’s Choice – $500. Voted on by fellow participants and attendees. Voting details will be announced in the Updates tab.
  • Most Innovative Use of AI – $500. For the project that pushes AI applications furthest beyond the obvious.
  • Best Presentation – $500. For the team that communicates its problem, solution, and impact most clearly.

Each team may win only one prize. If a project is selected for more than one, it receives the highest-value prize, and the next eligible project receives the other.

Prizes are paid by check through HCB, Hack Club’s nonprofit fiscal sponsorship platform. Each winning team receives one check, made out to a team representative chosen by the team (or that person’s parent or guardian if they are under 18). Teams are responsible for dividing the prize among their members, and organizers are not involved in how it is split. Winners are responsible for any applicable taxes. Prize amounts are in USD.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Submissions are evaluated during the judging period (Feb 13–19, 2027) by a panel of experts in AI, computer science, education, healthcare, and neurodiversity, on these criteria:

  • Social Impact – 30%. Does this meaningfully address a real need? Is the impact demonstrated, not just claimed?
  • Innovation in AI Application – 25%. Is AI used meaningfully and creatively, not just as a chat-interface wrapper?
  • Usability & Accessibility – 20%. Could the intended users actually use this comfortably? Was it designed with them, not just for them?
  • Technical Execution – 15%. Does the prototype work? Is the code reasonably structured?
  • Presentation Quality – 10%. Are the problem, solution, and impact communicated clearly in the video and write-up?

People’s Choice is decided by participant and attendee voting, not by the judging panel. In the event of a tie, the judging panel will deliberate and make a final selection. Judges’ decisions are final.

General

  • Free to enter. There is no fee to register or submit, and no purchase is required.
  • You own your work. Teams keep all rights to their projects. Submitting does not transfer ownership to the organizers, judges, or sponsors. Because your repository must be public, add a license if you want to say how others may reuse your code.
  • Sharing projects. Devpost project pages are public. Organizers may feature submitted projects, including names, descriptions, screenshots, and demo videos, on basisglobalhacks.com, on social media, and in announcements. Organizers will not share a participant’s contact information, or post their name or photo outside Devpost, without permission (from a parent or guardian if the participant is under 18).
  • Your information. Registration information, including your BASIS school name and school email, is used only to verify eligibility and to contact you about the hackathon. Organizers will not sell it or share it outside the organizing team, except as needed to send prizes through HCB. Devpost’s handling of your account is covered by Devpost’s own privacy policy.
  • Tools and services. Teams are responsible for following the terms of any AI tools, APIs, or datasets they use, including age requirements.
  • Conduct. Treat other participants, judges, and organizers with respect. Harassment, cheating, or plagiarism may lead to disqualification.
  • Changes. If circumstances require it, organizers may update dates, rules, or prizes, or cancel the hackathon. Any change will be posted in the Updates tab and emailed to registered participants. Organizers are not responsible for late, lost, or incomplete submissions caused by technical problems.
  • Agreement. By registering, participants agree to these rules and to Devpost’s Terms of Service. Organizers’ decisions on eligibility, judging, and these rules are final.

Contact

Questions about these rules? Email [email protected].