500 innovative and creative developers, designers, and creators for 36 hours of hacking.

Hack the Valley is back! Get ready for an exhilarating hacking experience from October 16th to October 18th, 2026. This year, we're bringing together a dynamic community of 500 innovative and creative developers, designers, and creators for an intense 36-hour hackathon.

Build an innovative project that will wow the judges and choose any number of prize categories to be selected for. We have over $5k of prizes to give away!

For detailed information on prize category descriptions and the event schedule, please refer to the hacker package sent to your email.

We can't wait to witness the incredible projects you build and the remarkable talents you bring. Join us for an unforgettable weekend of innovation, collaboration, and endless possibilities at Hack the Valley from UTSC!

Requirements

What to Build

Build a project you're passionate about or solve a current issue, every team will be considered for the Top 3 Category. If you'd like to submit for any other prize category, please indicate in your submission.

Prize category descriptions are listed in your hacker package or below under Prizes.

What to Submit

  • Write Up: Explain why you built your project, your tech stack and a summary of what your product does.

  • Code: Provide a link to your Github project code in your submission. Your project will not be judged if you do not submit this.

What to Present

  • Pitch + Presentation: It's time to showcase your product! You will have 4 minutes to pitch your product to the judges, show them the best parts of it!

  • Q&A: The judges will get 1 minute to ask you both technical and non-technical questions about your product.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

5 non-cash prizes
1st Place Prize
1 winner

Google Pixel 10a Phones +

2nd Place Prize
1 winner

Osume Play75 Keyboards

3rd Place Prize
1 winner

Apple Airpod 5

Best Solo Hack
1 winner

Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Gen 2

Best Beginner Hack
1 winner

Lenovo Backpacks

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Conrad Mo

Conrad Mo
Amazon / Prev. Coinbase, Shopify

Judging Criteria

  • Technicality and Quality
    The level of technical skill demonstrated, quality code, working demo/prototype.
  • Design
    Attention to aesthetics, interaction and user interface.
  • Impact
  • Presentation
    Clarity of written and oral presentation.
  • Inspiration
    What inspired you to build this project? Project uniqueness and creativity.
  • Authenticity
    Is this project original? Have you seen similar ideas/projects before?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

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