About the challenge
Ryze Hacks 2026 is a free, 3-day online hackathon built by students, for students. Hosted by the team behind Ryze, a student web app for focus, study and wellbeing, it brings together student builders from around the world to create tools that help students learn better and feel better.
Choose your theme:
- AI in Education: use AI to make learning smarter, more personal and more effective.
- Accessible Education: build tools that make learning open to every student, whatever their ability, language or circumstances.
- Student Wellbeing and Productivity: help students focus, plan, manage stress and avoid burnout.
Pick one theme (or blend them) and build something that makes student life better.
When: December 11-13, 2026 (Friday to Sunday), fully online.
Who: Students, solo or in teams.
Cost: Free.
No experience? No problem. Beginners are welcome, and we'll share starter resources and mentor support throughout the weekend.
Get started
- Click Join hackathon and register on Devpost.
- Browse the Participants tab or our Discord to find teammates (teams of up to 4).
- Read the rules and the Resources tab.
- Build your project between Dec 11 and Dec 13, then submit before the deadline.
Sponsors and partners will be announced soon.
Requirements
What to Build
Build a working project that addresses a real challenge students face, under at least one of these themes: AI in Education, Accessible Education, or Student Wellbeing and Productivity. Projects can be web apps, mobile apps, browser extensions, bots, games, or any other software.
Ideas to spark you: AI tutors and study planners, screen-reader or dyslexia-friendly learning tools, translation and captioning helpers, focus and distraction blockers, stress check-ins, and habit trackers.
All work must be started during the hackathon period (Dec 11-13, 2026). Pre-existing libraries, APIs and frameworks are allowed.
What to Submit
- A project title and short description of the problem you're solving and who it helps
- A demo video (up to 3 minutes) showing your project working, uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo
- A public link to your code repository (e.g. GitHub) or a working demo link
- A list of the tools, APIs and AI models you used
- Screenshots or images of your project (optional but encouraged)
How You'll Be Judged (100 marks)
Each project is scored by the judges on five criteria. Judges use the score bands below, so aim for the top band in every row.
- Innovation and Creativity (20 marks): Is the idea original, and does it take a fresh approach to a real problem? 17-20: highly original and clearly different from existing tools. 12-16: a good idea with some new elements. 6-11: a common idea with minor twists. 0-5: copies an existing solution.
- Impact and Relevance (25 marks): Does it solve a real student problem in its chosen category, and could it help many students? 21-25: clear, significant impact. 15-20: useful for a defined group of students. 8-14: limited or unclear benefit. 0-7: no real problem solved.
- Technical Execution (25 marks): Does it work, and is it well built? 21-25: fully working, solid and well built. 15-20: mostly working with minor bugs. 8-14: partly working or a basic prototype. 0-7: barely works or is only a concept.
- Design and User Experience (15 marks): Is it easy, clear and pleasant to use, including for different kinds of learners? 13-15: polished and intuitive. 9-12: clear with small issues. 5-8: usable but confusing in places. 0-4: hard to use.
- Presentation and Demo (15 marks): Do the video and write-up clearly explain the problem, the solution and how it works? 13-15: clear, engaging and complete. 9-12: clear but missing detail. 5-8: hard to follow. 0-4: unclear or incomplete.
Tip: Impact and Technical Execution carry the most marks (25 each), so show clearly who your project helps and that it really works. Tied projects are decided by the judges.
Prizes
Overall Winner
Awarded to the best overall project in Ryze Hacks 2026.
First Runner-up
Awarded to the first runner-up project in Ryze Hacks 2026.
Second Runner-up
Awarded to the second runner-up project in Ryze Hacks 2026.
Best Wellbeing & Productivity Project
Awarded to the project that best supports student wellbeing and productivity. Track prize: projects must opt in. Projects that win Overall Winner, First Runner-up or Second Runner-up are not eligible; the next best project in this track wins instead.
Best AI in Education Project
Awarded to the project that makes the best use of AI in education. Track prize: projects must opt in. Projects that win Overall Winner, First Runner-up or Second Runner-up are not eligible; the next best project in this track wins instead.
Best Accessible Education Project
Awarded to the project that makes education most accessible to all learners. Track prize: projects must opt in. Projects that win Overall Winner, First Runner-up or Second Runner-up are not eligible; the next best project in this track wins instead.
Best Design
Awarded to the project with the best design, covering visual design and user experience. Track prize: projects must opt in. Projects that win Overall Winner, First Runner-up or Second Runner-up are not eligible; the next best project in this track wins instead.
Best Junior Project (Ages 13-15)
Awarded to the best project by a Junior participant (ages 13-15) in Ryze Hacks 2026. Division prize: participants must opt in. Each project can win only one prize, so projects that have already won an Overall, Runner-up or track prize are not eligible; the next best Junior project wins instead.
Best High School Project (Ages 16-18)
Awarded to the best project by a High School participant (ages 16-18) in Ryze Hacks 2026. Division prize: participants must opt in. Each project can win only one prize, so projects that have already won an Overall, Runner-up or track prize are not eligible; the next best High School project wins instead. Teams compete in the division of their oldest member.
Best Undergraduate Project (Ages 19-22)
Awarded to the best project by an Undergraduate participant (ages 19-22) in Ryze Hacks 2026. Division prize: participants must opt in. Each project can win only one prize, so projects that have already won an Overall, Runner-up or track prize are not eligible; the next best Undergraduate project wins instead.
Judges
Ehan KH
Head, Ryze
Divya Chandana
Senior Software Developer at Experian
Ani Alang
Senior at UC Santa Cruz
Judging Criteria
-
Innovation and Creativity
20 marks. Is the idea original and a fresh take on a real problem? 17-20: highly original; 12-16: good idea with new elements; 6-11: common idea, minor twists; 0-5: copies an existing solution. -
Impact and Relevance
25 marks. Does it solve a real student problem in its category and could it help many students? 21-25: clear, significant impact; 15-20: useful for a defined group; 8-14: limited or unclear benefit; 0-7: no real problem solved. -
Technical Execution
25 marks. Does it work, and is it well built? 21-25: fully working, solid and well built; 15-20: mostly working with minor bugs; 8-14: partly working or a basic prototype; 0-7: barely works or is only a concept. -
Design and User Experience
15 marks. Is it easy, clear and pleasant to use, including for different learners? 13-15: polished and intuitive; 9-12: clear with small issues; 5-8: usable but confusing in places; 0-4: hard to use. -
Presentation and Demo
15 marks. Does the video and write-up clearly explain the problem, solution and how it works? 13-15: clear, engaging and complete; 9-12: clear but missing detail; 5-8: hard to follow; 0-4: unclear or incomplete.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager