Ryze Hacks 2026 is a student-led, online hackathon hosted by Ryze (ryzeapp.org) on Devpost. By registering, you agree to these rules.

1. Event at a glance

  • Dates: Friday 11 December to Sunday 13 December 2026
  • Format: Fully online, anyone can join from any country
  • Who can join: Students
  • Cost: Free
  • Tracks: AI in Education, Accessible Education, Student Wellbeing and Productivity
  • Platform: Registration on the Ryze website, project submission on Devpost
  • Exact start time, submission deadline and winner announcement: [TO BE CONFIRMED]. All times will be given in UAE time (UTC+4) with a UTC conversion.

2. Eligibility

  1. You must be a student on 11 December 2026.
  2. You must have a Ryze account. Every team member needs one.
  3. You can take part solo or in a team of 2 to 4 students (including the team leader).
  4. You can only be on one team, and each person can register once.
  5. If you are under 18, your parent or guardian must know you are taking part. You confirm this when you register.
  6. Ryze team members and organizers, and their immediate family, cannot win prizes.

3. How to register

  1. Go to the Hackathon page on the Ryze website and click Register.
  2. Sign in or create a Ryze account.
  3. Fill in the registration form with your full name and date of birth, and choose whether you are going solo or in a team.
  4. If you are in a team, only the team leader fills in the form. Teammates only need a Ryze account. The leader provides the team name and each member's details.
  5. When you finish, you receive a unique Submission ID (it looks like RYZE-XXXXXX). Keep it safe.
  6. Also register on the Ryze Hacks 2026 page on Devpost.

Registrations with false information, ineligible ages, or duplicate entries may be removed.

4. How to submit your project

  1. Build your project during the event dates.
  2. Create your project on Devpost and submit it before the deadline.
  3. Paste your Submission ID into the Submission ID box in your Devpost project information. Submissions without a valid Submission ID may not be judged.
  4. Your submission should include a project description, a link to a working demo or your code repository, and a demo video of up to 2 minutes (exact requirements [TO BE CONFIRMED]).
  5. Team members must all be listed on the Devpost project. The team leader submits once for the whole team.
  6. Late submissions will not be judged.

5. What you can build

Projects must fit at least one track:

  • AI in Education: tools that use AI to help students learn, practice or get feedback.
  • Accessible Education: tools that make learning easier for students with different needs, languages or resources.
  • Student Wellbeing and Productivity: tools that help students focus, plan, manage stress or stay healthy.

Detailed topics and challenges: [TO BE ANNOUNCED].

6. Rules for your project

  1. Build during the event. Work must be started and built between the start and the deadline. You can use existing libraries, frameworks, APIs, templates and your own earlier skills, but the project itself must be new.
  2. Original work. Everything you submit must be yours or your team's, or properly credited and allowed to be used. Do not copy other people's projects.
  3. AI tools are allowed. You may use AI coding assistants and AI services. Be honest about how you used them in your submission, and make sure you understand your project and can explain it.
  4. Be safe. Projects must not be harmful, hateful, sexual, violent, illegal, deceptive or invade people's privacy. Do not collect personal data from real people without permission.
  5. No secrets in code. Do not publish passwords, API keys or private data in your repository.
  6. Working demo. Judges should be able to see your project working through a demo link, video or instructions.

7. Judging

Judging criteria (equal weight, may be adjusted before the event):

  1. Impact on students
  2. Technical execution
  3. Creativity and originality
  4. Design and usability
  5. Use of AI (where relevant)

A panel of judges will score eligible projects. Judges' decisions are final. Ryze may do a first screening to remove incomplete or ineligible submissions. Judges and mentors for the event will be announced on the Devpost page.

8. Prizes and sponsors

Prizes and sponsors are [TO BE ANNOUNCED]. Prize details, how prizes are split among teams, and when they are delivered will be published on the Devpost page. Prizes may be non-cash (for example credits, subscriptions or certificates). If a prize cannot be given to a winner, for example because of their country, Ryze may give an alternative prize of similar value.

Prizes are organized as follows:

  • Placement prizes: Overall Winner, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up.
  • Track prizes (opt-in): Best Wellbeing & Productivity Project, Best AI in Education Project, Best Accessible Education Project and Best Design.
  • Division prizes (opt-in): Best Junior Project (ages 13-15), Best High School Project (ages 16-18) and Best Undergraduate Project (undergraduate students).
  • Participation prize for eligible submissions.

Each project can win only one prize from the placement, track and division prizes. If a project qualifies for more than one, it keeps the highest placement and the next best project in the track or division wins instead. For division prizes, a team competes in the division of its oldest member.

9. Intellectual property

  • You and your team keep ownership of what you build.
  • By submitting, you give Ryze and the event sponsors permission to show your project name, description, screenshots and demo video on the Ryze website, Devpost and social media to promote the event. We will credit you.
  • Ryze does not get ownership of your code or ideas.

10. Code of conduct

Be kind and respectful to participants, mentors, judges and organizers. Harassment, bullying, discrimination, spam or cheating are not allowed. Keep chat and community spaces safe and appropriate for students. Organizers may warn, disqualify or remove anyone who breaks these rules.

11. Disqualification

You may be disqualified for: breaking the eligibility rules, giving false information, plagiarism, sharing or using another team's Submission ID, harmful or inappropriate projects, or breaking the code of conduct.

12. Privacy

We collect only what is needed to run the event: your name, date of birth, team details and your Ryze account. We use it to check eligibility, run registration, contact you and judge the event. We do not sell your data. Contact us to ask about or delete your data after the event. Full details are in the Ryze privacy policy.

13. Changes and contact

Ryze may update dates, rules, tracks and prizes if needed. Changes will be posted on the Devpost page and the Ryze Hackathon page. By continuing to take part, you accept the updated rules.

Organizers

For help, email [email protected]