For 10 years, Lincoln Financial has hosted a 24-hour coding challenge where high school and undergraduate students have an opportunity to solve technology challenges. Under the guidance of Lincoln's own veteran developers, participants have the chance to showcase their coding and programming capabilities and stretch their skill sets.
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All participants will receive amazing Swag and a 6 month Amazon Q Developer Pro Trial!
EVENT OVERVIEW
Saturday, October 18, 2025:
- Challenge Check-in and Lunch: 10:30 a.m. EST to 12:00 p.m. EST
- Opening Ceremony and Kick-off: 12:00 p.m. EST
The Coding Challenge portion starts at 12:00 p.m. EST on October 18, 2025 ends 10:30 a.m. EST on October 19, 2025.
All entries must be submitted no later than 10:30 a.m. on October 19, 2025. Presentations of each entry: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on October 19, 2025. Judging of the entries: 12:00 p.m. on October 19, 2025.
The presentation of the prizes for 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and the Technical Innovation Award and the closing ceremony will start at 1:00 p.m. on October 19, 2025. All team members must be present to win.
WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?
Cash prizes will be awarded as follows:
| 1st Place Entry: | $5,000 |
| 2nd Place Entry: | $2,500 |
| 3rd Place Entry: | $1,500 |
| Technical Innovation Award-Sponsored by Cognizant: | $1,000 |
The prize money will be awarded to the winning Registrant(s) via check within two to four weeks of the close of the event. The prize will be divided equally among the team members, with each team member receiving a check for their portion of the prize money.
The Technical Innovation prize will be awarded to the Registrant that submits the most creative and technically sound solution. This award can be in addition to or exclusive of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. Detailed scoring criteria to be provided prior to the event.
After reviewing the event rules, please register here
You are eligible to enter if you meet the following requirements at the time of entry:
- You are at least 16 years of age;
-
You are actively enrolled as a student at an accredited educational institution that grants highschool or college/university (or equivalent) degrees
- If you are considered a minor in your place of residence, then you must have a parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry into this Contest
- You are not a current employee, intern, agent or otherwise affiliated with Lincoln National Corporation or any of its subsidiaries;
- You are not involved in the any part of the administration of this Challenge; and
- You are not an immediate family member of (parent, sibling, spouse or child) of household member of a person who is: (i) an employee, intern, agent or otherwise affiliated with Lincoln National Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, or (ii) involved in the any part of the administration of this Challenge.
If a Participant is an employee of a corporation, government or an academic institution, it is their sole responsibility to review, understand and abide by their employer’s policies regarding eligibility to participate in the Challenge. If a Participant is found to be in violation of their employer’s policies, then they will be disqualified from participating in the Challenge and unable to be awareded or retain any prize. We disclaim any and all liability or responsibility for disputes arising between an employee and his or her school, government or employer related to the Challenge.
Although Participants do not need to enter as part of a team, all teams will include 3-8 people. Additionally, Participants can only be a member of one team.
After reviewing the event rules, please register here
Requirements
WHAT AND HOW DO I SUBMIT?
By 10:30 a.m. EST October 19, 2025, Registrants must submit a project packet including the mobile application, a link to the working source code, the application login credential, a written description and a brief demonstration (the “Entry”).
Each Team may submit only one Entry.
Registrants will be provided with a URL to the third-party vendor website or provided an email address to submit their Entry.
Before initiating the submission process, Registrants may be required to register and/or create a profile on the third-party site and to agree to the terms and conditions of the vendor site. Upon completion of the registration process, Registrants will be able to submit their Entries.
WHAT IS REQUIRED OF THE PROJECT?
Each Entry shall consist of a mobile development project as outlined in the Project Templates provided. It is permissible to use open-source development tools. The application should not contain any third- party proprietary code and it is each Registrant's responsibility to ensure that the submission does not infringe or violate any third-party rights or laws. Additional development resources will be made available to Registrants throughout the competition. If the solution employs components or plugins incurring future licensing costs, these must be prominently documented.
The application each Registrant submits must:
- be an application or other programming project in alignment with the project templates provided;
- have been developed solely as part of this Challenge;
- be the sole work of the Registrant;
- be a completed solution or working application at time of submission; and comply with these Official Rules.
GENERAL STANDARDS FOR ENTRIES
The intent and spirit of the Challenge is to encourage Registrants to develop innovative technical solutions that solve the community challenges faced by our non-profit recipients.
In addition to the content and technical requirements listed earlier, to be eligible for judging, all Entries must meet the following general standards:
- Must be presented and submitted in English.
- The content of your Entry and any supporting materials must be acceptable for all viewing audiences. We will automatically disqualify any Registrant that submits an Entry or supporting materials that contain data, code, text, sound or images that We, in our sole opinion and for any reason, believe to be malicious, illegal, vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate for public viewing, or that presents us in a negative light.
- By submitting an Entry in this Challenge, you represent:
- That your team and the Entry submitted complies with these Official Rules;
- That the entirety of the Entry is your team’s original work; and
- That your team has obtained any and all consents, approvals, or licenses required for you to submit your Entry, and that your Entry will not violate anyone else’s rights or the law.
HOW MANY ENTRIES MAY I SUBMIT?
Each Team may submit only one Entry.
PRIZE CONDITIONS:
Your odds of winning a prize will depend on the number of eligible Entries received, the quality of the Entries, and the level of skill of the Registrants. If your team is confirmed as a winner:
- You may not designate someone else or another team as the winner;
- You agree to provide Us with the legal name, address, and social security number/tax ID as well as other information requested for tax reporting purposes, of each Participant;
- If your team accepts a prize, you and each team member agrees to self-report to applicable taxing authorities, as may be required by applicable laws, and will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes and costs related to accepting and using the prize; and
- You and team members will participate in media interviews as requested by us.
Prize monies should be retained by individuals only in conformity with any applicable policies of his or her employers regarding participation in and receipt of promotional consideration relating to the Challenge and receipt and retention of prize. If an employer’s policies are applicable, it is the Registrant's sole and ultimate responsibility, in consultation with his or her government, employer or school, to determine how and if prize will be retained and/or distributed and accounted for and we assume no responsibility for the decisions made by such government, employers or schools regarding this issue.
If you are selected as a winner, We may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release and W-9 tax form (for U.S. residents). This Challenge is not open to non-US residents. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time periods indicated as part of any winner notification, We may disqualify you.
HOW WILL ENTRIES BE JUDGED?
For the judging, Participants must be available to demonstrate their application starting at 10:30 a.m. EST on October 19, 2025. Teams will have no more than 5 minutes to present their projects – times will be announced once all of the submissions are received. Your entire team must be on-site and must be present to present your Entry. The winning Entries will be announced on October 19, 2025.
Prizes
1st Place Entry (Team Prize)
2nd Place Entry (Team Prize)
3rd Place Entry (Team Prize)
Technical Innovation Award - Sponsored by Cognizant
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
David Goodrich
codeLinc Elder
Tom Anfuso
SVP, Chief Technology Officer • IT Technology Office
Tim Arthur
VP, IT Strategic Operations Management
Sasi Jayalekshmi
Principal Solutions Architect - AWS
Judging Criteria
-
1. User Interface & Intuitiveness
Does the solution incorporate a cohesive, logical user interface or experience? Would it be easy for the target user to navigate and/or administer? -
2. Functional Requirements & Impact
Does it functionally address some or all of the challenge presented? Does it solve a real problem? -
3. Solution Design & Innovation
Does the solution presented employ an innovative or creative approach? -
4. Demonstration and Presentation
Is the presentation delivered clearly, effectively, and positively? Does the demo / screenshots clearly depict and demonstrate the functionality developed? -
5. Does it Work?
Does all or part of the application work? Would the organization use it? Note - significantly more weight is placed on the core functionality than on supporting / tangental items such as login/registration/password reset etc -
6. Technology Platform(s) Employed
Does the application employ novel technology platforms / libraries / open-source / apis? -
7. Security Accomodations
There is no need to or much value in developing a login / password authentication capabilities from scratch. However, please describe how your application accommodates user security, either via publicly-available security mechanisms or other means -
8. Technical Creativity
Does the application presented incorporate a novel approach or innovative solution to the challenge presented? -
9. Architecture & Methodology
Does the presentation touch upon the application architecture? Did the team employ storyboarding or other roadmapping? -
10. Complexity
The application should not be more complex than necessary to deliver the solution. However, it should not be overly-simplistic and "gloss over" or omit accommodations for the functionality presented
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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