WHAT?
HackViolet, hosted by the Association for Women in Computing at Virginia Tech, is a 24-hour female-empowerment hackathon with a specific mission to encourage all individuals to learn about and become change agents for the gender gap in technology by innovating and inspiring with code. We warmly welcome all participants- regardless of gender identity to showcase their creativity and make an impact in the field of technology.
This year's hackathon will be a fully in-person event featuring free swag, food, and fun! Participants will be given opportunities to network with sponsors, participate in engaging events and workshops, and win prizes.
WHERE?
Our hackathon will be hosted in the Squires Student Center on the Virginia Tech campus.
WHEN?
January 31 - February 1, 2026
WHY?
Register for a weekend full of enriching workshops, meeting like-minded individuals, winning great prizes, and connecting with top tech companies. For more information, visit hackviolet.com
Requirements
1. To be considered eligible for prizes, participants must register on the Tally form AND check-in.
2. Submit an initial project by Sunday, 2/1 at 9:30 AM EST on Devpost with your selected prize categories to be eligible for prizes. This can be a rough submission with random text, links, etc. You must submit your project to all the prize categories you'd like to be considered for.
3. Have all final changes to your project submitted by Sunday 2/1 at 11:00 AM EST on Devpost, including a 3-minute (minimum) demo video link and link to a GitHub repo containing your code (both links must be set to public access).
4. Check the timetable at 11:30am for your judging round.
NOTE: These are all hard deadlines, so please plan in advance!
Prizes
Best Overall
This prize is awarded to the team whose project excelled in all areas of judging.
Prize: iPad Air M3 chip
Best Hack to Support Women
This prize is awarded to the team whose project creatively tackle issues that women face, aids female-empowerment, combats the gender gap in tech, etc.
Prize: Apple Watch Series 10
Best UI/UX Design Hack
This prize is awarded to the best team whose project had the most intuitive, user-friendly, and aesthetic UX/UI design.
Prize: Sony XM5 Headphones
Best First Time Hack
This prize is awarded to the best team composed entirely of first-time hackers whose project excelled in all areas of judging. Note: To qualify, a majority of the team must consist of first-time hackers.
Prize: Nintendo Swtich
Capital One: Best Financial Hack
How will you reimagine banking?
Prize: $250 Giftcards
MLH: Best Use of Gemini API
It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?
Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice
Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers
Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more
Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?
MLH: Best Use of Solana
The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.
Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.
Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.
Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).
Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.
Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!
MLH: Best Use of Vultr
Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck!
Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team!
MLH: Best Use of ElevenLabs
Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI.
Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds!
MLH: Best Use of Snowflake API
Play with industry-leading LLMs on a single account using the Snowflake APIs. Adding AI capabilities into your application can be as simple as a single CURL command to Snowflake’s REST API.
Build customized applications, RAG powered chat bots, or embed AI-powered features into your app in half the time with half the hassle. Get started for free with a special, student 120-day Snowflake trial and check out this repository for an example of the Snowflake REST API in action.
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
IN PERSON
Judging Criteria
-
Creativity
How unique and creative is the idea compared to existing solutions? -
Technological Integration
How effectively was technology used and implemented in this project? -
UI/UX
Is the project design intuitive, easy-to-use, and accessible? -
Completion
How functional and deployable is this project? -
Adherence to Prize Category: Best Hack to Support Women
How does this project support women? -
Real World Value
How does this project solve a real problem we face today?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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