Eligibility and rules

• Participants must be of legal age to participate in their given region.

• Open to individuals, teams, or organizations with a maximum team size of 4 members.

• Residency: Open to U.S. and international participants (with few exceptions).

• Prior participation in HackCWRU does not affect eligibility.

Participants must submit their projects through the official Devpost page. Submissions must include:

• A project title and description.

• A functional application (prototype or finished product).

• (Optional but recommended)  2-3 minute video demonstrating the application’s functionality.

• Any relevant source code uploaded to GitHub or as a ZIP file.

• New vs. Existing: Projects must be started during the hackathon. Pre-existing projects are ineligible unless substantially modified.

• Functionality: Projects must be functional and demonstrate the intended solution.

• Platform: Must run on a commonly used platform (e.g., web, iOS, Android, or desktop).

• Use of Tools: Projects must incorporate provided APIs, SDKs, or datasets if specified.

• Content: Projects must not include offensive, illegal, or inappropriate content.

Judging Criteria:

• Creativity and Originality (30%): How unique and innovative is the project?

• Functionality (30%): Does the project work as intended?

• Impact (20%): How significant is the potential impact of the project?

• Presentation (20%): How well is the project explained and demonstrated?

Judges’ decisions are final and binding.

Participants are expected to:

• Act respectfully towards other participants and organizers.

• Avoid plagiarism and only submit work created during the hackathon.

• Comply with the event’s Code of Conduct.

Violations may result in disqualification.

• Rules will not be modified after the competition starts unless necessary.

• Participants will be notified of any changes promptly through the hackathon platform and email.

Participants can post questions on the event’s Devpost Discussion forum. Answers will be publicly shared to ensure transparency. You may also contact Ishika at [email protected]

The organizers are not responsible for:

• Technical failures during project development.

• Loss or damage to personal property.

• Any legal issues arising from project submissions.

Participants agree to release the organizers from any claims related to their participation.

Personal information collected during registration will only be used for hackathon-related purposes.

By participating in HackCWRU 2025, contestants agree to these Official Rules.

All attendees, sponsors, partners, volunteers and staff at our hackathon are required to agree with the following code of conduct. Organisers will enforce this code throughout the event. We expect cooperation from all participants to ensure a safe environment for everybody.

Our hackathon is dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable environment and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of the following:

• gender

• gender identity and expression

• age

• sexual orientation

• disability

• physical appearance

• body size

• race

• ethnicity

• nationality

• religion

• political views

• previous hackathon attendance or lack of

• computing experience or lack of

• chosen programming language or tech stack

We do not tolerate harassment of hackathon participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate at any hackathon venue, this includes the following.

• hacks

• talks, presentations, or demos

• workshops

• any parties associated to the hackathon

• social media

• any other online media

Hackathon participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the hackathon at the discretion of the hackathon organizers(Ishika Vinod).