About Gator Hack

Gator Hack is the University of Florida's official hackathon, hosted during UF AI Days 2026. For 48 hours, 250+ students from every major and skill level come together to build, learn, and ship something incredible. Now in its fifth year, Gator Hack has grown from an inaugural 24-hour sprint in 2022 into UF's flagship builder event: 10+ workshops, mentors from industry and campus, free meals all weekend, and 75+ projects built each year. Whether you are writing your first line of code or shipping your tenth side project, there is a place for you here.

 

Quick details

When: Friday, October 23 at 5:00 PM through Sunday, October 25 at 5:00 PM (ET) Where: Newell Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL Finals and Awards: Monday, October 26 at the Reitz Union, where the top 10 teams present live on stage.

 

Quick details

GatorHack is the university's official hackathon, run as part of UF AI Days, so you are  alongside the largest AI event on campus. Projects are judged by UF professors and PhD students, and the top 10 teams demo live on stage at the Reitz Union. Thousands of dollars in prizes across main awards, tracks and sponsor challenges.

 

Weekend at a glance

  • Friday, Oct 23: Check-in 2 PM, Opening Ceremony 4:30 PM, hacking begins 5 PM, dinner, team mixer, late night snacks
  • Saturday, Oct 24: Breakfast, two workshop blocks, lunch and dinner, midnight snack
  • Sunday, Oct 25: Breakfast, mentor office hours, final push, submissions due 5 PM, closing remarks
  • Monday, Oct 26: Top 10 finalists present on stage at the Reitz Union, followed by the awards ceremony
  Full schedule and details: ufgatorhack.com

Requirements

What to Build

Anything you are excited about! Build a working software project (hardware welcome too) during the hacking period. You can aim for the main awards, a track prize (Best Beginner Hack, Best Design, Best AI Hack, Best Social Impact), or a sponsor challenge, and one project can win multiple prizes it qualifies for.

 

What to submit on Devpost by Sunday, October 25 at 5:00 PM ET

  1. A project title and a short description of what it does and how you built it
  2. A link to your public code repository (e.g. GitHub)
  3. A demo video (around 2-3 minutes) or slides showing your project in action or an honest work-in-progress demo is fine
  4. Your full team roster (1 to 5 members), with every member registered for the event
  5. The track or sponsor challenges you want to be considered for
  Late submissions cannot be accepted, so leave buffer time before the deadline.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$3,500 in prizes
1st Place
$2,000 in cash
1 winner

2nd Place
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

3rd Place
$500 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Matheus Kunzler Maldaner

Matheus Kunzler Maldaner
Student Organizer

Sanethia Thomas

Sanethia Thomas
Associate Professor

Judging Criteria

  • Impact
    How meaningful is the problem being addressed, and how useful or beneficial could the solution be to its intended users?
  • Technical Execution
    How well does the project work? Consider technical ambition, implementation quality, creativity, and what the team accomplished during the hacking period.
  • Design & Usability
    Is the experience intuitive, accessible, and thoughtfully designed? Does the interface help users understand and use the solution effectively?
  • Presentation & Demo
    How clearly does the team explain the problem, solution, technical approach, and limitations? Does the demo effectively show the project in action?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

Hackathon sponsors

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