⚠️ Important: Participation is limited to accepted applicants of Q-Hack 2026.
To participate, you must first apply via our official website.
Only accepted participants will receive access to Discord and will be eligible to submit projects on Devpost.
About Q-Hack
Q-Hack is part of Q-Summit, Germany’s largest student-run entrepreneurship conference, bringing together 150 highly selected tech talents from across Germany and Europe.
Participants come from leading universities such as TUM, ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen, KIT, and many more. Out of 500+ applicants, only the most motivated builders are selected.
The Concept
During the hackathon, you will work on real-world challenges provided by leading companies such as Picnic, Exxeta, Spherecast (YC S24), Cloover and other, supported by infrastructure partners like OpenAI, Anthropic, and ElevenLabs.
Over the course of 24 hours, teams will:
- Build innovative prototypes from scratch
- Collaborate closely with company mentors
- Compete in front of experienced judges
This is a fast-paced, highly practical, and impact-driven hackathon. The goal is not just to build something cool, but something that could realistically be taken further after the event.
We encourage teams to think like founders, combining strong technical execution with real-world business impact.
Key Information
📍 Location: University of Mannheim (Schloss)
📅 Date: April 8–9, 2026
👥 Participants: 150 selected hackers
Schedule Overview
Day 1 (April 8)
- 07:45 Check-in & onboarding
- 08:45 Opening ceremony
- 10:00 Workshops
- 11:00 Challenge Deepdive
- 12:00 Hacking starts
- 13:00 Lunch
- 19:00 Dinner
- 24:00 Midnight Snack
Day 2 (April 9)
- 08:00 Breakfast
- 12:00 Final submission
- 13:30 First pitching round
- 15:00 Finalists announcement
- 17:00 Pitch battle
- 19:30 Q-Summit
As a special benefit, all Q-Hack participants are invited to attend the full Q-Summit conference free of charge.
Requirements
What to Build
During the hackathon, you will work on one of the provided challenges and build a functional prototype within 24 hours.
We expect teams to go beyond pure technical implementation and aim to create a solution that combines:
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Strong technical execution (working prototype / MVP)
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Clear use case and problem understanding
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Real-world applicability and impact
The best projects will approach their solution like an early-stage startup — identifying a real problem, building a meaningful solution, and demonstrating why it matters.
What to Submit
Each team must submit the following on Devpost:
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Project description
Clearly explain your idea, the problem you are solving, and your approach -
Working prototype / MVP
A functional demo (hosted app, GitHub repo, or similar) -
Pitch presentation
A short pitch (3 mins) presenting your solution, use case, and impact -
Pitch deck
Short overview of your solution, use case, and potential impact -
Team information
Names and roles of all team members
Prizes
1st Place | Q-Hackathon Winner | MLH Winner Pin
Individual Challenge Winners | MLH Winner Pin
MLH || Best Use of Gemini API || Google Swag Kits
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 ElevenLabs || Wireless Earbuds
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 Solana || Ledger Nano S Plus
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 || Portable Screens
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 Domain Name from GoDaddy Registry || Digital Gift Card
GoDaddy Registry is giving you everything you need to be the best hacker no matter where you are. Register your domain name with GoDaddy Registry for a chance to win some amazing prizes!
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Julian Wiedenhaus
CEO & Co-Founder @plancraft
Axel Täubert
Head of Start-ups @Google
Sara Schneider
Fund Ops @LEA Partners
TBA
TBA
Judging Criteria
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Degree of innovation (0-5 Points)
- How novel and creative is the solution? - Is there a clear differentiation factor compared to existing solutions? -
Business Impact & Scalability (0-3 Points)
- How realistic is its implementation in practice? - How scalable is the solution? - Does the solution have potential to create a business impact? -
Business Impact & Scalability (0-3 Points)
- How realistic is its implementation in practice? - How scalable is the solution? - Does the solution have potential to create a business impact? -
Technical Implementation (0-5 Points)
- How well is the technical implementation done? → Code quality, architecture - Are relevant/required technologies used effectively? - Is there a functioning MVP? -
UX & Design (0-3 Points)
- Is the user interface (UI) intuitive and visually appealing? - Was user experience (UX) taken into account during development? -
Pitch & Presentation (0-4 Points)
- Is the idea clearly and structured explained so that the value of the solution effectively communicated? - Is the presentation visually appealing and professional? - Are potential questions or challenges well addressed?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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