Dates

October 29 to November 29, 2026

All projects must be submitted before 12:00 PM Pacific Time on November 30, 2026.

Participants may brainstorm ideas, form teams, research problems, and learn tools before the hackathon begins. Substantial development of the submitted project must take place during the official hackathon period. Any pre-existing code, projects, datasets, designs, or other major assets must be clearly disclosed.

Eligibility

This hackathon is open to all high school students ages 13–18. Participants may work individually or in teams of up to 4 people. 

Project and Submission Requirements

Projects must connect to the Winter Sparkathon theme by using technology to help people connect, cooperate, support one another, give back, or share meaningful experiences. Projects may be apps, websites, tools, AI projects, physical gadgets, design prototypes, or other technology-based solutions.

AI tools are allowed and encouraged. Teams will not lose points for using AI. However, teams must disclose how they used AI and must be able to explain the final project.

Teams must credit major outside resources used in their projects, including APIs, datasets, open-source code, templates, and AI-generated work where applicable.

Teams must clearly disclose any significant code, designs, datasets, projects, or other assets that existed before the hackathon began.

Projects must not collect private or sensitive information from real users or community members without appropriate permission.

Projects must not promote harm, harassment, illegal activity, academic dishonesty, or unsafe behavior.

Judges may ask teams questions about what they built, why they built it, how it works, and what role outside tools or AI played in the project.

Prizes

The CSC Innovation Awards recognize the strongest projects that use technology to create meaningful connection, cooperation, support, generosity, or shared experiences.

Teams must opt in during submission to be considered for a CSC Innovation Award or Honorable Mention.

1. The project must be open source or publicly viewable after submission.
2. The team must provide a public project link, such as a GitHub repository, website, demo, design file, or project page.
3. The team gives CSC permission to feature and promote the project on CSC’s Instagram, website, club materials, or other CSC-related channels.
4. CSC may contact winning teams after the event to discuss opportunities to help share, promote, or expand the project’s reach beyond the hackathon, such as through school communities, student groups, or other relevant environments. Any additional collaboration or promotion beyond CSC’s own channels will be discussed with the team first.
5. Teams must disclose how they used AI tools, if applicable.
6. Teams must be able to explain what they built, how it works, and what role outside tools or AI played in the final project.

Sponsored credits are non-cash benefits provided by third-party sponsors and are subject to each sponsor’s eligibility, account, and redemption requirements. They are not transferable to cash through CSC.

CSC may spotlight winning projects using the project name, team name, screenshots, demo links, and short descriptions. Personal photos, individual student names, or other identifying information will only be shared when appropriate permission is given.

Opting in does not transfer ownership of the project to CSC. Creators keep ownership of their work.

Prize distribution may require follow-up communication with the winning team. If needed, CSC may ask for appropriate contact information or parent/guardian support to distribute prizes safely.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Projects will be judged based on the criteria listed on this Devpost page: Learning, Design, Creativity, Functionality, and Impact.

Judges will evaluate the quality of the project based on what the team created during the hackathon, the strength and clarity of the idea, how effectively the project works, and the potential value of the project for the people or communities it is designed to serve.

Use of AI will not reduce a team’s score. Judges may consider whether teams understand their project, can explain important technical or design decisions, and meaningfully contributed to the final result.