1. Eligibility

• Participants must satisfy the eligibility requirements specified by the organizers.
• Registration must be completed before the registration deadline.
• Shortlisted teams must participate in person at Government Engineering College Banka with all members.
• Participants must be currently enrolled students of their institution during registration and participation.
• Participants must provide accurate personal and institution information.
• The organizing team may verify participant or institution information.
• Participants who do not satisfy eligibility requirements may be removed.

2. Registration Guidelines

Individual registration is mandatory. Every participant must create and complete their own HackLith portal account/profile before participating in a team.

• Register through the official HackLith portal.
• Provide accurate personal, academic, and contact information.
• Complete all mandatory profile fields.
• Use their own account and credentials.
• Review their information before confirming registration.
• Keep their registered contact information accessible throughout the event.
• Follow official HackLith announcements and communications.

One person = one account. A participant must not create multiple HackLith accounts or register another person using their own account. Duplicate, fraudulent, or misleading registrations may be cancelled. Registration must be completed before the deadline displayed on the official portal; dates are controlled by the organizers through the event administration system.

3. Team Formation

HackLith is a team-based competition.

Team size

• Each team must have 2–4 members.
• All team members must be enrolled in the same institution.
• A participant can belong to only one team.
• Every member must have an individual HackLith account and complete their profile.
• A full team’s joining link or invitation code cannot add new members until a place becomes vacant.

Team Leader

• The participant who creates the team becomes Team Leader.
• The Team Leader creates the team, invites members, confirms details, completes team submissions, and communicates with organizers.
• Team ownership may be transferred to another team member.

Team members

• Maintain an accurate profile.
• Accept invitations and confirm participation.
• Contribute meaningfully and follow HackLith rules.
• Members may leave before final registration; after final registration this option is unavailable.

4. Team Changes

• Members may be added or removed only while team formation is open.
• Once the deadline passes, the team is locked and composition changes are normally not permitted.
• Exceptional changes may be considered by organizers and are not guaranteed.
• A participant cannot join another team after leaving once the deadline has passed.
• A participant cannot belong to multiple teams simultaneously.

5. Registration Confirmation

Creating an account does not automatically complete participation requirements.

• Every member has registered and completed their profile.
• The team has been created and all members have joined or accepted.
• The team satisfies team-size and same-institution requirements.
• The Team Leader has confirmed team details.
• Required idea/project submissions are complete before their deadlines.

Portal status may progress through:

Incomplete → Team Forming → Team Ready → Submitted → Under Review → Qualified

6. Hackathon Theme & Challenge

All projects must align with TECH FOR IMPACT. Teams identify meaningful problems and develop practical technology-driven solutions.

• Smart Campus & Student Life
• Education, Employability & Career
• Sustainability & Community Development
• Safety & Emergency Response
• Digital Services & Open Innovation

IDENTIFY → IDEATE → BUILD → IMPACT. Teams should explain the problem, affected users, why it matters, the proposed solution, how technology addresses it, and the practical impact.

7. Idea / Project Submission

Each team may submit one project through the official HackLith portal.

The submission may include:

• Project title.
• Selected challenge track.
• Problem statement and description.
• Proposed solution and key features.
• Technical approach and technologies used.
• Expected impact and supporting information.

Only the Team Leader should make the official submission unless the portal specifies otherwise. Submissions must be completed before the deadline. Updates may be allowed while the submission window remains open; after the deadline the submitted version may be locked.

8. Shortlisting & Qualification

Submitted projects may be reviewed for problem relevance, understanding, innovation, feasibility, technical approach, potential impact, and alignment with the theme. Selected teams will be marked Qualified or Shortlisted on the portal and only qualified teams may participate in the offline hackathon. Shortlisting does not guarantee a prize.

Registration → Team Formation → Submission → Review → Qualification → Offline Hackathon

9. Project Development

Qualified teams develop and refine their solutions during the official HackLith hackathon.

Appropriate technologies may include:

• Web Development
• Mobile App Development
• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• Software Development
• AI Agents
• Automation
• APIs
• Open-source technologies
• Other relevant technologies

Projects should demonstrate:

• Technical capability
• Innovation
• Usability
• Practical value

10. AI & Modern Development Tools

HackLith allows:

• AI coding assistants
• Generative AI
• AI APIs and AI agents
• Automation tools
• Open-source models
• Development frameworks, libraries, and APIs

However:

• Participants must understand the implementation they submit.
• Teams must explain architecture, code, features, and technology choices.
• AI-generated code or content must not be presented as someone else’s work.
• AI tools must not fabricate results, evidence, or project claims.
• Teams remain responsible for functionality and correctness.

11. Originality & Plagiarism

Every team must submit its own work.

Not allowed:

• Copying another team’s project.
• Submitting someone else’s project as your own.
• Plagiarizing code, designs, documentation, or content.
• Misrepresenting third-party work as original.
• Using another team’s private submission.
• Concealing substantial reused work.

Allowed when licenses are respected and resources are acknowledged:

• Open-source libraries and frameworks.
• Public APIs and datasets.
• Licensed assets.
• Development tools and AI tools.

12. Pre-existing Work

Substantial pre-existing code, components, templates, models, or assets must be clearly disclosed.

13. Final Project Submission

Teams must submit their completed project through the official process.

Requirements may include:

• Project title and description.
• Working prototype or demo.
• Public GitHub repository link.
• README/documentation.
• Demo or deployment link.
• Technology stack and team details.
• Presentation/demo materials.
• Other organizer-requested materials.

Incomplete submissions may not be evaluated.

14. Project Demonstration

Every qualified team must be prepared to demonstrate its solution.

Teams should explain:

• The problem
• The target users
• The solution
• How it works
• Technical implementation
• Innovation
• Practical value
• Potential impact

15. Evaluation & Judging

Projects will be evaluated on:

• Problem understanding
• Innovation
• Technical implementation
• Functionality
• Usability
• Impact
• Presentation

Evaluation percentage weights will be announced soon.

16. Team Presentation

• Teams must present within the time allocated by organizers.
• The jury may ask questions about the project.
• Team members must explain their contribution and technical implementation.
• Evaluation may consider both the submission and live demonstration.

17. Code of Conduct

Participants must:

• Respect participants, organizers, mentors, volunteers, and judges.
• Follow venue rules and official instructions.
• Maintain professional communication.
• Collaborate honestly.
• Avoid disruptive behaviour.

Prohibited conduct includes:

• Harassment
• Threatening or abusive behaviour
• Discrimination
• Cheating
• Intimidation
• Deliberate disruption
• Attempts to influence judges unfairly

Violations may result in removal or disqualification.

18. Fair Competition

Participants must not attempt to gain an unfair advantage through:

• False information or fake registrations.
• Multiple accounts or team participation.
• Manipulated submissions.
• Copying another team’s work.
• Interfering with another team’s project.
• Attempting to influence judges.
• Exploiting portal or event systems.

Such activity may result in immediate disqualification.

19. Intellectual Property

• Submissions must not infringe third-party intellectual property rights.
• Teams must have the necessary rights or permissions for third-party code, libraries, datasets, APIs, designs, media, and other resources.

20. Deadlines

Official deadlines may cover:

• Registration
• Team formation
• Idea/project submission
• Review
• Shortlisting
• Final submission

After a deadline, the relevant action may close, team changes may lock, submissions may become read-only, and late submissions may not be accepted. The official portal timeline is controlled by the organizers.

21. Event Attendance

• Venue: Government Engineering College Banka.
• Date: 20 September 2026.
• Time: 10:00 AM–5:00 PM.
• Qualified teams should report according to official portal instructions.

22. Certificates

• Winner Certificates are awarded to members of the top three winning teams.
• Participation Certificates are provided to participants who qualify for and attend the offline HackLith 1.0 hackathon.
• Accurate participant information is required for certificate generation.

23. Disqualification

A participant or team may be disqualified for:

• False information.
• Duplicate or fake accounts.
• Eligibility violations.
• Multiple teams.
• Team-size or institution violations.
• Plagiarism or unauthorized copying.
• Undisclosed pre-existing work.
• Cheating or unfair practices.
• AI/development-tool violations.
• Missing deadlines or required deliverables.
• Failure to demonstrate or explain the project.
• Code of Conduct violations.
• Judging manipulation or interference.
• Violation of law or venue rules.

Disqualification may occur before, during, or after the hackathon.

24. Organizer Rights

Organizers may:

• Modify dates, timelines, or procedures.
• Clarify or update rules.
• Extend or close registration/submission windows.
• Verify participant information.
• Reject incomplete or ineligible registrations.
• Reject non-compliant submissions.
• Disqualify rule violators.
• Make operational decisions necessary for safe and fair conduct.

Major changes will be communicated through official HackLith channels.

25. Jury Decision

• The designated panel evaluates projects according to announced criteria.
• Decisions regarding shortlisting, awards, and final results are final.

26. Agreement to Rules

By registering and participating, each participant confirms that they:

• Have read the HackLith rules.
• Understand registration and team requirements.
• Agree to the event timeline.
• Agree to the Code of Conduct.
• Agree to the submission and evaluation process.
• Agree to organizer instructions.
• Understand that violations may result in disqualification.