Hackathons
Hackathons in Europe
October 2026
- HackNotts 2026In person
Oct 24-25, 2026 · Nottingham, United Kingdom
starts in 2 days
Overnight 24-hour hackathon for all skill levels in the Computer Science building on Nottingham's Jubilee Campus, with meals and workshops.
- Organizer
- HackNotts (University of Nottingham students)
November 2026
- Since AI Hackathon 2026In person
Nov 6-8, 2026 · Turku, Finland
starts in 15 days
Free 72-hour AI build weekend in Turku where 1,000+ builders take on challenges set by partner companies such as Google for Developers and ElevenLabs.
- Organizer
- Since AI ry
- Prizes
- €50,000 cash prize pool
- Hack the Burgh 2026In person
Nov 7-8, 2026 · Edinburgh, United Kingdom
starts in 16 days
24-hour student hackathon for about 300 people at Edinburgh's Nucleus Building, with sponsor challenge tracks and overnight sleeping space.
- Organizer
- CompSoc, University of Edinburgh
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - Junction 2026In person
Nov 13-15, 2026 · Espoo, Finland
starts in 22 days
Europe's big 48-hour hackathon for about 2,000 builders at Hype Areena; most 2026 challenges are AI, and Google DeepMind is a partner.
- Organizer
- Junction
- Prizes
- €100,000 in prizes
- Apply by
- Oct 25, 2026
- DurHack 2026In person
Nov 14-15, 2026 · Durham, United Kingdom
starts in 23 days
24-hour project-building competition at Durham University's Teaching and Learning Centre, with sponsor challenges and themed 'guilds'.
- Organizer
- DurHack (Durham University students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - FORCE VibeCode Hackathon 2026In person
Nov 18-20, 2026 · Stavanger, Norway
starts in 27 days
Paid two-day vibe-coding hackathon where geoscientists and engineers build apps with LLMs on real Norwegian Continental Shelf data (fee from NOK 500).
- Organizer
- FORCE / Norwegian Offshore Directorate
- Apply by
- Nov 12, 2026
- LauzHack 2026In person
Nov 21-22, 2026 · Lausanne, Switzerland
starts in 30 days
Free 24-hour student hackathon at EPFL on Lake Geneva, with prizes for the best overall hacks and the best sponsor-challenge entries.
- Organizer
- LauzHack (EPFL students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - hackaTUM 2026In person
Nov 27-29, 2026 · Munich, Germany
starts in 36 days
Three-day TUM student hackathon with company coding challenges, workshops, and a final pitch and awards ceremony on Sunday.
- Organizer
- hackaTUM (Technical University of Munich students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20
March 2027
- START Hack 2027In person
Mar 17-19, 2027 · St. Gallen, Switzerland
starts in 146 days
36-hour student hackathon in St. Gallen for 600+ hackers solving case challenges set by partner companies.
- Organizer
- START Global
- Prizes
- CHF 10,000
- Who
- students
- AI Hackathon Greece 2027In person
Mar 19-21, 2027 · Athens, Greece
starts in 148 days
Third edition of Greece's AI hackathon: 72 hours on challenges from ACE and partners; applications open in December 2026.
- Organizer
- ACE (Athens Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, AUEB)
By country
In-person and hybrid events by country and city. Online ones are open wherever you are.
- United Kingdom 3
- HackNotts 2026 (Nottingham) · Hack the Burgh 2026 (Edinburgh) · DurHack 2026 (Durham)
- Finland 2
- Since AI Hackathon 2026 (Turku) · Junction 2026 (Espoo)
- Switzerland 2
- LauzHack 2026 (Lausanne) · START Hack 2027 (St. Gallen)
- Germany 1
- hackaTUM 2026 (Munich)
- Greece 1
- AI Hackathon Greece 2027 (Athens)
- Norway 1
- FORCE VibeCode Hackathon 2026 (Stavanger)
How to win a hackathon
1. Before
Read the judging criteria and the sponsor prize list first; pick the tracks you can win, not the biggest one. Set up your stack, API keys and a deploy target (Vercel, Railway, Fly) the day before.
2. Team
Three or four people: one on the backend and integrations, one on the frontend, one on the demo and the pitch. Agree on the idea in the first hour, then stop debating.
3. Scope
Build one flow that works end to end, not five half-features. Mock anything that is not on the demo path, and use sponsor APIs where they genuinely help (that is how many prizes are judged).
4. Demo
Judges see your project for 3 to 5 minutes. Open with the problem in one sentence, show the live product, end with what is next. Record a 2-minute backup video in case the Wi-Fi or the API fails.
5. Submit
Submit early with a README, screenshots, the repo link and the video, then keep improving. Late submissions are usually not accepted, even by a minute.
6. After
Ship it: put the project online, write a short post, and launch it on DevHunt. Many hackathon projects get their first users that week.
Pack: laptop and charger, a power strip, headphones, a phone hotspot as backup Wi-Fi, ID (in-person events check it), and a free LLM key or two from our free LLM API list.
For dev-tool makers
Sponsor a hackathon to get your tool used
A sponsor prize ("best use of your API") puts your tool in the hands of hundreds of builders for a weekend, and the winning projects become demos and case studies. What works: a prize track that needs your product, free credits for every team, a short getting-started guide, and someone from your team on site or in Discord answering questions. Student hackathons are the cheapest way in; AI and web3 events reach builders who already pay for tools.
More places to promote your dev tool · perks and credits programs · advertise on DevHunt
FAQ
What are the next hackathons in Europe?+
HackNotts 2026 (Oct 24-25, 2026, Nottingham, United Kingdom); Since AI Hackathon 2026 (Nov 6-8, 2026, Turku, Finland); Hack the Burgh 2026 (Nov 7-8, 2026, Edinburgh, United Kingdom). 10 in total on this page, soonest first.
Where are hackathons in Europe happening?+
United Kingdom (3), Finland (2), Switzerland (2), Germany (1), Greece (1), Norway (1). See the by-country list on this page for cities.
When is the next one?+
HackNotts 2026 starts on Oct 24, 2026 (Nottingham, United Kingdom).