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Top 25 Hackathon Project Ideas For Inspiration With Tips & Tricks

A hackathon is a tech event where amateur and professional coders/programmers put up challenges related to hardware or software and figure out a workable solution in a stipulated time. These events can be organized by anyone and are not just limited to software/tech companies.

Normally, the duration of a hackathon is around two days. However, most of the time it is just a 24-hour hackathon code sprint.

The purpose of a hackathon is to get a tide of ideas from participants. Hosts may look for prospective prototypes that are worthy of production or even find a skilled and promising employee for their teams.

How can participating in hackathons help you?

Hackathons are a great opportunity for learning about advanced concepts of programming. You get exposure to industry practices and understand how things work behind the scenes. Learning things practically, especially when you are studying gives you a lot of experience and helps you to master important and beneficial skills. You get to learn what innovative solutions the industry requires and how you should supply them.

This will give you the much-needed confidence as a working professional in the industry. Besides, participating in hackathons will also help you to master things that will make you employable in the future.

With the right hackathon ideas, you, as an IT professional, can use this chance to show your skills and highlight that you could be a valuable worker for the company if you get the right platform to prove yourself.

Types of hackathons

One of the main classifications is on the basis of the organization that is organizing a hackathon. It could either be private hackathons or corporate hackathons. But, there is also another type of classification which covers all the aspects of a hackathon.

Application type hackathon: In application-based hackathons, the problem statement revolves around developing an application. Another possibility is that the aim of the hackathon can be the improvement or extension of features in a pre-existing app.

Programming language/API/structure hackathon: Another type of hackathon is based on using a particular language, API, or structure. Here, what you build is not important; rather how you use a certain programming language, API, or structure to implement a creative idea is what holds the main spotlight.

Popular hackathons

There are several popular hackathons that are conducted all over the globe. Considering today's scenario, we are lucky that India is one of the biggest software hubs all across the globe. So, it is a venue for some renowned hackathons. We are mentioning some of the most popular and reputable ones below:

Smart India Hackathon: It is one of the nationwide hackathons where students and programmers from all over the country come up with smart solutions, mostly related to digitalization, and help to improve the functioning of society as a whole. There are several administrative apps as well as industrial and social innovations which help to improve the quality of life of the people.
Singapore India Hackathon: Under the aegis of the Indian government, AICTE (All India Council for Technical Solutions), and NTU (Nanyang Technological University), this hackathon is organized where several tools and apps are created around the theme, Smart Campus. Several tech and educational tools are developed in this domain.
Samadhan Hackathon: It usually involves various government bodies with tech solutions for multiple sectors like finance, healthcare, education, and banking.
Drug Discovery Hackathon: Several pharmaceutical drugs are developed while screening through various health parameters for medical institutions. And, it is done by multiple artificial intelligence-based solution providers.
ASEAN India Hackathon: 10 ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia along with India collaborate on various projects and build various artificial intelligence (AI) products related to industrial automation.
Toycathon: India has become a lot popular among foreign toy buyers. So much so that it is about to beat China as the world's leading exporter of toys. This is possible due to Toycathon, where toys with new concepts, which include AI are also introduced and developed indigenously in India.

Tips to win a hackathon

Are you a hackathon beginner? If yes, then there are many projects for beginners. And, here are some beneficial tips that can assist you to come out on top.

1. Gather all the information you require through proper research and planning

Want to win the hackathon? Then you must be prepared beforehand. The first step to winning is that your hackathon idea should be backed by proper research. You need to have the proper idea and skills for the project. Do intensive research on the hackathon and find out what is the intent in the end. Prepare your strategy on the basis of that objective and keep on practicing day in and day out. You can set up multiple components for the hackathon. These could be things like GitHub repositories for the project idea and their templates that will aid the faster building of the prototype. Practice by working together on projects and building them in proper synchronization. Also, divide the roles and responsibilities among yourself keeping the strength and weaknesses of each member in mind.

2. Build up a good team

If you have built a good team, then it can translate into winning half of the battle beforehand. Learn to communicate smoothly among yourselves because this is extremely important. A strong team is one that consists of people with different skills and diverse backgrounds. So, you need to work together in proper synchronization. To build a good team, you need to coordinate both the front-end and the back-end development. It is important to have members who are experienced and have competed in a hackathon beforehand. Finally, sharing a common vision among the team members is necessary for the team's mission.

3. Select the right idea

Another crucial factor for winning is to pick the right idea for the project. Every good idea may sound good on paper, but in the real world it might not be easy to execute or implement it, that too within a limited time span and with limited resources. The idea must be executable from each team member's perspective. The project idea should concentrate on what the problem is, what is the problem's target audience, and how they shall be able to deliver a minimum viable product or MVP. Pitching the problem must also be taken care of.

4. Brainstorm for the validation of the concept

It is extremely important to indulge in extensive brainstorming sessions. These sessions can be helpful for the team to come up with innovative ideas which are suitable for the hackathon. Having a clear summarized knowledge of the solution that is being built by your team will involve multiple dependencies, bottlenecks, priorities, and checkpoints. Validation of the concept is important if you begin designing the prototype and carrying out the development of the product.

25 Best hackathon ideas

Having the right hackathon project idea is a must. But, how do you come up with it? We are giving you some easy ideas from previous hackathon events.

1. Artificial Intelligence: Robotic Process Automation

This is a project idea where AI-based solutions are provided for robots making them self-reliant and more independent. These robots have higher intelligence than present-day robots and can also assist in various human activities.

2. Artificial intelligence: Intelligent Assistant

Intelligent assistants don't need to be told anything. They observe your actions on a daily basis and then start delivering by assisting or completely managing the responsibilities on their own. The idea of an intelligent assistant was conceptualized by JARVIS in Iron Man. It uses machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), both.

3. Natural Language Processing: A Speaking Toy that Responds to Your Questions

This project idea has a chatbot inside a toy that gives human-like answers to a child's questions. It is something along the lines of Alexa in the form of a toy. It is a brilliant concept for natural language processing (NLP).

4. Mobile App: Weather API

It delivers instant weather reports on the go, that too in real-time. If it is going to rain within an hour, then you will be notified in real-time. This is one of the most popular ideas for a project in a hackathon.

5. Deep Learning: Augmented Reality (AR)

It is a part of a big project. Normally, deep learning is used in image recognition. But, when it is used in AR, then the possibilities are endless. You can build realistic 3D simulation systems for anything. Hackathons are very helpful to build new ideas.

6. Marketplace and Community Hub

Shopping is increasingly becoming digital these days. Nowadays, various e-commerce websites are merging with social community hubs online to expand their reach. Hackathons are helpful to make new products for better user experiences with online shopping websites.

7. Arctic Communities' Connectivity

Various communities near the poles of the Earth don't find proper connectivity with the rest of the world. So, hackathons focusing on this area of web development help to come up with new and advanced tools for communication.

8. Art Community

This community is increasing at a rapid pace. But, it is one of the few industries that is facing a lot of problems with the digitalization of conventional art. Thanks to hackathons, new products are being developed for artists, so that they can create better art pieces or connect art to online domains for better monetization.

9. Software Development Courses

One of the lagging things in today's time is that there are not many reputable software development courses that can reach an international standard. So, hackathons help to build many software development courses.

10. Advanced Web Development

Advanced web development means building new and intuitive tools for web development. It can be only enabled with the help of open source development which is being powered by hackathons these days. Many developers collaborate here with great project ideas.

11. AI-based Outreach Technology

For improving online sales, there are several AI-based tools being developed so that the entire process of connecting the product to users or buyers is automated.

12. Academic Life Tools

Nowadays, online surveillance systems are being incorporated by schools and other academic institutions for better management of education and other academic needs. The prototypes for such systems are being developed at several hackathons.

13. Advanced Game: Karaoke with Music Video Generation

Many Asian hackathons are being used as a development platform for enhancing and simplifying the music industry. Various companies want to build a karaoke system where the user can automate the process of generating a music video and then automatically share it on social media platforms.

14. Animated Game: Simple Snake Game with a Twist

How about a 3D snake game, where you are the snake and you are playing with a first-person perspective? At hackathons, various VR and AR systems are being developed to build such advanced games.

15. Automation and AI in Homes

AI and automation are closely linked. For making everyday activities automatic, many hackathon competitors have built the best intuitive domestic appliances which are powered by AI

16. Automation Anywhere or Omnipresent AI Automation

Imagine you can automate most of your daily errands with the help of AI tools which automate your tasks and get them done on their own at any location with the help of the cloud. There are many Internet of Things (IoT) hackathons where such products are being built

17. Remote Access to Resources

Automation knows no bounds. You can easily access resources from your system, be it a smartphone or PC where you can access resources of various kinds. Imagine being able to access your digital data in your HDD from outside the house. This is a brilliant idea for your hackathon project.

18. Additional Resources Locator

Do you want to find out what all resources are connected to your digital IDs? If yes, then this is one of the best project ideas which is suitable for your hackathon.

19. Automatic Driving System for Ambulance Drivers

An ambulance driver has to take care of the patient in the vehicle as well as maneuver the vehicle to the destination. What if he/she could automate a part of the process or the entire process and focus on the patient? It is a good idea for a hackathon that could be organized by a healthcare company.

20. Array of Fields Automation and Auto Field Filler

It is very difficult to fill fields in a database and the entire process needs to be automated. The hackathon related to this project could be a good opportunity to collaborate with software developers and database engineers.

21. Career Opportunities App

Various job apps need to be developed that can deliver you the best opportunities intuitively. So, job vacancy apps could be developed which detect your skills and list the best jobs according to your skill sets.

22. Video Conferencing App

This technology has been there for a long time, but it needs to constantly evolve and allow a lot of facilities to callers. What's better than to have a hackathon with this project idea for a product that is in high demand?

23. AI-powered Drones

AI-powered drones use motion sensors to guide them through, but the prototype needs to evolve more for better usage. Drone hackathons are the best hackathons ever, which could also attract a lot of kids.

24. Accurate Bus Code

Bus code accuracy is a big issue for travelers. So, to simplify the system and make it more precise, a hackathon could be organized.

25. Artistic Visualization

Art can be expressed in various ways. If AI is combined with artistic visualization, then it could revolutionize the field of art. Hackathons for artistic visualization could bring in a lot of people and money for the organizers. It also has a lot of uses in several fields like the design industry.

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Shivangi Vatsal

Sr. Associate Content Strategist @Unstop

I am a storyteller by nature. At Unstop, I tell stories ripe with promise and inspiration, and in life, I voice out the stories of our four-legged furry friends. Providing a prospect of a good life filled with equal opportunities to students and our pawsome buddies helps me sleep better at night. And for those rainy evenings, I turn to my colors.