AURORA
A global multi-stage hackathon. Concept, prototype, and pitch your way to glory.
Stage 1 closes 17 April 2026
A global, fully-online hackathon.
Aurora is a multi-stage student hackathon built around a single belief — that great ideas deserve a real stage. Open to any student, anywhere, at any level of experience.
Meet projectGRID.
An independent student initiative with zero institutional backing. No gatekeeping. No corporate filters. Just a team of builders who wanted to create something that actually matters to students.
Built by students, for students.
Every track brief, every mentor pairing, every judging rubric — crafted by students who have shipped products, pitched to investors, and bombed demos. They know what you're going through.
Real prizes. Real exposure.
Winners walk away with cash prizes, sponsor partnership deals, incubation fast-track invites, and direct introductions to VCs. Aurora isn't a school project — it's a launchpad.
From idea to impact.
Aurora gives you the stage, the mentors, the tracks, the community, and the credibility. Four specialisation tracks. Twenty finalists. One global champion. You bring the ambition — we'll handle the rest.
Build for global impact.
The UN Sustainable Goals.
Pick any of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Whether it's climate action, clean energy, or quality education — your project can help shape a better world.
Five stages. Six weeks.
One champion.
Each round eliminates teams. Only the most resilient and innovative builders will reach the global live stage.
Phase 01: Idea Submission
Idea Submission
A business-focused round. Answer 10 questions about your idea via Google Form — no code required, just a clear problem and a compelling solution.
10-question Google Form
Clear problem statement
Team profile
Phase 02: Prototyping Phase
Prototyping Phase
Take your shortlisted idea and build it. Submit your GitHub repo and a 2-minute explainer video showing your working MVP.
GitHub repository
2-min explainer video
Updated pitch deck
Phase 03: Shark Tank Live Pitch
Shark Tank Live Pitch
The top 20 teams pitch live in a Shark Tank-style session to our panel of judges. 8 minutes to pitch, 7 minutes Q&A. No safety net.
Live demo of working product
8-min pitch + 7-min Q&A
Virtual pitch session
Phase 04: Prize Ceremony
Prize Ceremony
Winners are announced across all four tracks at a dedicated virtual ceremony. Prizes, sponsor deals, and incubation offers.
Track winners announced
Sponsor partnerships offered
Incubation fast-track invites
Phase 05: Closing Ceremony
Closing Ceremony
The official close of Aurora 2026. Online networking for all finalists, judges, sponsors, and the wider projectGRID community.
Networking with judges and VCs
Virtual demo floor
Community after-party
Build the future.
Four tracks.
The ultimate hardware, API credits, cash prizes, and incubation access for the best builders.
Who will judge you
Judging takes place live online. Our panel spans founders, VCs, researchers, and design directors.
How novel is the idea? Does it open a new space or solve an overlooked problem in a genuinely new way?
Can this actually be built and shipped? Is the technical and business approach grounded in reality?
Is the product intuitive, polished, and built with the end-user in mind? Quality of visual and interaction design.
How much was built? Does the prototype work? Quality of the live demo and code.
What is the potential real-world impact? How well does the solution align with the SDG theme?
Backed by the best.
Aurora is powered by partners providing real tools, mentors, and capital.
AppleProviding the ultimate performance tools: top-of-the-line MacBooks for the overall winning team of Aurora 2026.
Serverless LLM hosting for 30,000+ open models. Build and scale AI apps without managing infrastructure.
Put your brand in front of 15,000+ students and builders from 80+ countries. Sponsoring Aurora means access to the sharpest emerging technical talent in Asia — before anyone else finds them.
Common questions
Anything not covered here? Ask in our Discord.
Aurora is open to everyone globally — university students, recent graduates (within 2 years), and independent builders. You must be 18 or older, or have parental consent, to receive prizes. Teams of up to 4 people are allowed; solo entries are welcome.
Absolutely. The entire hackathon, from Stage 1 to the final Shark Tank round, is fully online, so anyone can participate regardless of location.
Yes. Solo entries are accepted and judged on the same criteria as teams. We encourage finding teammates via our Discord — the #find-a-team channel is active from the day registrations open.
Teams of 1 to 4 members are allowed. All members must be registered individually on Devpost and listed on the team submission before the Stage 1 deadline.
Yes, participation in Aurora is completely free. We believe access to opportunity should not depend on ability to pay. Registration, all online stages, and the closing ceremony are free of charge.
A pitch deck (max 10 slides), a 2-minute video explaining your idea and the problem you're solving, and a brief team profile on Devpost. No working product required at this stage.
A working prototype or MVP, a GitHub repo or Figma link, an updated pitch deck, and a short written progress update. Judges are looking for real execution, not polish.
Stage 1: All submissions → 200 teams shortlisted by our review panel. Stage 2: 200 teams → 20 finalists selected by judges. Final ranking is determined by the live virtual Shark Tank pitch.
The Stage 1 shortlist of 200 teams will be announced on 27 April 2026 — ten days after the submission deadline. All teams will be notified via email and Devpost.
No travel is required! The Shark Tank round and closing ceremony are held 100% virtually on 18–21 May 2026.
Top teams are invited into the projectGRID incubation program. All finalists receive sponsor perks, community access, and ongoing mentorship. The relationships built here tend to last much longer than the event.
Yes. Register individually on Devpost and join our Discord. The #find-a-team channel helps you connect with designers, engineers, and domain experts who are also looking for co-builders.