Hackathon Conditions of Participation

These conditions apply to everyone who registers for the Vastoco Hackathon, solo or in a team. They add to our general Terms and Conditions and to the Hackathon Terms and Conditions. The hackathon is an online, skill-based educational competition for students and early-career developers.

• You must be at least 18 years old and located in India.
• You may be part of only one entry.
• Vastoco employees, the judges and their immediate family may not take part.
• Every team member must meet these conditions. The person who registers the team confirms this for the whole team.

• The registration fee is ₹500 for an individual entry and ₹999 for a group of 2–4 members. For a group, one person registers and pays ₹999 once for the whole entry, not ₹999 per member.
• The registering person adds the name and email of each teammate, and confirms that each teammate agrees to these conditions and to the Hackathon Privacy Notice.
• Tell us by email about any change in your team. A change takes effect only when we confirm it in writing. The team size must stay between 2 and 4.
• Fees and refunds are covered in the Hackathon Refund and Cancellation Policy.

• Registration: 28 October 2026 to 7 November 2026, 11:59 PM IST.
• Problem statement: emailed to registered participants on 8 November 2026.
• Submissions: open from 14 November 2026 and close on 16 November 2026, 11:59 PM IST.
• Top 10 shortlist: announced on 18 November 2026.
• Winners: announced on 20 November 2026.

If a later round includes a presentation or an extra task, we will announce its format and time on the hackathon page and by email before it starts. If we change any date, the Hackathon Refund and Cancellation Policy explains your refund rights.

• A project title, a short description and a link, such as a GitHub repository, a live demo or a deck, through your hackathon dashboard during the submission window.
• Only the person who registered the team submits. A submission after the window closes is not accepted.
• Make sure your link stays open and working until the results are announced.

• Your submission must be work that you and your team created during the hackathon. Do not submit work that belongs to someone else, or work that you cannot explain.
• You may use open-source libraries, public APIs and AI coding tools if their licences allow it. In your description, say clearly what you built and what came from libraries or tools.
• Do not submit work that infringes copyright, a licence or any other right, or that contains malware or harmful code.
• You must not share the problem statement publicly before the results are announced.

Entries are judged by Vastoco's judges on merit, using these criteria. No part of the result depends on chance.

• Problem fit: how well the project solves the problem statement.
• Originality: how new and thoughtful the idea is.
• Quality of the build: how well it works and how well it is made.
• Usability and design: how clear and easy it is to use.
• Clarity of the submission: how well you explain what you did.

If the problem statement shows how much each criterion counts, that applies. The judges' decision on merit is final. If you think there was a factual mistake, such as a missing submission or a wrong entry, write to the Grievance Officer.

• Be respectful to other participants, mentors, judges and the Vastoco team.
• No harassment, discrimination, threats or abuse in any message, comment or call.
• Do not try to interfere with the website or the submission system, use bots, or give false information.
• Do not try to influence the judges outside the official process.

We may disqualify an entry for plagiarism or copied work, false information, ineligible participants, a late or manipulated submission, breaking the code of conduct or any rule in this document. A disqualified entry receives no prize or certificate and no refund. We will tell you why, and you may write to the Grievance Officer if you disagree.

Every participant receives an e-certificate of participation by email. Winners receive the prizes described in the Hackathon Terms and Conditions. We do not promise a job, an internship or any other opportunity.

If you have a complaint about this document, your data or how you were treated on Vastoco, write to our Grievance Officer. You can also use the Grievance Redressal page to see the full process and where to escalate.