Hackblox AI & Open Source Hackathon

HACKBLOX – Open Source Hackathon About HACKBLOX HACKBLOX is a competitive AI & Open Source Hackathon designed to help developers contribute to real-world open-source projects while collaborating, learning industry-standard workflows, and competing for exciting prizes. Participants will solve curated problem statements by making meaningful contributions to assigned GitHub repositories. HACKBLOX will be conducted fully online. Participants can compete in one of two tracks — AI and Web3. Regardless of track, open-source contribution is mandatory for every team: a curated pool of repositories (spanning both AI and Web3 domains) will be provided, and teams are free to choose any repository from the pool, irrespective of their selected track. Whether you're an experienced open-source contributor or making your first pull request, HACKBLOX provides mentorship, structured challenges, and an opportunity to build your open-source profile. Kindly join the official WhatsApp group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/G3MQhNWucq84iY4KkNuvwG Eligibility Open to students and professionals from all colleges, universities, and organizations. Individual and team registrations are allowed. Team Size: 1–4 members. Inter-college teams are allowed. Inter-specialisation teams are allowed. Participants must have a valid GitHub account. Every participant must register individually on Unstop, even if participating in a team. Mode: Fully Online. Tracks HACKBLOX offers two competition tracks: AI Track – Focused on AI/ML-based open-source projects, tools, and libraries. Web3 Track – Focused on blockchain, smart contracts, and decentralized applications. Teams must select one track at the time of registration. However, the open-source repository pool is common across both tracks — teams can pick any repository they wish to work on, regardless of their chosen track. Track selection primarily determines judging category and prize allocation. Competition Format Round 1 – Repository Allocation & Problem Statements HACKBLOX is an online, open-contribution hackathon with mandatory open-source participation. A curated pool of GitHub repositories (covering both AI and Web3 domains) will be shared at the start of the event. Teams may select any repository from the pool, regardless of their chosen track (AI or Web3). Multiple problem statements/issues will be available per repository. Teams can choose the issues they wish to solve unless otherwise specified. The problem statements may include: Bug Fixes Feature Development Documentation Improvements UI/UX Enhancements Performance Optimizations Testing & Automation Developer Tooling Round 2 – Development Participants will work on the assigned issues within the hackathon duration. Contributions must be made through proper GitHub workflows: Fork Repository Create Feature Branch Commit Changes Push Changes Submit Pull Requests Teams may submit multiple Pull Requests during the event. Round 3 – Evaluation All Pull Requests will be reviewed by mentors and judges. Evaluation criteria include: Correctness of implementation Code quality and maintainability Meaningful contribution Documentation quality Git best practices Innovation and problem-solving Merge readiness Overall impact on the repository Only valid and original contributions will be considered. Duration Hackathon Duration: 24 Hours. Mode: Fully Online. Repository pool and problem statements will be released at the beginning of the event. All Pull Requests must be submitted before the submission deadline. Rules All work must be completed during the hackathon. Participants must contribute only through their own GitHub accounts. AI-assisted coding tools are allowed; however, participants are fully responsible for the originality, correctness, and licensing of their submissions. Plagiarism, copied code, or duplicate submissions will result in immediate disqualification. Spam Pull Requests or low-quality contributions made solely to increase contribution count will not be accepted. Participants must follow the contribution guidelines of the assigned repositories. Any attempt to manipulate Git history, reviewers, or evaluation will lead to disqualification. Participation in the open-source contribution component is mandatory — submissions without a valid Pull Request to a repository from the provided pool will not be considered for judging. Teams may work on a repository outside their declared track; track selection affects judging category only, not repository eligibility. The organizers reserve the right to reject any submission that does not meet quality standards. The decision of the judges and repository maintainers shall be final and binding. Submission Process Complete the assigned issue(s). Push your code to your forked repository. Create Pull Request(s) to the assigned repository. Submit the Pull Request links through the official submission portal before the deadline. Ensure all required details are correctly filled during submission. Judging Criteria Quality of Code Functionality Adherence to Repository Standards Complexity of Contribution Documentation Collaboration (for teams) Innovation Overall Impact Rewards Top-performing teams will receive: Cash Prizes Winner Certificates Digital Certificates for all eligible participants Open Source Recognition Internship & Networking Opportunities (subject to partner availability) Exciting Swags and Goodies Code of Conduct Participants are expected to maintain professionalism and respect throughout the event. Harassment, plagiarism, misconduct, or violation of repository/community guidelines will not be tolerated and may result in immediate disqualification.