Hackathon Prep: From Idea to Demo in 48 Hours

Hackathons compress months of learning into a weekend. Success starts before the opening ceremony: pick a problem you care about, validate it with potential users, and sketch a minimal feature set.

Form a balanced team — builder, designer, presenter. Use Azure free tier or GitHub Student credits for hosting. Scope ruthlessly: a working demo of one core flow beats a slide deck promising ten features.

During the event, timebox integration and testing. Record a 2-minute demo video as backup. Judges reward clarity, technical depth, and impact — not buzzwords.

MLSC MAJU hosts internal hackathons each semester and sponsors travel for select external events. Join our Discord planning channel and attend the pre-hackathon tech talk for stack recommendations and team formation.