Competition Guidelines

Complete information about rules, requirements, and submission guidelines for the AESS Sustainability Hackathon 2026.

General Competition Rules

Team Composition

•Teams must consist of 2–5 participants.

Deliverables (Online Submission – All Challenges)

•Project Repository (GitHub or equivalent)
•Concept Document (maximum 2 pages, PDF)
•Demo Video (2–3 minutes)
•Presentation Deck (PDF)
•Code / Simulation Files / Schematics (as applicable)

File Naming Convention

•TeamName_ChallengeTitle_PhaseX.[format]

File Naming Convention

Format:

TeamName_ChallengeX_Phase[1|2].[format]

Example:

InnovateLabs_Challenge1_Phase1.pdf

Replace TeamName with your team name, X with challenge number, Phase with 1 or 2, and format with the appropriate file extension

GitHub Repository Requirements

GitHub Repository (Mandatory – All Challenges)

All teams must submit a public or jury-accessible GitHub repository. Failure to provide repository access may result in score reduction.

Repository Access Rules

Provide a public GitHub repository link, OR provide a private repository with jury access granted. The repository link must be included in the submission form and presentation deck.

Required Repository Structure

README.md - Project overview, problem statement, system description, sustainability explanation, instructions to run simulations, tools and dependencies, team name and challenge number /docs/ - Architecture diagrams, design explanations, power budgets or KPI tables /src/ - Source code, signal processing algorithms, embedded firmware /simulation/ - MATLAB files, Python notebooks, orbit models /results/ - Output plots, simulation results, power comparisons /hardware/ (if applicable) - Schematics, PCB files, wiring diagrams

Code Quality & Reproducibility

Code Organization

✓Code organization and readability
✓Meaningful variable naming
✓Comments explaining logic
✓Modular structure
✓No unnecessary copied code

Reproducibility Requirements

✓Code must run without major errors
✓Include instructions to execute
✓Include dependency requirements
✓Provide sample datasets (if needed)
✓Clear instructions for judges to reproduce key results

AI Usage Transparency

✓If AI tools were used for code generation, optimization, or documentation, clearly state this in the README
✓Confirm that all AI-generated content was reviewed and validated
✓Be prepared to explain and defend the code during finals
✓Blind AI usage without understanding may negatively impact technical evaluation

Commit History Best Practices

✓Show progressive development across commits
✓Use meaningful commit messages
✓Avoid uploading everything in a single final commit
✓This helps demonstrate genuine development effort

Large Files Policy

✓Large simulation outputs should be compressed
✓Avoid unnecessary raw data uploads
✓Use GitHub efficiently

Submission Checklist

✓
GitHub Repository
Code + documentation with required folder structure
✓
Concept Document
2 pages maximum, PDF format
✓
Demo Video
2–3 minutes, include link in submission
✓
Presentation Deck
PDF format
✓
Supplemental Files
Simulations, plots, datasets as applicable

⚠️ Important Notes

•GitHub repository access is mandatory. Failure to provide access may result in score reduction.
•All AI-generated content must be transparently disclosed and validated.
•Your repository structure and code quality directly impact your technical evaluation score.
•Judges must be able to reproduce key results and run simulations with provided instructions.