Four ideathons and hackathons students can join

For students, knowing a subject and applying that knowledge are two different things. Employers are also beginning to place greater emphasis on practical skills. According to the World Economic Forum's The Future of Jobs Report 2025, 30% of the companies surveyed in India see skills-based hiring, including removing degree requirements, as an effective way to address talent needs, compared with 19% globally. This points to the growing importance of what students can do with their knowledge, beyond their academic qualifications.

The skills required at work are also changing quickly. According to a June 2026 report by the World Economic Forum, 28% of entry-level workers surveyed believe that half or more of their current skills will not remain relevant in three years. Ideathons and hackathons offer students an opportunity to gain exposure by applying what they learn to actual problems, working with people from different disciplines and presenting their ideas to industry professionals. Here are four opportunities students can explore this October.

Reimagine Ideathon 2.0, CDSL

For students interested in the securities market and investor empowerment, CDSL's Reimagine Ideathon 2.0 invites innovative solutions to improve financial awareness and cyber safety among students, first-time investors and senior citizens. It complements the investor awareness and education objectivesof SEBI’s ‘Samajh Se Investing Simple’ campaign, which is based on the idea that an educated investor is an empowered investor. Participants can propose digital platforms, mobile applications, AI-enabled assistants, websites, games, awareness campaigns or other formats. The process involves a screening round, virtual jury presentations and an in-person final round in Mumbai. To encourage inclusion, students can submit entries in 12 languages. The jury is chaired by industry veteran S. Ramadorai, with a total prize pool of ₹11.5 lakh. Students aged 18 and above, and currently enrolled in accredited academic institutions in India, can participate in teams of up to five, including a mandatory faculty mentor. Submissions close on 30 October 2026.

Space Apps Challenge 2026, NASA

For students interested in space and science, NASA's Space Apps Challenge 2026, themed The Next Frontier, invites participants to use NASA and its Space Agency Partners' open data to address challenges in Earth and space exploration. Participants must register online, choose an in-person or virtual Local Event, or the virtual Universal Event, and form or join teams of up to six members. Teams develop and submit projects during the two-day hackathon. Those who submit projects receive a participant certificate and become eligible for Global Judging. The challenge takes place on 14 and 15 November 2026, with registrations open until 15 November.

Code for a Billion: Bharat Agentic-AI Hackathon 2026, Code for India

For students interested in applying artificial intelligence, Code for India's Bharat Agentic-AI Hackathon 2026 invites participants to build open-source solutions across ten impact areas, including education, sanitation, health, transportation safety and tech employment for youth, among others. The organiser previously held a hackathon at Google's headquarters in 2015, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed participants and Google CEO Sundar Pichai interacted with the teams. For the current challenge, participants define their own problem statements and develop solutions using the AgentFoundry IDE, with access to one million free smart-code tokens. Projects must be deployed, published in a public GitHub repository and submitted with a demonstration. The hackathon offers cash prizes and incubation opportunities, with submissions closing on 15 November 2026.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arti Adke

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Arti Adke, hailing from a respectable family with strong principles, pursued her passion for journalism. She is a Senior Sub-Editor and Senior Reporter, leading the Education and Food pages. Arti's journey in our organization continues to thrive as she strives for journalistic excellence.

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