Alphabyte 3.0

About Alphabyte 3.0:

• Alphabyte 3.0 is a premier hackathon initiative aimed at nurturing innovation, analytical thinking, and technical excellence among students and aspiring technologists. The event challenges participants to design and develop impactful solutions to real-world problems within a competitive and collaborative environment.
• The hackathon is conducted in two structured phases: an extensive online development round followed by a high-intensity 24 hour on-campus hackathon and final evaluation at PCCOE. Participants stand a chance to gain recognition, win exciting prizes and receive expert mentorship.

Event Schedule & Timeline:

Hackathon Commencement:

• Start Date: 11 January

Round 1 – Online Ideation & Development Phase:

• Problem Statement Declaration - 11 January 
• Duration: 11 January 2026 to 28 January 2026
• Result Declaration: 31 January 2026

Round 2 – On Campus 24 Hour Hackathon:

• Duration: 13 February, 9:00 AM to 14 February, 9:00 AM
• Mode: Offline
• Venue: Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE), Pune

Registration & Participation Details:

• Round 1 Registration Fee: Free
• Round 2 Registration Fee: INR 399 per team (applicable only to shortlisted teams)
• Team Composition: 2 to 4 members per team

All participants must complete registration within the stipulated deadlines. Failure to do so will result in ineligibility.

Eligibility Criteria:

• The hackathon is open to all undergraduate engineering students.
• Inter-college teams are permitted.
• A participant may be part of only one team throughout the event.
• Each team is permitted to submit only one project.

Code of Conduct:

• Participants are expected to uphold professional, ethical, and respectful behavior at all times.
• Any form of harassment, discrimination, intimidation, or disruptive conduct will lead to immediate disqualification.
• Participants must comply with instructions issued by organizers, volunteers, and judges during all phases of the event.

Originality, Resources & Intellectual Honesty:

• Solutions must be original and primarily developed during the hackathon period.
• Use of open-source libraries, APIs, frameworks, and publicly available datasets is permitted.
• Any pre-built tools, templates, or previously developed components must be explicitly declared during submission.
• Plagiarism, code cloning, or submission of copied solutions will result in immediate disqualification.

Round 1 Submission Guidelines:

Each team must submit the following deliverables within the prescribed deadline:

• A PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) outlining the problem statement, approach, methodology, and results.
• A GitHub repository containing:
• Clean, well-documented source code
• Relevant configuration files and setup instructions
• A concise solution overview highlighting innovation, usability, and impact
• A project explanation video clearly describing the problem, solution, and implementation (maximum duration: 3 minutes).
  

Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Hackathon Format & Evaluation:

Round 1 – Online Evaluation:

Mode: Online

Objective:
Teams are expected to demonstrate substantial progress on their chosen problem statement, with a minimum of 50%–75% solution completion.

Evaluation Parameters:

• Progress and depth of solution (minimum 50% completion expected)
• Code quality, structure, and functionality
• Innovation and originality of approach
• Clarity and effectiveness of presentation

Shortlisting:

• The top 15 teams will advance to Round 2.

Round 2 – On Campus Final Hackathon & Presentation:

Mode: Offline at PCCOE Campus

Objective:
Shortlisted teams will further enhance their solutions and develop a fully functional prototype within the given 24-hour hackathon duration, incorporating any additional requirements introduced by the organizers.

Add-On Challenge (Mandatory):

• At the commencement of the offline Round 2 hackathon, all shortlisted teams will be provided with a mandatory add-on feature or last-minute requirement.
• This feature/addition must be implemented strictly within the 24-hour on-campus hackathon period.
• Completion of the add-on challenge is compulsory and will be considered as part of the final evaluation.
• Failure to implement the assigned add-on feature may result in penalization or disqualification, as determined by the organizing committee.

Presentation Format:

• Maximum 10-minute presentation
• Followed by a Q&A session with the judging panel

Evaluation criteria for round 2 will be shared before commencement of rount 2

Fair Play & Disqualification Policy:

Independent Work:

• Teams must work independently unless collaboration is explicitly permitted by the organizers. Unauthorized external assistance is prohibited.

Plagiarism & Misconduct:

• Any form of plagiarism, cheating, or misrepresentation will result in immediate disqualification from the hackathon.
• This includes plagiarism of ideas, code, documentation, or pre-existing business plans, whether partial or complete.
• Use of open-source libraries, APIs, frameworks, and public resources is allowed.
• All pre-built components, tools, templates, or prior work must be explicitly disclosed at the time of submission.
• Failure to disclose such usage will be treated as a serious violation and may attract strict disciplinary action, including disqualification.
  

Ethical Behaviour:

• Participants must maintain decorum and professionalism throughout the event. Misconduct towards organizers, judges, volunteers, or fellow participants will result in removal from the competition.
  

Integrity of the Competition:

• Any attempt to manipulate results, disrupt proceedings, or compromise the integrity of the event will attract strict disciplinary action.
  

 Deadlines & Compliance:

• All deadlines are strict and non-negotiable. Submissions beyond the deadline will not be considered.

Judgement & Decision Finality:

• All decisions made by the judges and the organizing committee shall be final and binding.
• Once a verdict, score, or ruling is announced, it cannot be appealed, altered, or contested.
• Judges may, at their discretion, provide explanations or clarifications regarding their evaluations.
• Providing such clarifications is entirely voluntary and not a mandatory requirement.
• Participants are expected to respect the finality of the judgement and comply with all event rules and guidelines.

Awards, Certificates & Recognition:

• Winners will receive prizes, certificates, and exclusive goodies.
• Certificates of participation will be issued to eligible participants as per event policy.

Communication & Updates:

The official mode of communication for the hackathon will be WhatsApp.

Only the team leader of each registered team must join the official WhatsApp group.
All important announcements, updates, and clarifications will be shared exclusively through this group.

We eagerly look forward to your participation in Alphabyte 3.0 Hackathon and to witnessing innovative, impactful, and inspiring solutions. Let the challenge begin!