FAQ
We will provide a more detailed schedule and information about the challenges closer to Hackathon weekend. Please reference answers to Frequently Asked Questions below, and please feel free to reach out to us if you have any additional inquiries.
When?
The 2026 MIT Policy Hackathon will be held November 20–22, 2026, on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The 2026 MIT Policy Hackathon will be held entirely in person. Participants are expected to attend and actively engage throughout the event.
What format will the Hackathon have?
Do I need a specific background?
Anyone, whether you are a MIT affiliate or not, can participate as a hacker. You do not need to have a specific background to attend! We're looking to attract an interdisciplinary group of hackers—domain experts, policy students, data scientists, and more. One of our goals is to encourage the formation of multidisciplinary teams that can propose creative policy solutions using a combination of robust data analytics and domain expertise. We hope to foster a collaborative community comprising people from all backgrounds.
How do I register?
Registration for the 2026 MIT Policy Hackathon is open now and will close on October 14th, 2026. You can submit your application through the home page of our website. The application will ask about your areas of interest and relevant experience, which will help inform team formation and challenge assignments.
Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee participation. Space is limited, and applications will be reviewed with the goal of assembling well-rounded, multidisciplinary teams across challenge areas.
How do I find a team?
If you don’t have a team to participate in the Hackathon, don’t worry! Team formation will occur in the week before the event. Teams ought to consist of three to five people. Having members of diverse backgrounds on teams is strongly encouraged. If you have a pre-formed team and you want to participate with them, you are very welcome. Note that everyone is expected to register for the event individually.
Teams will produce data-driven policy solutions to their challenge statements in the form of a 3-minute pitch and a 3 to 5 page policy paper. Initial judging will be based on the pitch, after which judges will hold a Q&A session with finalists based on their policy papers. The winners of the hackathon will receive cash prizes and potential opportunities to publish or connect further with our challenge partners.
What are the outcomes of the hackathon?
What challenge topics are covered?
Wewill share more information about this year’s hackathon challenges closer to the third weekend in November. In previous years, we have tackled challenges ranging from human rights, housing, and logistics to cybersecurity, internet policy, and space policy. You can check out our previous challenges in the ‘PREVIOUS HACKATHONS’ section.
What resources will be provided for each challenge?
Each challenge statement will include a background memo with datasets and resources that could help you craft your policy solutions. We will also have representatives from the institutions posing the challenge statements available to talk with teams during the hackathon.