Catalyst — QMUL AI Hackathon

2026 Event Archive

Date: Mar 20–22, 2026
Location: QMUL Mile End Campus
Prizes: £7,000+
Registration: Closed

Tracks

01. Agents & Automation
02. Creative AI & Wild Apps
03. AI Safety & Alignment

Contact QMUL AI Society

Prizes

1ST PLACE
£3,000
+ Mentorship Package
2ND PLACE
£2,000
+ Cloud Credits
3RD PLACE
£1,000
+ Swag Bundle
TRACK WINNERS
£500
Each + Special Recognition

Tracks

Track 1: Agents & Automation

Build systems that reason, plan, use tools, and act autonomously. Focus on multi-agent systems and 'Agentic' workflows.

#AutoGPT #LangChain #Planning #MultiAgent

Track 2: Creative AI & Wild Apps

Push boundaries with unconventional AI applications. Hardware integrations, biotech, generative art, robotics, or something nobody's thought of yet.

#Hardware #Biotech #GenArt #Robotics

Track 3: AI Safety & Alignment

Pioneer verifiable safety tools, interpretability dashboards, and bias detection systems.

#Safety #Interpretability #Ethics #Alignment

Schedule

Friday — Kickoff (20 Mar)

18:00 Doors Open & Check-in
19:00 Opening Ceremony & Keynotes
20:00 Team Formation & Networking
21:00 Hacking begins

Saturday — Build Day (21 Mar)

09:00 Breakfast Served
All day Building & mentor sessions
12:00 Workshop: Prompt Engineering
14:00 Workshop: Model Fine-tuning
20:00 Pizza Night (100+ Pizzas)
00:00 Midnight Snacks & Energy Drinks

Sunday — Demos & Judging (22 Mar)

08:00 Breakfast & Final Push
12:00 Submissions Close
13:00 Lunch Break
14:30 Finalist Demos & Presentations
16:00 Awards Ceremony
17:00 Networking & Shutdown

Sponsors & Partners

FAQ

Who could participate?

The 2026 event page described participation as open to university students, with teams of 2–5 and team matching for solo participants.

What did participants need to bring?

The event page asked participants to bring a laptop, charger, student ID, and a sleeping bag if staying overnight.

Was prior AI experience required?

No. The event page was designed for mixed skill levels, with workshops and mentors intended to help participants get started.

Was the event advertised as free?

Yes. The 2026 page advertised free participation including meals, snacks, and swag.