Rules

These rules provide the framework for participation in EthnoHack 2026. The organisers reserve the right to clarify or amend the rules where necessary. Final rules should be reviewed for legal and regulatory compliance before publication.

Dates

Hackathon: 2–8 November 2026

Final submission deadline: Sunday, 8 November 2026

Final presentations: Sunday, 8 November 2026

All deadlines are based on Central European Time (CET) unless otherwise stated.

Participants may work asynchronously throughout the hackathon period.

Eligibility

EthnoHack 2026 is open to participants from around the world, subject to applicable laws and regulations.

Participants may include:

• University students

• PhD researchers

• Academic researchers

• Data scientists

• Software developers

• AI/ML researchers

• Bioinformaticians

• Pharmacognocists

• Pharmacologists

• Botanists

• Ethnobotanists

• Historians

• Anthropologists

• Ecologists

• Clinicians

• Designers

• Other interested participants

Participants may participate individually or as part of a team.

Interdisciplinary teams are strongly encouraged.

Participants must meet any age requirements imposed by the event platform, applicable law, or the final official rules.

Team Requirements

Teams may consist of participants from different disciplines, institutions, organisations, or countries.

Participants may join only the number of teams permitted by the official event organisers.

Each submitted project must identify all team members on Devpost.

Project and Submission Requirements

Projects must address at least one of the four official challenge tracks:

1. Traditional Knowledge Mining

2. Natural Products for Drug Discovery

3. Biodiversity & Sustainability

4. Digital Health & Phytotherapy

Projects should make meaningful use of data, computational methods, AI, software, or digital technologies.

Each submission must include:

• Devpost project page

• Public GitHub repository or equivalent source-code repository

• README/documentation

• Maximum 10-minute pitch video

• Maximum 10-slide presentation

All external datasets, APIs, models, libraries, and other third-party resources must be appropriately acknowledged and used in accordance with their licences and terms.

Originality

Participants should submit work created during the hackathon or substantially developed during the hackathon.

Previously existing open-source code, libraries, datasets, APIs, models, and other tools may be used where their licences permit, but teams must clearly disclose their use.

Teams should clearly identify which components were developed by the team and which were pre-existing.

Data and Intellectual Property

Participants are responsible for ensuring that the data and other materials used in their project can legally be used for the project.

Where required, datasets must be:

• Properly attributed

• Used according to their licence

• Documented in the project repository

• Accompanied by relevant source information

Projects involving traditional or Indigenous knowledge should take appropriate care regarding provenance, attribution, cultural context, access restrictions, and potential sensitivities.

AI Usage

AI tools may be used during the hackathon.

Teams should disclose significant use of generative AI or AI-assisted development where relevant, particularly where AI substantially contributed to code, analysis, content generation, or the final product.

Participants remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, licensing, and appropriateness of their submissions.

Health and Medical Claims

EthnoHack projects may explore health, pharmacology, phytotherapy, and drug discovery.

However, hackathon prototypes should not be presented as clinically validated medical devices, treatments, or medical advice unless they have the appropriate evidence and regulatory approvals.

Projects should communicate uncertainty and limitations clearly.

Code of Conduct

All participants, mentors, judges, organisers, and other event participants are expected to interact respectfully and professionally.

Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, abuse, or inappropriate conduct will not be tolerated.

The organisers may remove participants from the event where necessary to protect the safety and integrity of the community.

A complete event Code of Conduct will be published before the hackathon.

Disqualification

The organisers may disqualify a submission if it:

• Violates applicable law

• Violates the hackathon rules

• Uses data or intellectual property without appropriate permission

• Contains fraudulent or misleading information

• Fails to meet the submission requirements

• Engages in harassment or other serious misconduct

• Attempts to manipulate the judging process

The organisers' decisions regarding eligibility and rule compliance will be handled according to the final official event rules.

Changes to the Rules

The organisers reserve the right to update these rules where necessary before or during the event. Any significant changes will be communicated to participants through the official event channels.

Judging Criteria

Projects will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary judging panel.

Judges will consider the following criteria:

Does the project address a meaningful challenge related to ethnopharmacology, natural products, biodiversity, sustainability, or health?

Does the project introduce a creative or novel approach?

How effectively has the team implemented its technical solution?

Considerations may include:

• Code quality

• System design

• Model implementation

• Prototype functionality

• Documentation

• Reproducibility

Does the project use appropriate data-science methods?

Considerations may include:

• Data quality

• Method selection

• Validation

• Statistical reasoning

• Handling of uncertainty

• Reproducibility

Could the concept realistically be developed further beyond the hackathon?

What potential benefit could the project provide for:

• Scientific research

• Drug discovery

• Biodiversity

• Conservation

• Sustainability

• Healthcare

• Communities

How clearly does the team communicate:

• The problem

• The methodology

• The results

• The prototype

• The limitations

• The potential impact

Judges may consider both the submitted materials and the final presentation/demo.

The organisers will publish the final judging rubric and weighting, if applicable, before judging begins.

Prizes

🏆 Main Track Prizes

Amount to be announced for the winner of each track.

🏅 Special Category Awards

Additional awards may be presented for projects demonstrating outstanding achievements in specific areas:

Outstanding and innovative application of artificial intelligence or machine learning.

Outstanding project developed by a team composed entirely of students.

Strong scientific methodology, validation, reproducibility, and transparent treatment of uncertainty.

A particularly creative application of technology to an unexpected or important real-world problem.

A project demonstrating meaningful potential benefit for communities or stakeholders.

Outstanding interdisciplinary or cross-institutional collaboration.

Details of any additional prizes, sponsor awards, eligibility requirements, and prize fulfilment will be announced by the organisers when confirmed.

Prize eligibility and taxation may be subject to applicable laws and regulations.