World Engineering Day Hackathon 2027 [€7,000 Prizes]: Submit by Dec 12

The World Federation of Engineering Organizations is inviting engineering students, young engineers and multidisciplinary participants worldwide to join the free World Engineering Day Hackathon 2027. Teams will develop sustainable-transport solutions and compete for prizes totalling €7,000.

Click here to register for the World Engineering Day Hackathon 2027.

About WFEO

The World Federation of Engineering Organizations, commonly known as WFEO, is an international organisation representing the engineering profession.

Founded in 1968 under the auspices of UNESCO, WFEO brings together engineering institutions from around the world and promotes the role of engineering in achieving sustainable development.

About the World Engineering Day Hackathon

The World Engineering Day Hackathon 2027 invites young participants to work in teams and develop practical engineering solutions to global transport challenges.

The competition is connected with the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport 2026–2035 and supports Sustainable Development Goals relating to health, clean energy, innovation, infrastructure and sustainable cities.

Winning teams will be announced during the World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development celebration in Rome, Italy, on March 4, 2027.

Hackathon Highlights

Organiser: World Federation of Engineering Organizations
Competition: World Engineering Day Hackathon 2027
Theme: Sustainable Transport Engineering
Eligibility: Global
Entry fee: Free
Team size: Three to five participants
Total prizes: €7,000
Challenge release: November 20, 2026
Submission deadline: December 12, 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC
Winner announcement: March 4, 2027

Theme

The official theme is: “Engineering Sustainable Transport Solutions for People, Planet and Prosperity.”

The competition will explore how engineering can make transport systems more:

Sustainable
Safe
Inclusive
Accessible
Affordable
Resilient
Environmentally responsible

The detailed challenges will be revealed on November 20, 2026. Teams will then have approximately three weeks to develop and submit their solutions.

Eligibility and Team Requirements

The hackathon is primarily intended for engineering students and young engineers below 30 years of age.

Participants must form teams of three to five members. Each team must be led by an engineering student or an eligible young engineer under 30.

Multidisciplinary participation is encouraged. A team may include participants from disciplines such as:

Architecture and urban planning
Artificial intelligence and data science
Business and entrepreneurship
Climate and environmental science
Communication and design
Economics
Public policy
Social sciences
Transport and logistics

Team members may belong to different universities, institutions, disciplines and countries.

Participation by School Students

High-school students and participants below 18 years of age may participate as team members.

They must obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian and submit the required consent form. Their team must be led by an eligible engineering student or young engineer below 30.

Do You Need a Team Before Registering?

No. Participants may register individually.

Those without a team can use the team-formation community linked on the official hackathon page to connect with participants from other universities, countries and disciplines.

Click here to register individually for the 2027 hackathon.

Prizes

The competition offers prizes totalling €7,000.

Position Prize
First Place €4,000
Second Place €2,000
Third Place €1,000
Total Prize Pool €7,000

The prize awarded to a winning team will be divided equally among its members.

Submission Requirements

The 2027 competition has a single submission round.

Each team must submit:

A five-minute video explaining its solution.
A photograph of the team.
A written submission describing the proposed solution.

The written submission must be in English.

The video may be recorded in another language, but it must include English subtitles. Complete technical instructions and submission links will be released with the challenges on November 20, 2026.

Evaluation Criteria

Entries will be evaluated on the following parameters:

Relevance and Problem Definition

How clearly the team understands and defines the selected challenge.

Innovation and Technical Merit

The originality, feasibility and technical strength of the proposed solution.

Impact and Scalability

The solution’s potential to generate meaningful environmental, social or economic impact and its ability to be expanded.

Inclusion and Sustainability

Whether the solution is accessible, affordable, inclusive and environmentally sustainable.

Presentation and Partnership Potential

How effectively the team communicates its idea and whether the proposal presents opportunities for future development or collaboration.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Teams may use AI tools to support their work, including for creating visualisations.

However, AI must not be used to:

Misrepresent the feasibility of the solution.
Produce deceptive or unrealistic visualisations.
Fabricate technical evidence or claims.
Create false endorsements or deepfakes.
Mislead the judging panel.

Participants remain responsible for the accuracy and credibility of their submissions.

Originality and Intellectual Property

Teams should use original content wherever possible.

Music, stock footage, photographs and other third-party materials must be copyright-free or appropriately licensed.

Participants retain ownership of their designs and proposed solutions. By entering, they permit WFEO to use and modify submitted photographs, videos and written content for promoting current and future editions of the hackathon.

How to Participate?

Interested participants may follow these steps:

Visit the official World Engineering Day Hackathon page.
Create an account and register individually.
Form a team of three to five participants.
Select an eligible engineering student or young engineer as team leader.
Review the challenges when they are released on November 20, 2026.
Select a challenge and conduct the necessary research.
Develop a technically credible and scalable solution.
Prepare the five-minute video, team photograph and written submission.
Follow the submission instructions issued by WFEO.
Submit the complete entry before December 12, 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC.

Important Dates

Registration opened: September 14, 2026
Challenges released: November 20, 2026
Submission deadline: December 12, 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC
Deadline in India: December 13, 2026 at 5:29 AM IST
Winners announced: March 4, 2027

The organisers have not specified a separate registration-closing date. Participants should register early to allow enough time to find teammates before the challenges are released.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Indian students participate in the World Engineering Day Hackathon 2027?

Yes. The competition accepts participants globally, including students and young engineers from India.

Is participation free?

Yes. Registration and participation are completely free.

Can non-engineering students participate?

Yes. Participants from other disciplines may join multidisciplinary teams. However, each team must be led by an engineering student or eligible young engineer.