Steel City Codes
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Fun, prizes, and friendly competition.

Themed coding competitions for students in grades 6-12. Build a project solo or in a team of up to four, with workshops and mentors to help. Free to enter, with sponsored prizes.

Message us about hackathons How it works
A student smiling at the camera while coding on a laptop, with a Java program on the classroom screen behind him.
10+hackathons since 2018
$70,000in prizes awarded to students
1,000+competitors
20skill workshops run during events

How our hackathons work.

Each hackathon has a real-world theme. Teams build a project around it and present it to the judges.

  1. Problem-solve

    Each event announces its theme at kickoff.

  2. Work with friends

    Compete solo or in a team of up to four. No team? We'll help you find one.

  3. Learn new skills

    Workshops run throughout the event, and mentors are on standby to help your team build.

Events have run from a weekend to two weeks. Past events collected projects on Devpost and judged them on theme adherence, originality and creativity, technical complexity, usefulness, and presentation.

Past hackathons.

$30,000

Winter Hack 2024-25

February 2025. Theme: global food nutrition and scarcity. Three tracks: novice, advanced, and ideathon.

$12,220

Winter Hack 2024

February 2024. Theme: physical wellness, mental health, and social connection.

$13,000

Spring Hack 2023

May 2023. Three divisions, with a strong emphasis on beginner participation. Projects and winners.

More past projects: Winter Hack (December 2022), Steel City Hacks (April 2022), and Steel City Hacks India (October 2020).

Common questions.

What if I don't know how to code?
No experience needed. Workshops run throughout each hackathon, and mentors help with your project.
Can high schoolers volunteer?
Yes. High school mentors in grades 9-12 with a computer science background help teams during the event. See how volunteering works.
How long does each hackathon last?
It depends on the event. Past hackathons have run from a weekend to two weeks. If a deadline falls at an inconvenient time in your time zone, message us and we'll make arrangements.
How do I hear about future hackathons?
Message us and we'll let you know when registration opens.

Sponsors fund the prizes and platforms that keep hackathons free for students.

Partner with us