Hack The City takes place from 23 to 25 September 2026 at NOVA IMS – Campus de Campolide, Lisbon, Portugal.

The hackathon runs for 48 hours.

Participation is limited to applicants who have been accepted through the official Hack The City application process and invited to this private Devpost page.

Participants must be at least 18 years old by 23 September 2026.

Every accepted participant must register individually on Devpost, even when participating as part of a pre-formed team.

The event welcomes participants from different backgrounds, including students, researchers, developers, data scientists, designers, entrepreneurs, business professionals, urban specialists and other people interested in urban mobility, data and technology.

• Teams must have between 3 and 5 members.

• Individual applications are accepted, but every participant must join or form a team before the hackathon begins.

• Each participant may belong to only one team.

• Each team may designate one member as its main point of contact.

• Every team member must be registered on Devpost and added to the team’s project.

• Each team may submit only one project.

Teams must select one of the official challenges provided by Hack The City partners.

Reasonable preparation before the event is allowed. Participants may research the challenge context, learn relevant tools and prepare generic resources.

However, the submitted solution must be developed during Hack The City.

Pre-existing generic libraries, frameworks, templates and code snippets may be used when they do not constitute an already-developed solution. Significant use of pre-existing, challenge-specific project work may result in disqualification.

Teams may use the programming languages, platforms, frameworks and technologies they consider appropriate, subject to any restrictions communicated by the organizers or challenge partners.

External datasets, software, APIs and third-party resources must be used in accordance with their applicable terms, licences and restrictions.

Participants must use data, technology and event resources responsibly, lawfully and securely.

Datasets provided by EMEL for specific challenges are strictly confidential and may only be used by Hack The City participants for the purpose of developing their project during the hackathon.

Participants must not publish, upload, redistribute, disclose or share the EMEL datasets, or derivative portions of those datasets, through:

• Public code repositories

• File-sharing platforms

• Social media

• Public websites

• Third parties outside the hackathon

This restriction applies during and after the event.

Any breach may result in immediate disqualification and potential legal liability under EMEL’s applicable data-usage policies.

The team member submitting the project must confirm compliance on behalf of the entire team.

Each team must submit one complete Devpost project by 10:00 on 25 September 2026.

Late or incomplete submissions may not be considered.

The submission must include all materials requested in the Submission Requirements section. Repository links and any additional materials must be provided according to the instructions communicated by the organizing team.

All teams will present their projects in the first round.

• First round: 3-minute presentation followed by 2 minutes of jury questions.

• Final round: The top 3 teams will deliver a 5-minute presentation followed by 2 minutes of jury questions.

Teams must follow the presentation format and timing communicated by the organizers.

Projects will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Value and Impact – 30%
  Does the project solve a real problem or create a meaningful opportunity?

• Working Demo Quality – 25%
  Does the prototype work, and is it usable and clearly demonstrated?

• Technical Differentiation – 20%
  What makes the solution distinctive or better than existing approaches?

• Creative Storytelling – 15%
  Is the idea communicated through a clear, memorable and compelling narrative?

• Team Execution and Production Potential – 10%
  Could the solution realistically become a viable product or service with further development?

The jury’s decision is final, subject to the applicable competition rules.

Participants retain ownership of the intellectual property created through their projects, subject to applicable third-party rights, licen