Rules of the SMARTSNG: GENESIS WINTER 2026 intellectual competition

1.1. These Rules define the goals, objectives, and the procedure for organizing and running the annual SMARTSNG: GENESIS WINTER 2026 online intellectual competition (hereinafter — the Hackathon).

1.2. The Hackathon is run by the International Association of Software Developers (hereinafter — the Organizer) with the participation of partners.

1.3. The Hackathon is held annually. These Rules apply to the Genesis Winter 2026 edition.

1.4. The goal of the Hackathon is to identify the strongest practitioners of digital professions on real-world challenges and to give participants, partners, and judges a venue for professional exchange.

1.5. Participation in the Hackathon is free. The Hackathon is held fully online; participants are admitted from any country.

1.6. The current version of the Rules is published on the Hackathon website. By registering, a participant confirms that they have read the Rules and agree to their terms.

• Organizer — the International Association of Software Developers, which runs the Hackathon.
• Partner — an organization providing the Hackathon's tasks and/or prizes.
• Participant — an individual registered in the Hackathon dashboard, either solo or as part of a Team.
• Team — 1 to 5 Participants registered to jointly complete a task within one track (a team of 1 is solo participation).
• Dashboard — the section of the Hackathon website used for registration, task release, result upload, and communication with the Organizer.
• Track — a thematic direction of the Hackathon within which a Participant or Team completes a task.
• Task — a track's challenge, formed on the basis of the Partners' interests and released through the dashboard.
• Solution (result) — the materials a Participant or Team uploads to the dashboard in response to a Task.
• Judge (Jury) — an expert engaged by the Organizer who evaluates Solutions against the criteria of these Rules.

3.1. The Organizer is responsible for running the Hackathon: dates and stages, the dashboard, assembling the judging panel, tallying the results, and announcing the winners.

3.2. Partners form the Tasks based on their real interests and problems from their field, and provide the prizes. All Hackathon prizes are provided by the Partners, not by the Organizer.

3.3. Genesis Winter 2026 partners: IT Park, SVETLOST, Apexs, PlanningDeck. The list of partners may grow; the current list is published on the website.

All times are given in the UTC+3 time zone.

4.1. Tasks start on 03.01.2027; the competition period is 03.01.2027 — 12.01.2027.

4.2. The Organizer may change the dates in exceptional cases (see section 14), notifying participants through the dashboard and the website.

5.1. The Hackathon runs across four tracks:

• Development & Engineering — developers (backend, frontend, mobile, fullstack), DevOps, SRE, information security specialists.
• Product & Design — product managers, UX/UI designers.
• Data & AI — data engineers, analysts, machine learning and artificial intelligence specialists.
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation — IT entrepreneurs, startup founders, cryptocurrency and blockchain specialists.

5.2. Each Participant or Team competes in one track and completes that track's task.

6.1. Individuals with experience in one of the tracks are admitted, from any country.

6.2. Participation is possible as part of a Team of 1–5 people (a team of 1 is solo participation). One person may not be a member of more than one Team at the same time.

6.3. To participate, you must register in the Hackathon dashboard within the application period and consent to the processing of personal data.

6.4. By registering, a participant confirms the accuracy of the provided data and their agreement with these Rules.

7.1. The tasks are published in the dashboard on 03.01.2027 at 11:00 and are available only to registered participants.

7.2. Each track has its own task, formed on the basis of the Partners' interests.

7.3. Together with the task, the requirements for the result format and the upload procedure are published.

8.1. The Solution is uploaded through the dashboard by 18:00 on 07.01.2027. Results uploaded after the deadline are not accepted for evaluation.

8.2. The result format is defined by the track's task (for example: a repository link, prototype, document, presentation, or pitch).

8.3. The Solution must be produced by the participants themselves during the Hackathon period. Open-source libraries, tools, and AI assistants may be used unless the task states otherwise; borrowed materials must be properly attributed.

8.4. The participant is responsible for the availability and working order of the uploaded materials (links, repositories) at the time of evaluation.

9.1. Solutions are evaluated by the Jury — industry experts and partner representatives engaged by the Organizer.

9.2. Each judge scores a solution against four criteria. Each criterion is scored on a 0–10 scale:

• Fit to the task — how fully the solution addresses the challenge. High score (8–10): the solution covers the task and its constraints; medium (4–7): the core is covered, parts are missing; low (0–3): the solution drifts away from the task.
• Quality and depth — technical and substantive maturity. High: a mature, clean solution without glaring holes; medium: works, but with rough edges; low: raw, with many gaps.
• Applicability — practical value and viability. High: usable in practice almost as is; medium: usable after rework; low: a demo without practical value.
• Presentation — clarity of delivery and reasoning. High: clear, structured, well-argued; medium: understandable, loose in places; low: hard to tell what was done and why.

9.3. Each criterion's weight depends on the track (a track's weights sum to 100). The track's final score is computed with these weights:

9.4. A work's score from one judge = the sum of (criterion score × criterion weight) divided by 10; the maximum is 100. A work's final score is the arithmetic mean of all judges' scores.

9.5. In the event of a tie, priority goes to the work with the higher score for “Fit to the task”, then “Quality and depth”, then “Applicability”. If still tied, the decision is made by the Organizer together with the Jury.

9.6. Judging runs until 18:00 on 12.01.2027. The Jury's decisions are final and not subject to review, except where violations of the Rules are found.

10.1. The Hackathon's total prize fund is $4,000. All prizes are provided by the Partners.

10.2. The cash prize distribution for each track:

• 1st place — $800.
• 2nd place — $100.
• 3rd place — $100.

10.3. All prize winners (1st–3rd place in each track) additionally receive hoodies and merch from the Partners. The list of non-cash prizes may be extended by the Partners.

10.4. The winners are announced during the live stream on 12.01.2027 at 18:00 UTC+3.

10.5. To receive a prize, a winner provides the Organizer with the necessary details. The procedure and timing for delivering cash prizes and merch are agreed individually with the Partner providing the prize. Any taxes and fees related to receiving a prize are the participant's own responsibility under the laws of their country.

10.6. The Organizer may withhold a prize or redistribute it within a track if the track has too few admitted works or no work reaches the minimum acceptable score. The threshold is set by the Organizer together with the Jury before the results are announced.

11.1. Exclusive rights to the Solutions created during the Hackathon remain with their authors (Participants, Teams).

11.2. By registering, a participant grants the Organizer and Partners the right to use the Solution's materials and attribution free of charge for non-commercial purposes related to the Hackathon (publishing the results, media and social coverage, showing during the stream).

11.3. Any other use of a Solution by a Partner (including commercial use) is possible only under a separate agreement with the authors.

12.1. By registering, a participant consents to the processing of personal data. Processing is carried out in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

13.1. The Organizer may remove a participant or Team from the Hackathon in case of:

• violation of these Rules;
• plagiarism or presenting someone else's solution as their own;
• providing false data at registration;
• actions that disrupt the dashboard or interfere with other participants;
• unacceptable behavior towards participants, judges, or the Organizer.

13.2. Disqualification voids the result and forfeits the right to a prize.

14.1. The Organizer is not liable for failure to perform its obligations due to circumstances beyond its control (natural disasters, infrastructure and communication failures, acts of public authorities, and other events beyond the Organizer's control).

14.2. Should such circumstances arise, the Organizer may change the dates or format of the Hackathon, notifying participants through the dashboard and the website.

15.1. The Organizer may amend the Rules. The current version is published on the Hackathon website; material changes are additionally communicated to participants through the dashboard.

16.1. All Hackathon questions — through the dashboard, by email events@smartsng.dev or in the participants' Telegram community (join via the bot @SmartSngBot).