1. Devpost Submission (Required) To be eligible foSubmission & Judging Requirementsr judging, your team must submit the project on Devpost before the deadline. Your submission must include a demonstration video that is no longer than 2 minutes. This video ensures we have a reliable, recorded walkthrough of your hard work.

2. The Judging Process (Science Fair Style) Judging will be conducted "science fair style" on the floor of the Merrill Cultural Center. You will be stationed at your team's designated table, and our judges will walk around the room to visit each booth, ask questions, and see what you've built.

3. Your Presentation (Choose Your Format) When the judges arrive at your table, how you pitch your project is entirely up to you. You can use whatever method showcases your work best:

• Do a Live Demo: Walk the judges through your working application, hardware, or codebase right there on your machine.

• Present Slides: Pitch your project using a short slide deck to highlight the problem, your solution, and the architecture you used.

• Play Your Video: If you prefer your pre-recorded pitch or want a fallback option, you are more than welcome to simply play your 2-minute Devpost video for the judges.

Feel free to mix and match these approaches. Just be ready to talk about your build and answer technical questions from the judges!

NOTE: you can only submit to one track, so keep that in mind when you're building your project!

• Best Integration of Gemini/Google API

  • Gemini or a Google API (Maps, Firebase, Cloud, and more) must power a main feature and work live in your demo. Top projects use it in depth, through structured output, multimodal input, function calling, or several Google services together, and could not exist without it.

• Best Startup Potential

  • Solve a real problem for a specific user you can name, and know how you’re different from existing alternatives. Top projects show a plan to reach users, evidence of demand, and a rough business model.

• Best Social Impact

  • Meet a real need for a specific group, with a clear link between your app and the outcome. Top projects are backed by input from affected people or research, consider access barriers and harms, and name how they’d measure impact.

• Best UI

  • Build a clean, usable interface with a clear main flow. Top projects are polished, handle loading and errors, work on mobile, and are accessible.