The Black CS Success Summit Hackathon brings high school students, college students, emerging professionals, mentors, and community partners together to build technology inspired by real opportunities and challenges facing Chicago.
This year’s theme is:
Past Revolutions, Future Power: Shaping Chicago’s Quantum Future
Chicago has been transformed by technological advances—from railroads and industrialization to the internet and artificial intelligence. These innovations created new opportunities, but their benefits were not always shared equally.
Now, as Chicago becomes a growing center for quantum technology, participants will explore an important question:
How might we help Chicago communities understand, prepare for, participate in, or benefit from the emerging quantum future?
Teams will choose a specific Chicago audience—such as students, educators, neighborhood residents, nonprofits, or small businesses—and identify one meaningful problem or opportunity to address. Projects may explore career pathways, community awareness, cybersecurity, economic opportunity, environmental impact, or another community need identified by the team.
Solutions may take the form of a website, app, chatbot, game, dashboard, map, educational experience, or another creative prototype.
No quantum computing or physics experience is required. Participants are not expected to build with quantum technology. The goal is to think critically about how emerging technology affects people and to create something useful, understandable, and grounded in a real community need.
Throughout the Summit, participants will receive support through workshops, team formation, technical resources, mentorship, office hours, and presentation coaching. Students from different disciplines and experience levels are encouraged to contribute—including engineering, data, cybersecurity, design, product, business, research, and storytelling.
Teams will submit their projects through Devpost and present a short, demo-focused pitch to judges. Projects will be evaluated based on community impact, intentional use of technology, technical execution, design and usability, and the clarity of the team’s story and purpose.
Building Chicago’s future through Black innovation, technology, and community.
Requirements
Build a technology-supported solution that helps a Chicago community understand, prepare for, participate in, or benefit from the emerging quantum future.
Your project may address education, career access, cybersecurity, community awareness, economic opportunity, environmental impact, or another relevant community need.
You do not need to use quantum computing or understand quantum physics. Your solution should respond to a real problem or opportunity connected to Chicago’s changing technological landscape.
A focused and convincing prototype is enough. You are not expected to build a production-ready product during the hackathon.
What to Submit on Devpost-
Project page — Describe the problem, target users, your Why, proposed solution, Chicago connection, expected impact, limitations, and next steps.
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Working project or prototype URL — Provide a hosted application, interactive prototype, design prototype, or other experience that judges can review. Make sure judges have permission to access it.
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Demo video (3–5 minutes) — Show the core user experience from beginning to end and explain the problem your project addresses.
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Slide deck (5–7 slides) — Use this deck during your live presentation. Include the problem, target user, supporting evidence, solution, demonstration, expected impact, limitations, and next steps.
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GitHub repository or project files — Include a README with setup instructions, technologies used, licenses, and team-member contributions. Do not include passwords, API keys, or other private credentials. For non-coded prototypes, submit the relevant design or project files instead.
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Technology and data note — Include a section on your Devpost project page identifying the technologies, datasets, APIs, AI tools, models, and outside resources used. Explain why they were selected and note any important limitations or risks.
All projects must be submitted on Devpost by 2:50 p.m. CT on Saturday, November 14, 2026.
Late submissions may not be eligible for judging. Test every link and confirm that judges have access before submitting.
Live Pitch and Demo- Five minutes total: three-minute pitch and demonstration followed by two minutes of Q&A
- Presentations will stop at five minutes
- If the live technology fails, the team’s recorded demo may be used
- Single-round judging with no finals
- Focus on one clear user and problem.
- Explain why your chosen technology fits the problem.
- Include at least one measurable impact indicator, such as people reached, time saved, access increased, or risk reduced.
- Credit all code, data, models, research, and outside resources.
- Do not collect or use sensitive personal information.
- Test every submitted link before the deadline.
- Be transparent about what works, what does not, and what you would build next.
- A focused prototype that works is stronger than an unfinished project with too many features.
- Community Impact (30%) — Clear user and problem fit with meaningful or measurable community benefit.
- Intentional Technology (20%) — Technology fits the identified need, and the team explains its choices, limitations, and relevant risks.
- Technical Execution (20%) — Functional or convincing implementation, appropriate use of code and data, and a realistic path forward.
- Design & UX (15%) — Accessibility, usability, and clarity for a first-time user.
- Story & Purpose (15%) — The team’s Why, supporting evidence, Chicago connection, and next steps.
Prizes
TBD
TBD.......
Judges
Terrell McKinney
Anthony Currie
Makunde Martin
Pierline Durand
Judging Criteria
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Community Impact (30%)
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Intentional Technology (20%)
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Technical Execution (20%)
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Design & UX (15%)
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Story & Purpose (15%)
Questions? Email the hackathon manager