CheeseHacks is UW–Madison’s large-scale hackathon, bringing together 300+ student developers from across the Midwest for 24 hours of innovation, learning, and collaboration.
Hosted by the Google Student Developer Club, the event provides the resources, mentorship, and support you need to turn an idea into a working project — all in a single weekend.
Get StartedWhether you’re interested in building web applications, mobile apps, hardware projects, or AI solutions, CheeseHacks is designed to help you bring your ideas to life.
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Participate solo or in a team of up to 4 members
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Don’t have a team? A team formation session will take place at the start of the hackathon to help you connect with others
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Dates: February 28 – March 1, 2026
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Location: Educational Sciences Building, UW–Madison
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Hackathon Capacity: 430 hackers
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Cost: Completely FREE — food, swag, and workspace are provided for the entire weekend
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Network with fellow students, mentors, and recruiters from leading technology companies
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Attend hands-on workshops and technical talks to strengthen your skills
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Showcase your project and compete for exciting prizes
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Connect with Google engineers and industry professionals
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Enjoy meals and late-night snacks throughout the event
Requirements
You can build anything — web applications, mobile apps, hardware projects, AI models, or any creative idea you can bring to life. The only limit is your imagination.
Whether you are participating solo or in a team of up to 4 members, we are excited to see what you can create within 24 hours.
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All projects must be built during the hackathon period (February 28 – March 1, 2026)
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All code must be original work created during the event
All submissions are due on Sunday, March 1 at 11:00 AM.
Please prepare the following:
1. Project Demo / Presentation-
Prepare a 1–2 minute demo of your project
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You will present this during the judging session
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Submit a GitHub repository link containing your complete source code
Complete your Devpost submission with:
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Project title and description
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Link to your project/demo
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Link to your GitHub repository
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Team member information
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Technologies used
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Any relevant links or supporting files
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Have your project running live during judging, or
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Submit a video walkthrough of your project
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All submissions must include a working demo
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Code should be well-organized and properly commented
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Include clear instructions on how to run or use your project
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For web projects, include deployment links (e.g., Vercel, Netlify, Heroku, etc.)
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For mobile applications, include APK files or TestFlight links if possible
Prizes
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Wild Card
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
David Chapin
Google
Levi Redlin
Google
Justin Smith
Google
Rong Chen
Google
Evan Washington
Google
Max Rountree
Google
Bob Magyar
Google
Ricky Mutschlechner
Google
Judging Criteria
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Working Demo
Does the project run and perform as claimed during the demo? -
Problem Clarity & Relevance
Is the problem clearly explained, who it affects, and why it matters? -
Technical Depth & Difficulty
How complex and thoughtful is the implementation beyond basic API or chatbot usage? -
Innovation & Creativity
How original is the idea or approach? Novel thinking, custom logic, or reduced AI reliance scores higher. -
Presentation & Understanding
Do team members clearly explain their project and show strong understanding of how it works?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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