Cognizant

Technoverse
Hackathon

2026

Powered by

Build the future. Solve real industry challenges. Win exciting prizes & internship opportunities at Cognizant.

Register Now Explore Themes

Registration closes in

--
Days
--
Hours
--
Minutes
--
Seconds
8
Industry Domains
40+
Use Case Themes
4
Members / Team
24h
Live Hackathon
About the Event

Where Student
Innovation Meets
Industry Reality

Cognizant Technoverse 2026 is a national hackathon exclusively for college students, designed to tackle real-world industry challenges using AI, GenAI, and modern engineering.

Pick a domain that excites you - Banking, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Utilities, and more. Round 1 focuses on submitting your idea and building an AI agent. Shortlisted participants will move to Round 2, the final round, to develop and present their MVP at Cognizant’s Pune campus.

Team Composition

Up to 8 teams per college, 4 members each. At least 2 female members per team required.

Top 3 Teams Win

Exciting prizes worth ₹ 5 lakhs + internship opportunities.

Venue

Cognizant's Pune facility -
24-hour in-person hackathon.

Program Journey

Timeline

Registration

April 3 – April 12

Sign up on the platform. Each college may register up to 8 teams of 4 members each (min. 2 female members per team).

Submit your problem statement and solution using the designated format. Choose from 40+ industry use-case themes.

Idea Submission

April 4 – April 12

Agent Builder Challenge

April 23

Build an AI agent based on your submitted idea using the platform. This is where engineering meets innovation.

Shortlisted teams travel to Cognizant's Pune campus for a 24-hour live hackathon to build and demo their MVP.

Developing MVP

May 6

MVP Evaluation

May 7

Judged on Impact, Innovation, Technical Strength, and Scalability by Cognizant experts.

Top 3 teams rewarded with exciting prizes and internship opportunities at Cognizant.

Winner Announcement

May 7

Business Domains

Industry Themes

Select one domain that excites you. Dive deep into a specific use-case within that space.

Step 02 - Idea Submission

Idea Submission Template

Structure your submission across three dimensions. Each section is judged on business value, uniqueness, implementability, and scalability.

WHY
Explain the Problem
Problem description & business scenario
Problem Description

Include relevant background, data, and context. Discuss industry trends, business needs, and scenarios that make this problem significant.

Problem Scope & Stakeholders

Define the boundary of the problem. Identify target users and stakeholders, and describe their needs and pain points the solution addresses.

HOW
Explain How to Solve
Solution overview & technical details
Solution Overview

High-level overview of the solution — core concepts, features, functionalities and main components.

Technical Details

Technologies, platforms, languages, frameworks, algorithms, libraries. Data sources and integration considerations.

WHAT
Value Proposition
Innovation, market potential & benefits
Innovation

Highlight unique or novel technologies, methodologies, or strategies employed.

Market Potential

Approximate market size backed by facts and figures from analyst reports where possible.

Benefits

Quantify benefits — UX, efficiency, cost savings, scalability, social and environmental impact.

Evaluation Criteria
Business Value

Will this deliver real impact?

Uniqueness

Is the idea truly novel?

Implementability

Can it actually be built?

Scalability

Can it grow and scale?

Step 04 - Developing MVP

Technology Stack

AWS environment will be provided by Cognizant
Languages

Python · Java · JavaScript / TypeScript

Frontend

React · Angular · Vue

Backend / APIs

Spring Boot · FastAPI · Node.js

Databases

Open-source SQL · NoSQL databases · PostgreSQL · MongoDB

AI / ML

Open-source AI · ML libraries in Python & Java for example: LangChain · LangGraph · AWS Strand Agent Framework

App Types

Web apps (preferred) · REST APIs · Containerized services

Ready to build the future?

Register Before
April 12, 2026

Solve real industry problems, meet Cognizant leaders, build your AI agent, and stand a chance to win exciting prizes and an internship opportunity with Cognizant.

Register Now

Registration: April 3 - April 10  ·  8 teams max per college