Dates

  • Registration Opens: November 13, 2026

  • Hackathon Opens: November 13, 2026

  • Project Submission Deadline: December 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST

  • Judging Period: December 14–20, 2026

  • Winners Announced: December 21, 2026

Eligibility

InnovateHER is open to everyone, regardless of age, gender, location, or coding experience!

Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced developer, we encourage you to participate.

  • Participation is free.

  • Participants may compete individually or in teams of up to four.

  • Students and non-students are welcome.

  • Participants from anywhere in the world may join.

  • All genders are welcome.

Our goal is to bring people together to create technology that empowers women and girls.

Project and Submission Requirements

Participants must create an original technology-based project that addresses a challenge affecting women and girls.

Projects should align with at least one of our four tracks:

  1. Women's Health & Wellness

  2. Education & Opportunity

  3. Safety & Accessibility

  4. Advocacy & Social Impact

Projects may include websites, mobile apps, AI tools, games, or other software-based solutions.

Each submission must include:

  • A project title and description explaining the problem and proposed solution

  • A short demonstration video (2–3 minutes recommended)

  • A link to the project's source code, preferably through GitHub

  • At least one screenshot of the project

  • The challenge track the project addresses

Participants may use open-source libraries, APIs, and AI tools, but must acknowledge any outside resources used.

Prizes

Projects will be considered for the following awards:

  • Best Overall Project: Awarded to the project that demonstrates the strongest combination of innovation, impact, and technical execution.

  • Most Innovative Project: Recognizes the most creative and original solution.

  • Best Social Impact: Awarded to the project with the greatest potential to make a meaningful difference in the lives of women and girls.

  • Best Beginner Project: Recognizes an outstanding project created by first-time hackers.

Winners will receive recognition on the InnovateHER Devpost page. Additional prizes, if available, will be announced before the submission deadline.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

1. Innovation & Creativity (25%)

How original is the idea? Does the project approach the problem in a creative or interesting way?

2. Social Impact (25%)

How well does the project address a meaningful challenge affecting women and girls? Does the solution have the potential to make a difference?

3. Technical Implementation (25%)

How well does the project work? How effectively were the chosen technologies used to develop the solution?

4. Presentation (25%)

How clearly does the team explain the problem, solution, and project features? Is the demonstration easy to understand?