Genesis ’26 — Online

Overview

Genesis '26 is a two-day online hackathon organized by Syntax2Code to identify students who can actually think, debug, code and build. Participants compete individually through four progressive elimination rounds covering technical fundamentals, debugging and coding. After every round, participants are shortlisted based on performance. Students who clear all four elimination rounds advance to the Final Project Submission Round, which is also completed individually — no teams are formed. The strongest performers get the opportunity to prove themselves for a ₹15,000 paid internship with our industry partner in Hyderabad.

Why participate

• Test your technical skills against other students
• Experience a real elimination-style coding competition
• Compete through MCQs, debugging and coding challenges
• Build a project in the Final Project Submission Round — individually
• Experience time-constrained problem solving
• Build something you can showcase on your resume/GitHub
• Receive a verified Genesis '26 Participation Certificate
• Receive a performance report based on your hackathon journey
• Earn Finalist recognition if you reach the Project Round
• Compete for a ₹15,000 paid internship opportunity
• Get an opportunity to prove your skills beyond your college, CGPA or resume

Prizes & rewards

• Winner — Winner Certificate + Winner Recognition
• Winner enters the selection process for the ₹15,000 paid internship opportunity
• Finalists — Finalist Certificates + Finalist Recognition
• All eligible participants — Genesis '26 Participation Certificate
• All eligible participants — Hackathon Performance Report
• All eligible participants — Genesis '26 S2C Profile Badge
• All eligible participants — One complimentary Syntax2Code Placement Readiness Assessment

Hackathon rounds

• Round 1Sep 5, 2026 · 10:00 AM – 10:20 AM IST

  10 MCQs · 20 Minutes · Individual. Programming Fundamentals, DSA & Algorithms, Complexity & Basic Problem Solving. The opening elimination round tests core technical knowledge.

• Round 2Sep 5, 2026 · 10:25 AM – 11:25 AM IST

  5 Coding Questions · 60 Minutes · Individual. 3 Easy-level and 2 Medium-level questions covering Problem Solving, Logical Thinking, DSA & Algorithms.

• Round 3Sep 5, 2026 · 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM IST

  5 Coding Questions · 30 Minutes · Individual. 3 Medium-level and 2 Hard-level questions covering Advanced Problem Solving, DSA, Algorithms & Logical Thinking.

• Round 4Sep 5, 2026 · 12:05 PM – 1:05 PM IST

  10 Debugging Problems · 60 Minutes · Individual. Identify the error, understand the cause, correct the code, and explain the issue.

• Round 5Sep 6, 2026

  Final Project Submission Round. Participants submit their project according to the Project Submission Guidelines, which will be shared separately.

Timeline

1. Participant Check-In & Opening
   Sep 5, 2026
2. Round 1 (10 MCQs · 20 min)
   Sep 5, 2026 · 10:00 AM – 10:20 AM IST
3. Round 1 Results — shortlist announced
   Sep 5, 2026
4. Round 2 (5 questions · 60 min)
   Sep 5, 2026 · 10:25 AM – 11:25 AM IST
5. Round 2 Results — shortlist announced
   Sep 5, 2026
6. Round 3 (5 questions · 30 min)
   Sep 5, 2026 · 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM IST
7. Round 3 Results — shortlist announced
   Sep 5, 2026
8. Round 4 (10 problems · 60 min)
   Sep 5, 2026 · 12:05 PM – 1:05 PM IST
9. Finalists Announcement
   Sep 5, 2026
10. Round 5
    Sep 6, 2026
11. Project Development
    Sep 6, 2026
12. Final Submission
    Sep 6, 2026
13. Project Presentations & Evaluation
    Sep 6, 2026
14. Winners Announcement
    Sep 6, 2026

Schedule

Final round deliverables

• Working AI-Based Project
• GitHub Repository
• README Documentation
• Software Requirements Specification (SRS)
• Architecture / Technical Approach
• API Documentation, where applicable
• Test Cases
• Bug Report
• Final Project Presentation / Demo

Understanding the deliverables

Industry partner

₹15,000 Paid Internship

In-person · Hyderabad

Genesis '26 isn't designed to end when the winners are announced. The winner becomes eligible for the internship selection process for a ₹15,000 paid internship opportunity.

Selection process: Winner → Syntax2Code Interview → Company Interview → Final Company Selection. The company makes the final hiring decision. Winning the hackathon provides access to the selection process and does not automatically guarantee internship selection. Stipend: ₹15,000. Location: Hyderabad. Work mode: In-person. Work from home: not available.

Eligibility

• Open to college students
• Registration is individual
• All rounds, including the Final Project Submission Round, are individual
• Participants must qualify in each round to advance
• Finalists must be available for the complete Final Project Submission Round
• Candidates interested in the internship must be willing to work in-person in Hyderabad

Participation rules

• Registration is individual — there are no teams
• Rounds 1–4 are individual elimination rounds
• Participants are shortlisted after every round
• The Final Project Submission Round is completed individually
• Each finalist receives a project/problem statement
• One final submission per participant
• Finalists must present their solution before the evaluation panel

Technologies & languages

AI usage policy

Rounds 1–4: Use of AI tools, external assistance or unauthorized resources during individual elimination rounds is prohibited unless explicitly permitted by the organizers. Round 5: AI tools may be used for development where permitted. However, you must understand and be able to explain the code, architecture, AI implementation and technical decisions presented as your work. If you can't explain what your AI generated, don't expect it to save you during evaluation.

Judging criteria

Rules

• Registration is mandatory to participate.
• Entry fee is ₹99 per participant.
• Registration is individual.
• All rounds are individual. There is no team formation.
• Participants will be shortlisted after every round.
• Only shortlisted participants may proceed to the next round.
• Participants must follow the announced time limits.
• Unauthorized external assistance during elimination rounds is prohibited.
• All required Final Round deliverables must be submitted before the deadline.
• Late submissions may not be accepted.
• Finalists must participate in the final project presentation.
• Judges' decisions regarding hackathon results are final.
• Internship selection is subject to separate interviews.
• Winning the hackathon does not guarantee internship selection.
• Final internship selection is made by the company.
• The internship is in-person in Hyderabad and is not Work From Home.

Frequently asked questions