RVAHack26
ACM Richmond's international virtual hackathon — presented with IEEE Richmond Section, IEEE Computer Society, and IEEE TEMS. Theme: AI for Software Engineering. Thank you to every participant, judge, and mentor who joined us from around the world.
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What Is RVAHack26?
RVAHack26 was a free, three-day international hackathon on the theme AI for Software Engineering, hosted by ACM Richmond, IEEE Richmond Section, IEEE Computer Society, and IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society (TEMS). Fully virtual and open worldwide, it kicked off with an in-person inauguration in Richmond, Virginia on Friday, October 30, then moved online for two days of building and judging.
Hall of Fame
Our top three RVAHack26 builders, ranked by average score across 14 independent judges.
RVAHack26 By the Numbers
💻 The Builders
⚖️ The Judges
Event Schedule
Hackathon Inauguration
- Opening ceremony & welcome remarks
- Keynote & partner introductions
- Theme reveal and team formation
- Kickoff Q&A with mentors
Build Day
- Teams design, build, and iterate
- Mentor office hours throughout the day
- Progress check-ins
- Final submission prep
Judging & Prize Distribution
- Project submissions close
- Live judging & team presentations
- Closing ceremony
- Awards & prize distribution
Day 1 opened with an in-person inauguration in Richmond, VA (6:00–9:00 PM ET); the rest of the event ran fully virtually.
Track & Judging
Technical Complexity
How challenging, complete, and well-engineered is the build?
Use of AI
How meaningfully does AI make this project possible or better for software engineering?
Originality & Innovation
How novel, creative, or outside the box is the idea?
Impact & Usefulness
How likely is it that real developers or teams would adopt this and benefit?
Accessibility (UI/UX)
How well can the widest possible audience use and understand it?
Presentation
How well did the team explain what it is, why it matters, how it was built, and show it working?
Inclusivity & Collaboration
How well do the project and the team reflect inclusive thinking and teamwork?
1 = needs significant work · 3 = solid · 5 = excellent (2 and 4 for work in between). Final rankings used each project's average score across its 14 judges.
View the original rubric sheet
Presented By
RVAHack26 is a collaboration between ACM Richmond and our IEEE partners.
ACM Richmond
IEEE Computer Society
IEEE Richmond Section
IEEE TEMS
Stay Connected
Follow ACM Richmond on LinkedIn for RVAHack26 highlights, inauguration photos, and news about our next events.
Follow & Subscribe on LinkedIn →Frequently Asked Questions
Was RVAHack26 really international?
Yes — apart from the in-person inauguration in Richmond, the entire event was virtual, with participants from multiple countries including Poland, India, and the United States.
Is there a cost to participate in our events?
RVAHack26 was completely free for participants, mentors, and judges. Follow us on LinkedIn to hear about future events.
Where can I ask other questions?
Reach out via our Contact page and we'll get back to you.
Our Judges
Thank you to the industry professionals who volunteered their time to train, evaluate, and score every RVAHack26 project.