For 11 years, Lincoln Financial has hosted a 24-hour coding challenge where high school and undergraduate students have an opportunity to solve technology challenges. Under the guidance of Lincoln's own veteran developers, participants have the chance to showcase their coding and programming capabilities and stretch their skill sets.

After reading the requirements, please be sure to also accept the rules and register for the event

Requirements

WHAT AND HOW DO I SUBMIT? 

By 10:30 a.m. EST October 4, 2026, Registrants must submit a project packet including the mobile application, a link to the working source code, the application login credential, a written description and a brief demonstration (the “Entry”). 

Each Team may submit only one Entry.

Registrants will be provided with a URL to the third-party vendor website or provided an email address to submit their Entry. 

Before initiating the submission process, Registrants may be required to register and/or create a profile on the third-party site and to agree to the terms and conditions of the vendor site. Upon completion of the registration process, Registrants will be able to submit their Entries. 

WHAT IS REQUIRED OF THE PROJECT? 

Each Entry shall consist of a mobile development project as outlined in the Project Templates provided. It is permissible to use open-source development tools. The application should not contain any third- party proprietary code and it is each Registrant's responsibility to ensure that the submission does not infringe or violate any third-party rights olaws. Additional development resources will be made available to Registrants throughout the competition. If the solution employs components or plugins incurring future licensing costs, these must be prominently documented. 

The application each Registrant submits must: 

  • be an application or other programming project in alignment with the project templates provided; 
  • have been developed solely as part of this Challenge; 
  • be the sole work of the Registrant; 
  • be a completed solution or working application at time of submission; and comply with these Official Rules. 

GENERAL STANDARDS FOR ENTRIES 

The intent and spirit of the Challenge is to encourage Registrants to develop innovative technical solutions that solve the community challenges faced by our non-profit recipients. 

In addition to the content and technical requirements listed earlier, to be eligible for judging, all Entries must meet the following general standards: 

  • Must be presented and submitted in English. 
  • The content of your Entry and any supporting materials must be acceptable for all viewing audiences. We will automatically disqualify any Registrant that submits an Entry or supporting materials that contain data, code, text, sound or images that We, in our sole opinion and for any reason, believe to be malicious, illegal, vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate for public viewing, or that presents us in a negative light. 
  • By submitting an Entry in this Challenge, you represent:  
    • That your team and the Entry submitted complies with these Official Rules; 
    • That the entirety of the Entry is your team’s original work; and 
    • That your team has obtained any and all consents, approvals, or licenses required for you to submit your Entry, and that your Entry will not violate anyone else’s rights or the law. 

HOW MANY ENTRIES MAY I SUBMIT? 

Each Team may submit only one Entry.

PRIZE CONDITIONS: 

Your odds of winning a prize will depend on the number of eligible Entries received, the quality of the Entries, and the level of skill of the Registrants. If your team is confirmed as a winner: 

  • You may not designate someone else or another team as the winner; 
  • You agree to provide Us with the legal name, address, and social security number/tax ID as well as other information requested for tax reporting purposes, of each Participant; 
  • If your team accepts a prize, you and each team member agrees to self-report to applicable taxing authorities, as may be required by applicable laws, and will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes and costs related to accepting and using the prize; and 
  • You and team members will participate in media interviews as requested by us. 

Prize monies should be retained by individuals only in conformity with any applicable policies of his or her employers regarding participation in and receipt of promotional consideration relating to the Challenge and receipt and retention of prize. If an employer’s policies are applicable, it is the Registrant's sole and ultimate responsibility, in consultation with his or her government, employer or school, to determine how and if prize will be retained and/or distributed and accounted for and we assume no responsibility for the decisions made by such government, employers or schools regarding this issue. 

If you are selected as a winner, We may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release and W-9 tax form (for U.S. residents). This Challenge is not open to non-US residents. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time periods indicated as part of any winner notification, We may disqualify you. 

HOW WILL ENTRIES BE JUDGED? 

For the judging, Participants must be available to demonstrate their application starting at 10:30 a.m. EST on October 42026. Teams will have no more than 5 minutes to present their projects – times will be announced once all of the submissions are received. Your entire team must be on-site and must be present to present your Entry. The winning Entries will be announced on October 4, 2026. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$10,000 in prizes
1st Place Entry (Team Prize)
$5,000 in cash
1 winner

2nd Place Entry (Team Prize)
$2,500 in cash
1 winner

3rd Place Entry (Team Prize)
$1,500 in cash
1 winner

Technical Innovation Award
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Dave Goodrich

Dave Goodrich
codeLinc Elder

Sasi Jayalekshmi

Sasi Jayalekshmi
Principal Solutions Architect - AWS

Katie Hix

Katie Hix
SVP, Divisional CIO - IT Workplace

Judging Criteria

  • 1. User Interface & Intuitiveness
    Does the solution incorporate a cohesive, logical user interface or experience? Would it be easy for the target user to navigate and/or administer?
  • 2. Functional Requirements & Impact
    Does it functionally address some or all of the challenge presented? Does it solve a real problem?
  • 3. Solution Design & Innovation​
    Does the solution presented employ an innovative or creative approach?
  • 4. Demonstration and Presentation
    Is the presentation delivered clearly, effectively, and positively? Does the demo / screenshots clearly depict and demonstrate the functionality developed?
  • 5. Does it Work?
    Does all or part of the application work? Would the organization use it? Note - significantly more weight is placed on the core functionality than on supporting / tangental items such as login/registration/password reset etc
  • 6. Technology Platform(s) Employed​
    Does the application employ novel technology platforms / libraries / open-source / apis?
  • 7. Security Accomodations
    There is no need to or much value in developing a login / password authentication capabilities from scratch. However, please describe how your application accommodates user security, either via publicly-available security mechanisms or other means
  • 8. Technical Creativity
    Does the application presented incorporate a novel approach or innovative solution to the challenge presented?
  • 9. Architecture & Methodology
    Does the presentation touch upon the application architecture? Did the team employ storyboarding or other roadmapping?
  • 10. Complexity
    The application should not be more complex than necessary to deliver the solution. However, it should not be overly-simplistic and "gloss over" or omit accommodations for the functionality presented

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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