Registration Is Open

Fall 2026.
Claim your spot.

Three weeks. Real problems from real organizations. Real money on the table. Pick your role below — registration takes about a minute.

Fall 2026 Challenge · Oct 20 – Nov 09
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
Student Registration

Show up. Team up. Get paid.

Open to any student at any Colorado college or university — you don’t need a team, an idea, or a business background. Bring your own idea, or take on a partner’s challenge and compete for their cash bounty. Teams form at the in-person Kickoff on Oct 20 at Colorado School of Mines, and you’ll leave that night with your track chosen.

We use this at the Kickoff to help teams find the skills they’re missing.

We’ll email you the Kickoff details and, closer to Oct 20, the published challenge statements. Worth a look before you sign up: the important notes, including that final presentations may be photographed or recorded.

Industry Partner Registration

Bring the problem. We’ll bring the teams.

Partners define the challenge, fund the bounty, and judge the result. Register here to start the conversation — alignment runs through August and September, and partner spots are limited so that every challenge gets at least two competing teams.

Partners normally judge their own challenge. Every team is scored on the six Challenge criteria; you add your own on top, up front, then pick the winner from the teams that meet them.

Ready to spec the full challenge now? Go straight to the bounty submission form.

Mentor Registration

Three weeks. A few hours. Real leverage.

Mentors are matched to teams by vertical and work alongside them through the sprint — mostly asynchronously, answering questions and pressure-testing thinking on the team’s project card. We’ll run a short online mentor orientation before the sprint starts so you know exactly how it works.

This is how we match you to the teams working in your vertical.

We’ll be in touch once challenge statements are set so we can match you to the right teams.

What Happens Next

Oct 20 – Nov 09.

Both in-person days are hosted at the Colorado School of Mines. Everything in between runs online.

Oct 20
Kickoff · In Person
  • Partners present their challenges
  • Teams form across campuses
  • You leave with a team, a direction, and your project set up
Oct 21 – Nov 08
The Sprint · Online
  • Build your solution with your team
  • Mentors and partners answer questions
  • Preliminary decks submitted for review
Nov 09
Celebration Dinner · In Person
  • Final presentations
  • Judged on the Challenge rubric plus each partner’s criteria
  • Bounties awarded

CU students: your ride is covered. CU is chartering a coach to and from both the Kickoff (Oct 20) and the Celebration Dinner (Nov 09) — departing Koebel at 4:00 PM each way. Seats are limited to 55.