🌌 Auto background
Your room, swapped for orbit
Four TecHacks scenes, or blur, applied automatically. It cuts you out sharply, with no green screen.
// FROM BHARAT TO WORLD · TECHACKS SEASON 05
● LAUNCH MANIFEST · TH-05--:--:-- IST
Season 5 is cleared for launch.
Every big idea starts as a late-night build.
Bring your crew of 2–4, pick 1 track out of 7 and spend 24 hours turning a real problem into a great solution.
15–16 January 2027.
--DAYS
--HRS
--MIN
--SEC
↑ MEET THE PILOT · TAP HIM
01 // LAUNCH WINDOW
15–16 Jan 2027
02 // LAUNCH SITE
03 // FORMAT
24h · in person
04 // PRIZE POOL
₹6 lakh worth
01 · Launchpad · Alt 0 km
One idea. One night.
Collaborate · Contribute · Empower. Same motto since 2019, now with a bigger rocket: from Bharat to the world.
24HOURS
₹6LPRIZES WORTH
7TRACKS
2–4PER CREW
PHASE 1HOUR 0
Ignite
Check in, find your crew, and the problem statements unlock.
PHASE 2DAY
Lift-off
Build fast. Mentors on the floor to unblock you.
PHASE 3NIGHT
Orbit
Midnight snacks, mentor rounds, momentum.
PHASE 4HOUR 24
Land it
Pitch to the judges. Demo the impact. Take the glory.
03 · Lunar touchdown · 384,400 km
A prize pool waiting on the moon
Prizes worth ₹6 lakh across the podium, plus four side awards, certificates and exclusive goodies for every crew on the ground.
1ST RUNNER-UPPRIZES WORTH₹2L
WINNERSPRIZES WORTH₹3L
2ND RUNNER-UPPRIZES WORTH₹1L
You found my moon base! Tell no one. Okay, tell @techacks.tech.
Mission archive · Since 2019
Built by students. Fuelled by five seasons.
● Incoming transmission · From the TH-05 crew
1.02019 · FIRST FLIGHT130+ hackers
2.02020334+ hackers
3.02021623+ hackers
4.019–21 JAN 2024 · 36H400+ hackers
Season 4 · Innovate for Society
Season 4 built the launchpad.
Season 4 (19–21 January 2024) brought 400+ students to Chitkara University for 36 hours of building technology for social good, with mentors on the floor and Orkes on the partner wall. Season 5 raises the bar: an international-standard hackathon with seven tracks, prizes worth ₹6 lakh and builders from across Bharat, launching ideas to the world.
400+HACKERS
36HIN PERSON
INTLSTANDARD · S5
The Season 4 astronaut hands the keys to the Pilot.
For students & partners
What’s in it for you?
Students build real projects and win prizes. Partners meet builders, put their tools in their hands and back a student launchpad running since 2019.
FINAL BOARDING CALL · TH-05
Your seat on the manifest is waiting.
Registrations for Season 5 start soon. Grab a crew, pick a track, get ready.
01 · Low orbit · 7 satellites
Seven satellites. Lock a signal.
Every crew builds for one of seven tracks. Tap a satellite to read its brief, then lock the one your crew will build for.
GovTech
PROBLEM STATEMENTS
Unlock with registration
STARTER KIT
Docs + datasets LINK
Track locked? Make it official.Register your crew
02 · Flight plan
24 hours. Every minute mapped.
One 24-hour hackathon, fully in person at Chitkara University, 15–16 January 2027. Exact clock times go live closer to launch.
On campus · 24 hours · non-stop
DRAFT FLIGHT PLAN · T+ = TIME SINCE HACKING STARTS
Side missions
Not everything is code.
Classified missions get declassified one by one on @techacks.tech.
PLANNED
Mentor rounds
Mentors on the floor through the night. SCHEDULE
PLANNED
Midnight snack run
Fuel for hour 15, when everyone needs it.
ACTIVE NOW
Arcade high score
Play Bear Launch and post your best score.
CLASSIFIED
█████ █████
Declassified on Instagram DATE
CLASSIFIED
███ ████████
Declassified on Instagram DATE
CLASSIFIED
████ ███
Declassified on Instagram DATE
Know when you fly? Grab your seat.Board now
03 · Lunar touchdown
A prize pool worth the launch.
Prizes worth ₹6 lakh across the podium, four side awards, and certificates and goodies for every crew on the ground.
WINNERS
PRIZES WORTH
₹3 lakh
First place overall
1ST RUNNER-UP
PRIZES WORTH
₹2 lakh
Second place overall
2ND RUNNER-UP
PRIZES WORTH
₹1 lakh
Third place overall
Special missions · Side awards PRIZES TBA
More than one way to land on the moon.
FIRST-TIME HACKERS
Best First Flight
Top crew where everyone is at their first hackathon.
ALL-GIRLS TEAM
Best All-Girls Flight Crew
Top crew made up entirely of women hackers.
CROWD’S FAVOURITE
Mission Control’s Favourite
Voted by every crew on the ground.
CONTENT CREATOR
Best Space Correspondent
The best reels, posts and stories beamed back from the launchpad. Tag @techacks.tech.
How you’ll be judged
Published up front, so there are no surprises.
Impact on a real problemWEIGHT
Innovation & originalityWEIGHT
Technical executionWEIGHT
Pitch & demoWEIGHT
Want a shot at the podium?Board now
04 · Arcade · TH-05
Waiting for launch? Fly one.
Steer the Pilot, catch stars, grab fuel and dodge asteroids. The game opens full screen, and on phones you’ll feel every star and every hit.
BEAR LAUNCH · 40 SECONDS · 3 LIVES
Bear Launch
★ Star +10 × combo⛽ Fuel +3s☄ Asteroid −1 life
Drag anywhere, use the ◀ ▶ buttons, or the ← → keys.
Good reflexes. Bring them to the real thing.Board now
Boarding · Gate opening soon
Your seat is waiting.
Registering takes three steps. Form your crew, read the hacker guide and fill in the form. Approved crews get their boarding passes from us by email.
1Form a crew
2 to 4 members. No team yet? Find one on our Discord.
2Register
Fill in the registration form by 10 Jan 2027. Registration is free.
3Launch on campus
Show up on 15 January and build for 24 hours with your crew.
HACKER GUIDE · SUBMISSION
What to submit
- Your code in a public repository
- A short demo video of the build
- A brief pitch: the problem, your solution, the impact
HACKER GUIDE · RULES
Fair flight
- Build your project during the hackathon
- Be honest about libraries, templates and AI tools you use
- Follow the Code of Conduct, on the floor and online
Registered? Tell your network.
05 · Mission crew
The people behind the rocket.
Six departments of students run TecHacks, with mentors and judges joining for launch. Tap a department to meet the crew.
TH-05 CREW · COLLECT ALL 6Mission Leads
MENTORS
Announced soon
Industry mentors join you on the floor. NAMES
JUDGES
Announced soon
The panel that picks the podium. NAMES
JOIN US
Volunteer or mentor
Help run the launch. FORM LINK
Want to fly with this crew?Board now
07 · Digital swag · Free for every hacker
Swag that fits in your pocket.
Wallpapers, a call background, a LinkedIn banner, stickers and your own TecHacks profile picture. Download them, use them, tag @techacks.tech.
PROFILE PICTURE FRAME
Put yourself on the mission.
Pick a photo and we add the TecHacks ring and season emblem. Your photo stays on your device: nothing is uploaded.
Wallpapers & banners
Make every screen a launchpad.
Sticker pack · tap to download
Fifteen stickers. Zero frowns.
Transparent HD PNGs with a white die-cut edge. The holo TecHacks logo is made for the back of your laptop.
Got your swag? Now tell the world.
02 · Official hackathon music album · TecHacks Musicals
Season 5 has a sound.
Seven original tracks on one album, TecHacks Musicals · Season 05, coming to every streaming platform. Use them as the audio in your reels and stories, and download them for your edits.
Composed with ❤️ by Aryan Kaushik
ON INSTAGRAM, SEARCH “TECHACKS” IN THE MUSIC PICKER ONCE THE TRACKS ARE LIVE. ON LINKEDIN AND X, ADD THE DOWNLOADED TRACK TO YOUR VIDEO BEFORE YOU UPLOAD.
Using a track in a reel? Grab a ready-made post.
03 · TecHacks FX · Official Chrome extension · Free
Take the launchpad into every call.
A free Chrome extension for Google Meet. Your TecHacks background switches on by itself, with no green screen. You also get a crew badge, a live launch countdown and gesture effects. Everyone on the call sees it.
Freev1.2 · 11 MBChrome · Edge · Brave · ArcRuns on your laptop
What it does
Six ways to show up on mission.
Here the Pilot is on the call. On yours, it will be you.
⏱ Badge + countdown
Your name, your track, the clock
Your crew badge sits in the bottom-left corner. The countdown counts down the days to launch, then shows a live T+ clock during the 24 hours.
👍 Thumbs up
Ship it
Hold a thumbs up for half a second. The Pilot’s rocket launches across your video and stamps it SHIPPED ✓.
✌️ Peace sign
Hi, crew!
Flash a peace sign and the Pilot pops up next to you to say hi. Perfect for the start of a stand-up.
🙌 Both hands up
Sticker rain
Raise both open hands for a moment and TecHacks stickers rain down. Use it when your crew’s build finally works.
🫰 Snap
Vanish into orbit
Snap your fingers and you turn to dust, leaving only the TecHacks background. Snap again to come back.
Backgrounds
Pick your launch site.
Switch any time from the extension, or press Alt+Shift+B during a call.
Install · 2 minutes
Five steps to lift-off.
- Download and unzip
Get
TecHacks-5.0-FX.zipand unzip it somewhere permanent, like Documents. Keep the folder after installing. - Open extensions
In Chrome, go to
chrome://extensionsand switch on Developer mode (top right). - Load unpacked
Click Load unpacked and choose the
techacks-fxfolder, the one withmanifest.jsoninside. - Pin and set your badge
Pin it from the puzzle-piece menu. Click the 5 icon to pick a background, then type your name, role and track.
- Turn off Meet’s effects
In Meet, open Apply visual effects and choose No effect. Reload any open Meet tab. You’re live.
Meet’s own background runs after ours and covers it, so set Meet’s visual effects to No effect. If you installed Snap & Cinema FX before, switch it off.
Gestures & shortcuts
| Do this | Get this | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| 👍 Hold a thumbs up | Rocket launch + SHIPPED ✓ | Alt+Shift+T |
| ✌️ Peace sign | The Pilot says “Hi, crew!” | Alt+Shift+H |
| 🙌 Both hands up | TecHacks sticker rain | Alt+Shift+M |
| 🫰 Snap | Vanish (snap again to return) | Alt+Shift+S |
| Next background | Orbit → Launchpad → Mission control → File room → Blur → Off | Alt+Shift+B |
Click inside the call tab first so the shortcuts reach it.
Good to know
Private by design. The AI runs on your laptop. No video leaves your computer except through the call itself.
Reads the right way round. Meet mirrors your self-view. TecHacks FX flips it back, so your badge isn’t backwards for you either.
Light on your laptop. It uses only two small models. If an older laptop struggles, pick My room in the extension.
Not just Meet. It also works in Zoom, Teams and Discord in the browser.
Show us your setup: screenshot your call and tag @techacks.tech.
10 · Fuel onboard · Season 05
Our partners.
TecHacks happens because great teams back it. Want to meet India’s next builders?
Sponsor Season 5 · TecHacks since 2019
Meet India’s next builders before anyone else.
TecHacks is Chitkara University’s student-run hackathon, launching builders since 2019. Season 5 is an international-standard hackathon: back it and put your brand, your tools and your team in front of them for 24 hours.
5
seasons since 2019
623+
hackers in Season 3
400+
hackers in Season 4 · 36h in person
₹6L
in prizes for Season 5 · 24h in person
Why sponsor
What your team gets.
FOR PARTNERS
Meet the builders first
- Meet talent in action. See how students build under pressure, not just how they interview.
- Get builders on your product. Set a challenge and watch crews build with your tools.
- Be seen. On the website, Instagram, merch and the main stage, in front of students from across India.
- Share your expertise. Mentor, judge or run a session for the crews.
- Back student innovation. Support a student-run hackathon that has been launching builders since 2019.
How partnering works
From hello to launch day.
1Say hello
Tell us what you want to get out of TecHacks.
2Shape it together
We plan your part around your goals, on a call.
3Launch together
Your team on the floor with the crews, on 15–16 January 2027.
Let’s talk
Your hello is already written.
Tap what interests you and we’ll draft the email. Copy it and send it to our partnerships team.
✉PARTNERSHIPSpartnerships@techacks.tech
PARTNER QUESTIONS
Mission archive · Seasons 1–4
Previous sponsors & partners.
32 teams have fuelled TecHacks builders since 2019. Thank you for flying with us.
Tech & hardware 8
- Microsoft
- Google for Developers
- IBM
- NVIDIA
- AMD
- Dell
- Micron
- Logitech
Developer platforms & tools 12
- GitHub
- Postman
- MongoDB
- Replit
- Orkes
- Linode
- Spheron
- JDoodle
- ElevenLabs
- NordVPN
- .tech Domains
- Rakuten
Web3 4
- Coinbase
- Solana
- Ethereum
- Polygon
Community & hackathon ecosystem 8
- MLH
- Devfolio
- Peerlist
- CodeChef
- FOSS United
- Zulip
- Give My Certificate
- Swag Box
Want your logo on the Season 5 wall?
Approved crews · Boarding pass
You’re on the manifest. Make your pass.
Your crew is approved for TecHacks 5.0. Make your boarding pass, save it and post it, tagging @techacks.tech with #TecHacks5. Nothing you type leaves this page.
BOARDING PASS · HACKERPASSENGER
YOUR NAME
Your college
PAD
LAUNCHPAD · EARTH
ORB
LOW EARTH ORBIT
Bound for GovTech
CREW STUB
YOUR NAME
SEAT 01A
SAT-01
TH-05
SAT-01
TH-05
Pass saved? Tell the world.
06 · Ground control
Houston, we have questions.
PANEL 1
Wait… what even is a hackathon?
PANEL 2
24 hours. A crew of 2–4. One real problem. You build it, demo it, and maybe take home the grand prize. Snacks included.
No questions match that. Write to us at hi@techacks.tech.
VENUE
Chitkara University, Punjab
Chandigarh–Patiala National Highway, Rajpura. Chandigarh is the nearest city. Travel and travel costs are not covered, so plan your own way in.
Open in Maps ↗CODE OF CONDUCT
Fly kind
Everyone agrees to be supportive, inclusive, collaborative and kind. Harassment and discrimination have no place here.
