AnimalHack is a student-led, international hackathon for anyone interested in animals, animal welfare, or human-animal relationships. Projects may focus on pets, service and assistance animals, farm animals, wildlife, or the environments in which animals live. AnimalHack invites you to identify animal-related needs and challenges and develop a creative, technology-based solution. AnimalHack is supported by Binnovative, a nonprofit organization in Massachusetts.
AnimalHack is a “flexible” online hackathon. Format: Fully online. Entry fee: Free. Participation: Individuals and teams. Eligibility: Open to participants of all ages and technical backgrounds. No previous hackathon experience is required. Participants may work on their projects at any time before the submission deadline. Project submission deadline: 12pm on September 12 (Sat), 2026, EST. Online project presentations: September 13 (Sun), 2026, EST.
Expected project topics include, but are not limited to: * Improving animal welfare and quality of life * Supporting pet owners, caregivers, veterinarians, and animal-service professionals * Supporting animal behavior, enrichment, training, and human-animal communication * Supporting animal shelters, rescues, and foster programs * Improving animal adoption, matching, outreach, and post-adoption support * Reuniting lost pets with their families and preventing animals from becoming lost * Monitoring and improving the environments in which animals live * Supporting responsible animal agriculture, husbandry, and aquaculture * Advancing humane and sustainable food-system innovation * Monitoring, tracking, conserving, and protecting wildlife * Promoting safe and humane coexistence between people and wildlife * Preventing animal abuse, cruelty, poaching, and wildlife trafficking * Improving accessibility and support involving service or assistance animals * Educating the public about animals, ecosystems, and responsible animal care
Solutions can take many forms, including apps, games, social platforms, web sites/services, devices, sensors, robots, computer vision, data analysis, predictive models, visualization, data collection and management, educational resources, and 3D modeling/printing.
15+ awards recognize projects across a wide range of categories. Publication opportunity: Selected participants will be invited to publish book chapters about their projects in the Binnovative Innovation Book series. Awards include Grand Prize, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, Honorable Mention, and various Excellence awards (Innovation, Research, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Social Impact, Teamwork), Emerging Talent Award, and Key Contributor Award. Prizes include a Certificate of achievement and an invitation to publish a book chapter about the project.
Judging Criteria include Impact, Creativity and innovation, Execution, and Presentation.