What happens when you give developers a surprise idea and limited time to build it?
DevDash ’26: Build. Break. Laugh. is a beginner-friendly web development hackathon where teams receive a mystery challenge prompt and race against the clock to transform it into a creative, functional and presentable website. The goal isn't just to write code. Interpret the prompt, build something interesting, make it work, and be ready to explain your ideas.
Team Size: 2–4 Participants 1 Mystery Web Development Challenge Receive the challenge prompt at the beginning of the event Build a functional website within the allotted time Submit the completed project Present your project to the judges Answer questions about your implementation and approach
Rules: Participants must work on their project during the event. Each team must submit its own work within the announced submission time. Teams must be able to explain their project and the ideas behind it during judging. Participants may use AI assistance during development, but they should understand the work they present. Any unfair practice, misrepresentation of work or violation of the event rules may result in disqualification. The decision of the judging panel will be final.
Each team must submit: Completed project Runnable website 3–5 minute presentation/demo Brief explanation of the project and development approach
Eligibility: Teams of 2–4
Offline Platform: IIT (ISM) Dhanbad Campus DevDash '26 will be conducted entirely offline at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. Participants will register through Unstop, while the hackathon, problem-solving, development, and final submissions/presentations will take place at the venue. Think fast. Build weird. Ship it. DevDash ’26 — Build. Break. Laugh.
Venue
IIT ISM
Dhanbad, India