Hackathon for Teens, Build, Innovate, Win
Free hackathon for everyone. Serious prep for those who want to win.
Syllabus updated August 2026
Flexible course duration
Duration depends on the student's background and pace. Beginners (kids / teens): typically 6 to 9 months. Adults with prior knowledge: often shorter, with an accelerated path.
For personalised duration planning, call +91 91233 66161 and we'll map a schedule to your goals.
Ready to Master Hackathon for Teens: Free Event + 12-Week Prep (Ages 13-17)?
Choose your plan and start your journey into the future of technology today.
Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews. Free demo first, no card needed. Monthly billing, cancel anytime.
International Students (Outside India)
Billed monthly in US dollars, the same price in every country. Contact us with any questions.
Program Overview
Hackathon for Teens is a free-to-enter hackathon and a 12-week structured prep course at Modern Age Coders for students aged 13 to 17. The hackathon participation is 100% free for everyone, no fees, no school filtering. The prep course is for teens who want to walk into a hackathon with real coding skills, AI fluency, and a proven pitch playbook.
Our only motive is simple: build something great. Build something innovative. Use coding logic, efficient algorithms, AI APIs, and modern dev workflows to ship real software in 48 hours. We don't teach kids to copy templates. We teach them how engineers actually build.
Teens go deep, Python and JavaScript fundamentals, REST API design, algorithm complexity (Big O), data structures (arrays, hash maps, trees, graphs), AI APIs (OpenAI, Gemini, Claude), GitHub-based collaboration, system design lite, and end-to-end deployment on Vercel. They build hackathon-ready apps using the same stack used by professional engineers in 2026, React, Next.js, Tailwind, Supabase, Replit Agent, Bolt.new, Cursor and Vercel.
By Week 12, every teen has a polished GitHub portfolio of 6+ projects, a public capstone deployed live on the internet, a 2-minute pitch video, and a placement on the Modern Age Coders Hackathon Hall of Fame. They graduate hackathon-ready, for school events, MLH-style competitions, Smart India Hackathon, and global online hackathons.
What Makes This Program Different
- Free hackathon participation, anyone aged 13-17 can register at zero cost
- Prep priced same as our other teen courses (Group ₹1,499 / Mini Batch ₹2,999 / 1-on-1 ₹4,999, all monthly)
- Curriculum designed by hackathon winners and senior engineers
- Real production stack: React, Next.js, Tailwind, Supabase, Vercel
- AI-first dev workflow with Cursor, Replit Agent, Bolt.new
- Algorithms taught for hackathons, practical, not academic
- GitHub-native: every project committed, branched, deployed
- Live deployments, every project gets a real URL judges can click
- 1-on-1 mentor matching for capstone phase
- Pitch deck lab with senior pitch coaches
- Mock hackathons every 4 weeks with judge feedback
- Final hackathon weekend, live judges, prizes, Hall of Fame
Your Learning Journey
Career Progression
Detailed Course Curriculum
Explore the complete week-by-week breakdown of what you'll learn in this comprehensive program.
Topics Covered
- What is a hackathon really? MLH, SIH, NASA Space Apps, internal startup hacks
- Famous teen hackathon winners (cases studies from India and globally)
- The hackathon arc: idea → MVP → demo → pitch → judge
- Python install + setup (with VS Code)
- Variables, types, operators, strings, lists, dicts
- Conditionals (if/elif/else), loops (for/while)
- Functions, return values, default args
- Reading inputs, printing outputs, basic file IO
- Your first Python mini-tool: a CLI to-do list
- Hacker etiquette: be kind, be curious, ship over perfect
Projects You Build
- CLI To-Do List in Python
- Number guessing game with hints + difficulty levels
- Data formatter: read a CSV, print summary stats
Practice & Assignments
Set up Python and VS Code, then write a script that stores five hackathon ideas in a list of dicts and prints them ranked by excitement.
Topics Covered
- Why JavaScript runs the modern web (and most hackathons)
- let / const, types, functions, arrow functions
- Arrays, objects, destructuring, spread / rest
- Async/await, promises, fetch, calling APIs
- DOM manipulation, event listeners
- ES Modules and modern JS structure
- TypeScript intro, types make hackathon code safer
- Building a client-side mini app
- Browser DevTools for debugging
- Common JS gotchas (== vs ===, hoisting, this)
Projects You Build
- Weather App calling a public weather API
- Markdown live preview editor
- GitHub user profile fetcher
Practice & Assignments
Build a small webpage that fetches from a public API with async await and updates the DOM when a button is clicked.
Topics Covered
- Git fundamentals: init, add, commit, log, diff
- Branches, merging, conflicts and how to resolve them
- GitHub: repos, README, issues, pull requests
- Forking and cloning open-source projects
- Pull request reviews and team etiquette
- GitHub Actions intro, automated CI
- GitHub Pages deployment
- Hackathon team workflow: feature branches, PR per feature
- Daily standups: what I did, what I'm doing, blockers
- Hackathon-grade README structure (problem, demo, screenshots, setup, team)
Projects You Build
- Personal Portfolio site deployed via GitHub Pages
- Open-source contribution: file 1 PR to a public repo
- Team-built mini app with branches and PRs
Practice & Assignments
Create a repo with a proper README, make five meaningful commits on a branch, then open and merge your own pull request.
Topics Covered
- 8-hour hackathon template: 1 hr ideate, 5 hr build, 1 hr polish, 1 hr pitch
- Picking a problem statement that's small, clear, and demo-able
- Building solo with Replit Agent + Cursor for speed
- Deployment to Vercel, live URL judges can click
- Recording a 90-second demo with Loom
- Writing your README so judges understand in 60 seconds
- First pitch attempt, to camera, then to mentors
- Self-grading with the official rubric
- Code reviews from senior mentors
- Phase 1 retrospective and feedback letter
Projects You Build
- PHASE 1 CAPSTONE, Solo Mini Hackathon: 8-hour build, deployed to Vercel, 90-second demo, judge-ready README
Assessment
Phase 1 Mini Hackathon Score Card, innovation, execution, design, pitch
Topics Covered
- React fundamentals: components, props, state, hooks
- useState, useEffect, useRef in real projects
- Tailwind CSS, design without writing CSS files
- Building responsive layouts in minutes
- shadcn/ui components, copy/paste production-grade UI
- Forms, validation, controlled components
- Routing with Next.js App Router
- Server Components vs Client Components
- Iconography, dark mode, accessibility basics
- Building UI from a Figma mock in under 30 min
Projects You Build
- Personal landing page with React + Tailwind
- Recipe finder calling an external API
- Interactive dashboard with charts (Recharts)
Practice & Assignments
Rebuild your week 2 page in React with Tailwind and one shadcn/ui component, keeping it responsive at phone width.
Topics Covered
- Supabase setup, database, auth, storage in 5 minutes
- Postgres tables, schema design for hackathons
- Row-Level Security basics (auth that doesn't leak)
- Building REST APIs with Next.js Route Handlers
- CRUD apps end-to-end
- Email + magic link authentication
- File uploads to Supabase Storage
- Webhooks and realtime subscriptions
- Postman / Thunder Client for testing APIs
- Connecting frontend ↔ backend smoothly
Projects You Build
- Notes app with auth + Supabase database
- Image gallery with uploads + storage
- Realtime chat (single-room) with Supabase Realtime
Practice & Assignments
Stand up a Supabase project with one table protected by Row Level Security and wire a working CRUD form to it from Next.js.
Topics Covered
- OpenAI API: chat completions, function calling
- Google Gemini API: multimodal inputs (text + image)
- Anthropic Claude API: long-context, tool use, prompt caching
- Streaming responses to your UI
- RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) basics
- Embeddings + vector search with Supabase pgvector
- Image generation APIs (DALL·E, Imagen, Stable Diffusion)
- Speech-to-text and text-to-speech
- Cost-aware design, token counting and caching
- AI ethics: hallucinations, bias, attribution
Projects You Build
- AI study buddy that quizzes you on uploaded notes
- AI image caption generator (Gemini multimodal)
- Voice-to-text journal with summarization
Practice & Assignments
Ship a one prompt AI feature, like a study tip generator, that calls the OpenAI, Gemini or Claude API and streams the response into your UI.
Topics Covered
- Big O notation for hackathon thinking
- Arrays, hash maps, sets, stacks, queues
- Trees, graphs, BFS/DFS, pathfinding apps
- Sorting (merge, quick) and searching (binary)
- Top 10 hackathon-style algorithm problems
- System Design Lite: when to use which database
- Caching, rate limiting, queues at hackathon scale
- Picking architecture in 5 minutes
- Team mock hackathon (2 days, 12 hours total)
- Live judging panel with feedback letter
Projects You Build
- PHASE 2 CAPSTONE, Team Mock Hackathon: pick a problem, ship an MVP in 12 hours, deploy to Vercel, deliver pitch
Assessment
Mock Hackathon Judges Panel scoring + written feedback
Topics Covered
- Idea finalists, picking the right capstone (3 ideas → 1)
- Writing a 1-page spec: problem, users, solution, MVP scope, stretch
- Mentor matching with senior engineers
- Architecture diagram (whiteboard or Excalidraw)
- Tech stack lock: React/Next.js + Tailwind + Supabase + AI API
- Risk register: top 3 risks and mitigations
- Project board on GitHub Projects or Linear
- Daily commit cadence rules
- Stretch goals vs. MVP scope (MVP wins, always)
- Repo setup, CI, and Vercel preview deployments
Projects You Build
- Capstone Spec (1 page)
- Architecture Diagram
- Project Board with weekly milestones
Practice & Assignments
Write your one page capstone spec covering problem, users, MVP scope and stretch goals, and sketch the architecture in Excalidraw.
Topics Covered
- Daily commits with kind, clear messages
- Pair programming with teammates
- AI-assisted coding via Cursor + Replit Agent
- Mid-sprint mentor reviews
- Testing critical paths (smoke tests minimum)
- Loading states, empty states, error states (judges notice these)
- Mobile responsiveness, judges open on phones
- Performance basics: bundle size, image optimization, caching
- Accessibility minimums (alt text, focus rings, color contrast)
- Daily standup logs to mentor
Projects You Build
- Capstone build, 70% complete by end of Week 10
- Daily standup logs
- Mid-sprint mentor demo
Practice & Assignments
Ship one committed feature each day for five days, with clear commit messages and at least one smoke test on the critical path.
Topics Covered
- Hackathon judging rubric in detail (Innovation 25 / Execution 25 / Design 25 / Pitch 25)
- The 2-minute pitch formula: Hook → Problem → Solution → Demo → Tech → Team → Ask
- Slide design, 7 slides max, big text, no walls of words
- Practicing on camera with daily review
- Recording a high-quality demo video
- Voice and pacing tips from professional pitch coaches
- Q&A handling, what to say when stumped
- Final README polish, judges read this first
- Final code freeze rules
- Deployment health check: SSL, mobile, dark mode, edge cases
Projects You Build
- Pitch Slides (7 slides, Pitch.com or Canva)
- Pitch Video (2 minutes)
- Final README with hero image, demo link, tech stack, team
Practice & Assignments
Cut your pitch to exactly two minutes, build a seven slide deck and record a demo video you would be proud to submit.
Topics Covered
- Friday: opening ceremony, theme reveal, team check-in
- Saturday: 12-hour final sprint with senior mentor support
- Saturday evening: pitch dress rehearsal
- Sunday morning: 3-hour final polish + submission
- Sunday afternoon: live judging, every team pitches
- Categories: Most Innovative, Best Built, Best AI Use, Best Pitch, Best Design, Audience Favorite
- Live judge Q&A, handled with calm and clarity
- Awards ceremony, certificates, badges, Hall of Fame
- Reflection circle and feedback letters from judges
- Graduation: Teen Hackathon Builder Certification awarded
Projects You Build
- GRAND CAPSTONE, Live Hackathon Submission: working product deployed to Vercel + GitHub repo + 2-minute demo + 7-slide pitch + judge-ready README + live presentation
Assessment
Final Hackathon Score + Judge Feedback Letter
Projects You'll Build
Build a professional portfolio with 12+ deployed projects + Live Hackathon Capstone real-world projects.
Weekly Learning Structure
Certification & Recognition
Technologies & Skills You'll Master
Comprehensive coverage of the entire modern web development stack.
Support & Resources
Career Outcomes & Opportunities
Transform your career with industry-ready skills and job placement support.
Prerequisites
Who Is This Course For?
Career Paths After Completion
Course Guarantees
Real students. Real moments. Real joy.
These are our actual student meetups. No stock photos, no filters. Swipe through and meet the community you'll be joining.
What families say
Straight from the parents and students who learn with us. Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews.
“Mivaan enjoys the class. He understands the concepts and completes his tasks with excitement. He started taking interest in coding… truly amazing class.”
“I absolutely love it here! I made new friends and learned important valuable coding skills while having the fun of my life. It's not just coding here, it's outings, bonding and most importantly preparing you for your future. Definitely five stars.”
“What stands out most is how excited my son is before every class. He looks forward to learning, problem-solving, and sharing what he's built. I've noticed a big boost in his confidence!”
“Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me! I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I'm now the topper in my class and can confidently write complex programs with ease.”
“Modern Age Coder have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence, keeps them updated with technology, and inspires them to learn without hesitation.”
“The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it.”
“Coding classes here make learning very interesting and conceptual. The teachers teach us in a very easy-to-understand and efficient manner.”
“One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development. Learning here has been a wonderful journey and still continuing.”
“I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding. They make every session engaging and insightful.”
“My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coder IT classes. This is his first online class, and he eagerly looks forward to it.”
“Very good classes. Don't worry about coding. They teach the best, especially Shivam sir.”
“Very good classes. Makes learning very easy and interactive.”
Hear it from our students
Real parents and students in their own words, on our public YouTube channel.
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