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A free, remote hackathon for Midwest high school & college students. Build real projects. Meet mentors. Start your tech career.
const project = buildWith({ team: ['you', 'mentors'], time: 7, // hours passion: true }); deploy(project); // 🚀 launch day
In 2022, we started Northland Hackathon with a simple belief: every student in the Midwest deserves to understand how the internet works — not just as a user, but as a builder. Five years later, we're Minnesota's largest hackathon, and it's still completely free.
Minnesota ranks last in the nation for offering public computer science education — just 35% of schools offer CS classes, compared to a 57% national average. This is a serious problem. Students graduating without any exposure to coding are locked out of one of the most accessible, high-paying career paths of our time — especially those outside the Twin Cities metro.
We're different from other Minnesota tech programs because we don't teach a curriculum. There are no prerequisites, no textbooks, and no tests. Just a team, a real problem, a full day, and industry mentors from companies like Google, Amazon, and Square standing by to help you build something real. We measure success not by certificates — but by students who leave the event wanting to keep going.
Most people experience the internet from the back seat — consuming, scrolling, reacting. Northland Hackathon is about moving to the front. We want students to leave feeling like they can build the things they use every day.
Years running the Midwest's largest free student hackathon, growing every year from a small Minnesota experiment to a regional event.
Free for every student. No fees, no paywalls. Funded entirely by sponsors who believe in accessible tech education.
Industry mentors from top companies — Google, Amazon, Square, DroneDeploy — giving their time to help students build and grow.
"The goal isn't to turn every student into a software engineer. It's to make sure that no student graduates feeling like the internet is something that just happens to them. We want them in the driver's seat — curious, capable, and building."
Here are some salary samples:
Professor and Chair of St. Thomas Dept. of Software Engineering and Data Science; Director of the Center for Applied AI
Professor Manjeet Rege
Software Engineer at GOAT Group
Mikey Rogachevsky
Software Engineer at Square
Amogh Kambale
CEO and cofounder of Misogi Labs
Jessica Mustali
Software Engineer at Sigma Computing
Ioana Munteanu
Manager of Software Engineering at DroneDeploy
Jade Michael Thornton
Vice President at Optum - UnitedHealth Group
Ex-President at Books For Africa — 60+ Million Books Shipped
Jote Taddese
Data scientist at Bio-Techne
Ilyas Alhassan
Data Scientist
Jessi Benzel
Software Engineering at Paces
Hunter Abraham
Rida Khasanova
Freelance Product Designer and Advisor
"Making people's lives better through design: day-to-day life of a designer in tech and paths to becoming a great one."
Srujun
Founding Engineer at Doss
"Hear from software engineers at top tech companies about their career paths and coding tips."
Clara-Léa Bonzel
Research Associate/Data Scientist at Harvard Medical School
"How can we use math and AI to better understand diseases and treat patients."
Frequently asked questions
A chance to learn more about building things on the internet, writing code, and exploring careers in tech. Northland Hackathon will take place throughout the day, bringing together mentors and students from around the state in a fully remote capacity.
Basically to play around with ideas and make something new. Think legos or Kinex <3 We miss our Kinex ;(
We are originally from Minnesota. Right now the state is last in the nation for offering public computer science classes. We're Minnesota's biggest hackathon — and also the most fun. source
Yes, but we keep it a surprise. That said, every student who participates day of get an event shirt mailed to them.
Northland Hackathon is remote-based event!
Through both Californian and Minnesotan sponsors, Northland Hackathon is free for participants. If you want to sponsor or donate to the hackathon, email us [team [@] northlandhackathon.com]. Or you can donate here.
We're doing our best to accommodate all applications, but there will likely be a cap of how many students we can take. As a result, write a solid application and apply early.
If you're from NE Minnesota, apply for the Alworth Scholarship — a proud partner of Northland Hackathon.
Every student who participates gets an event shirt mailed to them.
Sign Up to Get Yours
Northland Hackathon runs entirely on the generosity of sponsors. Your support directly funds free event swag, prizes, and operations — keeping the event 100% free for every student across the Midwest.
Maximum visibility. Maximum impact.
Strong brand presence with the next generation.
Support the mission, get recognized for it.
Every bit helps keep this event free.
Reach out and we'll send over a full sponsorship deck. We're happy to discuss custom arrangements too.
Sign up to US Midwest's biggest hackathon — March 21, 2026