Aotearoa AI Hackathon Festival 2026 — AUT City Campus
Two-Day AI Hackathon
SEE YOU IN
About This Event
The Aotearoa AI Hackathon Festival is a nationwide, multi-venue hackathon held across Aotearoa New Zealand. She Sharp and the AI Forum are bringing the festival to AUT's City Campus for a two-day, in-person event on 7–8 August 2026.
Working in teams, participants create AI-enabled solutions to real-world challenges aligned to five UN Sustainable Development Goals. Day one focuses on team formation, problem definition, and building; day two on refining solutions and pitching to a local judging panel.
Each venue selects a winning team whose pitch advances to national judging, and four national finalists will be invited to pitch at the Aotearoa AI Summit 2026. No matter your experience level — around a third of participants are new to hackathons — mentors from AUT and industry will support teams throughout.
The festival is about building practical AI capability, encouraging responsible and ethical AI use, fostering collaboration across regions and sectors, and showcasing innovative, impact-driven ideas.
Two-Day Format
- Day 1 (Friday 7 August) — Welcome, health & safety briefing, introduction to the hackathon themes, team formation, and the build begins, with ongoing mentor and technical support.
- Day 2 (Saturday 8 August) — Continued building, pitch practice, final submissions, live 5-minute pitches to the local judging panel, and announcement of the venue winner.
- Venue winners advance to national judging; four national finalists pitch at the Aotearoa AI Summit 2026.
The Challenge — Five Real-World Themes
- Tackling food insecurity in a food-exporting nation
- Enhancing digital accessibility for all communities
- Upskilling the workforce for an AI-driven future
- Fostering cross-border, cross-sector collaboration
- Honouring indigenous environmental custodianship (kaitiakitanga)
How the National Festival Works
The Aotearoa AI Hackathon Festival runs as a series of 48-hour hackathons hosted at venues across Aotearoa New Zealand between 3 and 10 August 2026.
Every venue records its team pitches and selects a local winner. A national judging panel then reviews the winning pitches and selects the finalists.
Four national finalists are invited to pitch live at the Aotearoa AI Summit on 18 September 2026 in Auckland, where the Summit audience votes for the winning solution and the award-winning team is announced.
2026 Venues
- Auckland — AUT City Campus, hosted by AUT + She Sharp, 7–8 August (this event)
- Auckland — AUT, hosted by AUT + Tū Ātea, 7–8 August
- Auckland — Mission Ready, 5–6 August
- Auckland — Unitec, with Seen Ventures, 6–8 August
- Waikato — Te Ipu o Te Mahara | Artificial Intelligence Institute, 6–7 August
- Wellington — Amazon Web Services (AWS), 6–7 August
- Christchurch — EPIC Innovation + Canterbury Tech, 6–7 August
- More venues to be announced.
Why Attend
- Build practical, hands-on AI capability on real-world problems
- Collaborate in diverse teams (3–7 people) with mentor and technical support
- Learn responsible and ethical AI practices
- Pitch your solution and compete to represent your venue at national judging
- Open to all experience levels — beginners are welcome
Registration
Register online at aihackathon.nz.
Concession and complimentary places are available for AUT students, mentors and supporting staff — registration details are shared directly via the AUT City Campus Community Hub.
Enter as a team or as an individual — just let us know which when you register, and we will help solo registrants find a team on the day.
Join the AUT City Campus Community Hub for the latest updates and live Q&A session dates.
Time & location
AUT City Campus
55 Wellesley Street East, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010
Auckland
Event Sponsors
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About the Festival — AI for Good
Aotearoa AI Hackathon Festival is a nationwide kaupapa built around one idea: AI for good — building solutions that matter. Over an intense weekend, diverse teams turn real-world challenges into working, AI-enabled prototypes.
Hackathons are a safe space for a wide range of people to unite and solve problems. Building a team with a variety of skills — not just coding — is the surest path to a strong pitch.
Part of a Nationwide Festival
The AUT City Campus event is one of several venues running across the country during the festival window in early August 2026.
Venues span Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch — see the 2026 Venues list above for the host and dates at each location, with more to be announced.
Live Q&A & Community Hub
From late June, the festival hosts online lunchtime Q&A sessions covering the rules of engagement, ideas, problems to solve, datasets and technology — everything you need to prepare.
Join the AUT City Campus Community Hub to be the first to know when session dates are announced, or subscribe to the AI Forum mailing list for updates.
About the Venue
The event is hosted in person at AUT City Campus, 55 Wellesley Street East, in the heart of Auckland's CBD — well served by public transport and within walking distance of the city centre.
Please bring your own laptop and charger. Power, Wi-Fi, mentoring and refreshments are provided on site across both days.
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