IC Hack 26: The students inventing the future

More than 800 students, volunteers and sponsors gathered at Imperial College London’s South Kensington Campus from 31 January to 1 February 2026 for IC Hack 26, the UK’s largest student-run hackathon.

Now in its 14th year, IC Hack welcomed around 600 student participants from across the UK and Europe for 24 hours of intensive collaboration and competition. Participants, known as “hackers”, were challenged to design and build proof-of-concept projects within a single day, tackling real-world problems set by sponsors and the organising team.

The competition took place across three dedicated hackspaces, where teams worked through the night to develop their ideas. Rather than competing for a single overall prize, participants entered sponsor- and organiser-led categories, each with its own focus and awards.

The event was supported by 23 sponsors. Title sponsor Marshall Wace was joined by gold sponsors HRT, Bending Spoons, IMC and JetBrains, who hosted talks and workshops throughout Saturday. These sessions gave students insight into industry challenges and emerging technologies, as well as opportunities to connect with company representatives to explore internships and graduate roles.

Commenting on the weekend, Aidan Madge, Director of IC Hack 26, said: “I am immensely proud of our team for all the work they've done building this amazing event. The projects I see at this event are unlike any I've seen at others, nationally and internationally. We have some amazing participants and some excellent companies that sponsor us because they know how great they are and how brilliant this event is.”

IC Hack 26 was delivered by 40 organisers and 80 volunteers, with opening and closing ceremonies held at the Royal Geographical Society. 

Organised by DoCSoc, the Imperial College London Department of Computing Society, the hackathon continues to showcase the creativity and technical ambition of Imperial’s student community.

To see the winning projects and category results, visit https://ic-hack-26.devpost.com/