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BlackBerry QNX · HackathonQNX Global Hackathon
BlackBerry QNX's $50,000 all-cash hackathon for building on the QNX 8.0 real-time OS — the software behind cars and medical and industrial devices. Only 894 people had registered by 9 November, for 16 cash prizes, including a $3,500 tutorial prize.
Dates & timeline
Prizes
- Overall Grand Prize: $10,000 (plus a Code the Future podcast episode and a coffee chat with QNX's CEO)
- Best of each category (5): $4,000 each, plus a coffee chat with a QNX senior executive
- Category runners-up (5): $2,000 each
- Honourable mentions (3): $1,000 each
- Bonus prizes: Best Codelab/Tutorial $3,500; Best Use of QNX-specific Technologies $3,500
- Community Choice: blog and social feature plus QNX swag (not cash)
- 894 registered participants as of 9 November 2026
- $50,000 cash across 16 prizes: 14 grand, category and honourable-mention places plus 2 bonus prizes
- Sponsor: BlackBerry Ltd; administrator: Devpost
Why it's worth your time
The QNX Global Hackathon is run by BlackBerry (QNX's owner), administered by Devpost. You build a project that genuinely builds for or runs on QNX 8.0 — a real-time microkernel operating system used in automotive, robotics and medical systems — and pick one of five categories: Robotics & Medical, Automotive & Mobility, Low-level Software, Developer Tooling & Host Tools, or Open-Source Contribution & Ports.
The official rules list $50,000 in cash: a $10,000 grand prize, five $4,000 category winners, five $2,000 category runners-up, three $1,000 honourable mentions, and two $3,500 bonus prizes (Best Codelab/Tutorial and Best Use of QNX-specific Technologies). A project can win one overall, one bonus and one community-choice prize; the community-choice prize is a blog feature and swag, not cash.
This is a systems-programming contest, not a web-app one: the repository must show the project building for or running on QNX 8.0, with build instructions that name the version, the target (hardware or QEMU) and the toolchain, and the demo video must show it running on the device it was built for. If you are a 2nd-year who likes operating systems, embedded or C/C++, that narrow brief is the point — it keeps the field small. Judging and voting run 15–29 January 2027 and winners are announced around 4 February 2027.
How to apply
Register on qnx.devpost.com with a free Devpost account.
Download the free QNX SDP 8.0 and choose your target — real hardware or QEMU.
Pick one of the five categories and build something that genuinely builds for or runs on QNX 8.0.
Publish a public repository with a visible open-source licence, build and run instructions (QNX version, target, toolchain), a text description and a demo video under three minutes on YouTube.
Submit before 15 December 2026, 2:00pm ET — which is 12:30am IST on 16 December.
Frequently asked questions
Is the QNX Global Hackathon open to students in India?
Yes. The rules bar only residents of countries where US or local law prohibits participation (they name Brazil, Russia, Crimea, Cuba, Iran and North Korea) and the entrant must be at least 18; India is not excluded.
How much is the prize money?
The official rules list $50,000 in cash: $10,000 grand prize, five $4,000 category winners, five $2,000 runners-up, three $1,000 honourable mentions and two $3,500 bonus prizes. The community-choice prize is a feature and swag, not cash.
Do I need QNX hardware?
The rules require build instructions that name the target, hardware or QEMU, so an emulator target is allowed. The free QNX SDP 8.0 is available from QNX.
What must I submit?
A public open-source repository showing the project builds for or runs on QNX 8.0, build and run instructions, a text description and a public demo video under three minutes showing it working on its target. Projects must be new or significantly updated after 2 November 2026.
Does it cost anything to enter?
No. The rules state no purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win.
Official links
US startups hiring on Tierones
Part-time, remote coding internships with funded US startups — quoted in USD per hour, open to verified 2nd- and 3rd-year students. Free for students, always.
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