July 8, 2025 Attention All Hackers! - 5 DjangoCon US Hackathon Essentials We’re just a few months away from DjangoCon US 2025, and we couldn’t be more excited! This year, like last year, we will be hosting a Django-themed hackathon. It’s a fantastic opportunity to connect with the Django community, unleash your creativity, and showcase your project to the world! Here are five important things to know before the hackathon begins. These details should answer any questions you may have and encourage you to participate if you’re still undecided. 1. Sign Up to Participate. Participation in the hackathon is free for all attendees of DjangoCon 2025, whether you have an in-person or an online ticket. If you haven't purchased your conference ticket yet, you can do so by clicking HERE. Once you have secured your ticket, you must register for the hackathon. To register, please fill out this short FORM. 2. The Hackathon Schedule. The hackathon will begin on Monday, September 7th, the first day of the conference, and will conclude on Thursday, September 11th, the first day of sprints. On Thursday, participants will have the opportunity to present their projects to the community. A panel of judges will evaluate each project. Presentations can be done in person, or you can prerecord a video that we will play after the in-person presentations for online participants. If you prefer not to present, you can still participate without presenting; we will share your project afterward. 3. Themes for the Hackathon. To make things more interesting, participants are required to build a project that aligns with specific "themes" chosen by the community. The hackathon themes will be announced on the first day via the Slack channel. Don’t forget to enable Slack notifications! 4. Join The Slack Channel. All communication and announcements regarding the hackathon will occur exclusively in the DjangoCon US 2025 Hackathon Slack channel. After purchasing your conference ticket, you will receive a link to join the Slack channel before the conference begins. 5. Work solo or in teams. You are welcome to work individually or as part of a team during the hackathon. There’s no limit to the number of team members, but judges will take team size into account when evaluating projects. Before the conference, you will have the opportunity to connect with other hackers and form teams, if you wish to collaborate, in the hackathon Slack channel. We hope these tips have provided you with the necessary information to prepare for this year’s hackathon. If you have any questions related to the hackathon, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us through our various communication channels. We are here and eager to assist! DjangoCon US 2025 will take place from September 8 to 12 in Chicago, Illinois. We look forward to seeing you there!