AI Hackathon · 5th Form

Get Ready to Build Something Real

Wednesday 24 June · 8:30am–4:00pm. One day. Teams of four. From a blank page to a live product — built with AI. This guide gets you set up before you arrive so we can start fast.

📅Wed 24 June
8:30–16:00
👥Teams of 4
🏆Pitch to judges
Before you arrive

Set Up Your Tools (15 minutes)

Do this at home before Wednesday. No phones on the day — so accounts must be ready to go. One laptop between two, so coordinate with your partner.

ChatGPTREQUIRED

OpenAI's AI assistant — your main thinking, writing and research partner for the day.

Create a free account at chatgpt.com.

Tip: You'll use this in most sprints — get it set up first.

Microsoft's AI — sign in with your school Outlook account.

Use your existing school login at copilot.microsoft.com — nothing new to create.

GeminiOPTIONAL

Google's AI — great for research and images.

Needs a Google account at gemini.google.com.

CanvaOPTIONAL

Easy design for slides, posters, and pitch materials.

Use code GOODWITHAI to redeem Canva access.

Tip: Great for your final pitch deck.

LovableOPTIONAL

Builds real websites and apps from plain English.

Use our invite link for ~100 free credits.

Tip: Perfect for turning your idea into a live web app.

ElevenLabsOPTIONAL

AI voice and audio — add narration to your product.

Free account at elevenlabs.io.

Checklist

Before Wednesday: ChatGPT account made · Optional tools explored · Laptop charged · Partnered up with someone who has the other accounts.

What's coming

This Isn't a Lecture. It's a Build.

You'll use AI to research a real problem, design a solution, and build a working product — a web app, landing page, or prototype — then pitch it live to judges. No coding experience needed. AI does the heavy lifting; you bring the ideas.

🔍

Research with AI

Investigate a real problem and find the opportunity.

💡

Generate ideas

Brainstorm and pressure-test with AI, build a simple plan.

🛠

Build a working MVP

Use AI tools to build a real product in hours.

🎤

Pitch to the judges

3-minute pitch with a live demo of what you built.

Pick a problem

8 Real Problems Worth Solving

The best products solve real problems. Here are eight worth thinking about — but bring your own too. Come with one or two that fire you up.

01SOCIETY

The social media ban

The UK is banning under-16s from TikTok, Snap, Insta and more. What replaces it — online and offline?

02WELLBEING

Exam stress

Tools to help students revise smarter and stay calm.

03ENVIRONMENT

Food waste at school

Tonnes of food gets binned. Build something that cuts it.

04CLIMATE

Heatwave

How to help people, communities or schools cope with extreme weather.

05EDUCATION

Learning with AI

AI solutions to help students learn better, faster, or more fairly.

06FOOD

Farming smarter

AI for growing more food with less land, water or waste.

07HEALTH

Loneliness

Connect people who are isolated — elderly, new students, anyone.

08SOCIETY

Government services

Make a frustrating public service (GP booking, council forms) simple and human.

The day ahead

How the Day Runs

  • 08:30
    Welcome & AI Crash Course
    KICK-OFF
  • 09:00
    Set you & your AI up for success
    SETUP
  • 09:30
    Sprint 1 — Research & Problem Discovery
    RESEARCH
  • 10:45
    Sprint 2 — Ideas & Plan
    IDEATE
  • 12:30
    Lunch
    BREAK
  • 13:15
    Sprint 3 — Build Your MVP
    BUILD
  • 15:00
    Pitch Prep
    PREPARE
  • 15:30
    Demo Day — Pitch to the Judges
    PITCH
  • 16:00
    Finish & Winners
    WRAP