Hacking4Humanity 2027

February 5 - Zoom Kickoff
February 19 - In-Person Competition
Power Center Ballroom and Online

About H4H 2027

Hacking4Humanity (H4H) is a tech and policy hackathon that offers students a new way to engage with real-world social problems that can be improved with novel technical and policy solutions. Any undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at a college or university in the Pittsburgh region can participate! Students compete in teams of 1-4 people in either the Tech track or the Policy track. Multiple cash prizes will be awarded, with a Grand Prize of $1000 for the top finishers in each track!

More details will be announced soon! In the meantime, you can find information on all past years' hackathons on our News and Events page, and watch the in-person competitions on the Grefenstette Center for Ethics YouTube playlist.

Organizers

Hacking4Humanity is a collaborative effort sponsored by these organizations:

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Highlights from Hacking4Humanity 2026

2 Hacking4Humanity 2026 participants work on a presentation before the event begins

Participants Work on a Solution Together

4 students prepare for their presentation at Hacking4Humanity 2026

Students Prepare for their Presentation

a student presents her project on stage at Hacking4Humanity 2026

Student Presents Onstage at H4H 2026

audience members listen attentively to a presentation at Hacking4Humanity 2026

Audience Members Enjoy a Presentation

4 students present onstage at lectern at Hacking4Humanity 2026

Team Presents Onstage at H4H 2026

attendees chat during the ice cream social and networking portion of Hacking4Humanity 2026

Ice Cream Social and Networking at H4H 2026

1 moderator stands at lectern and 4 panelists sit onstage for an expert discussion of AI injustice

Panelists Discuss AI Injustice

Hacking4Humanity 2026 tech and policy track winners pose for a photo with grefenstette center executive director John Slattery

H4H 2026 Tech and Policy Winners

all participants, organizers, and judges pose for a group photo at Hacking4Humanity 2026

H4H 2026 Participants, Judges, and Organizers

FAQ

Hacking4Humanity is a tech and policy hackathon for undergraduate and graduate students, which offers students a new way to engage with real-world social problems that can be improved with novel technical and policy solutions. 
Any undergraduate and graduate student currently enrolled at a college or university in the greater Pittsburgh area can participate! No experience needed!
Students can compete individually or in teams of 2-4 people in either the tech track or the policy track. Multiple CASH prizes will be awarded, including a Grand Prize of $1000 for the top finishers in each track!
The hackathon has two tracks, tech solutions and policy solutions in which teams addressed challenges under the general topic of AI injustice. When students register, they pick one of the tracks to compete. Each track has its own set of requirements, guidelines, and judges. Tech teams build or plan new tech, like websites, apps, robots, plugins, etc. Policy teams create and write new policies, either improving on old ones, or coming up with new policy guidelines.
Hybrid means that all the day-to-day work of the hackathon is done separately, and all the teams only come together for the day of competition. There is a kickoff virtual event at the beginning of the hackathon and an in-person competition at the end, with food, door prizes, and lots of fun!
Sign up anyway! Good tech requires people with lots of skills to come together, including graphic designers, effective speakers and writers, scientists, and more! We'll be providing lots of resources to help people develop great projects.