AccroNex Hackathon

AccroNex 2026 · University of Vavuniya · 5 November 2026

Build beyond
limits.

A one-day hackathon at the University of Vavuniya where student talent meets real-world technology. The finalist teams opened a sealed problem on stage and built live at the Faculty of Technological Studies on Thursday 5 November.

The 2026 podium
  1. 1stOutofBonds
  2. 2ndTeam_4rever
  3. 3rdKryptonians_404
1 day
of building, Thu 5 Nov 2026
7 hrs
of live coding, 09:20 to 16:30
LKR 45,000
in cash prizes awarded
3
faculties in one hall
The Vault

Sealed until the ceremony. Then opened on stage.

Registration was open innovation: teams pitched any real problem to get in. The finale was different: its problem statements stayed sealed until the opening ceremony and were revealed on stage, in front of every finalist team. Nobody, including the mentors, saw them earlier.

Visit the Vault
VAULT · OPENED

> opened: Thu 5 Nov, 08:50, on stage

> problem statements: revealed to the finalists

> code: 09:20 → 16:30 freeze

> status: winners crowned at 18:00

How it works

From sign-up to stage

How the first edition ran, from the theme announcement to the closing ceremony. Every deadline was enforced by the platform in Sri Lanka time.

  1. 2 Oct 2026

    Theme announced

    “Open Innovation: solve a real problem for real people”: teams pitched any real problem to get in. The finale theme stayed sealed in the Vault.

  2. 2 Oct 2026 → 10 Oct 2026

    Register and pitch

    One form per team of 3–4: members, skills, past work and an idea for a real problem of the team's choice. No prototype was needed.

  3. 11 Oct 2026 → 14 Oct 2026

    Selection

    The selection panel read every registration and scored each team's understanding of its problem, its approach and its ability to build.

  4. 15 Oct 2026

    Finalists announced

    Up to 20 teams were shortlisted. Every member received the result by SMS, and finalist teams confirmed their places by 18 Oct.

  5. 5 Nov 2026 → 5 Nov 2026

    Grand finale

    One full day at the Faculty of Technological Studies: the Vault opened at 08:50, teams built until 16:30, then pitched and walked the judges through their code before the awards.

Prizes

LKR 45,000 in cash, medals and internship opportunities.

Awarded at the closing ceremony on Thursday 5 November 2026.

  1. Runner-up

    Team_4rever

    LKR 15,000

    • Medals for every member
    • Certificates
  2. Champions

    Winner

    OutofBonds

    LKR 30,000

    • Winner medals for every member
    • Certificates
    • Internship opportunities
  3. 2nd runner-up

    Kryptonians_404

    Medals & certificates

    • Medals for every member
    • Certificates

The winners' surprise Revealed 5 Nov · 18:00

Internship opportunities for the winning team, kept sealed until the closing ceremony.

Every finalist team

Certificate of participation · AccroNex 2026 stickers · Meals and refreshments through the day

Fair play

Built live, or not at all

We couldn't watch twenty teams for a month, so we designed the finale so that early work was worthless, live work was visible, and the choice of tools was up to each team.

  • Two-level reveal

    To get in, teams pitched any real problem of their choice. The finale problem statements were different, with constraints nobody could guess, and unlocked on stage.

  • Fresh repo at H-zero

    Each team's repository was created inside the AccroNex organisation at the reveal. The first commit was time zero, and the history was the evidence.

  • Progress checkpoints

    Teams shared their progress with mentors at 11:00 and 14:30, so judges could see steady work through the day, not a finished product appearing out of nowhere.

  • The twist

    During the build the Vault opened again with one added requirement. Pre-built solutions bend badly; live-built ones adapt.

  • Own the build

    In the final pitch a judge could pick any part of the product and any team member to walk through how it worked and why.

  • AI was welcome

    ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Cursor, Lovable: teams used whatever they liked, for anything. Judges looked at what each team shipped and how well it understood the build, not how many lines were typed.

Mentors

Industry mentors on the floor

Engineers, analysts and educators walked the hall all day, helping teams with ideas, architecture, bugs and prompts. Thank you for giving your time to the finalists.

  • Mathurangan Parameswaran, Project Manager at Accron Revolutions

    Mentor

    Mathurangan Parameswaran

    Project Manager

    Accron Revolutions
  • Kirubakaran Karunakaran, Software Engineer at Mammilway

    Mentor

    Kirubakaran Karunakaran

    Software Engineer

    Mammilway
  • Kirishihan Raviendran, Associate AI Analyst at Qoria LK

    Mentor

    Kirishihan Raviendran

    Associate AI Analyst

    Qoria LK
  • Yathursan Komaran, Associate React Native Developer at Qtechy

    Mentor

    Yathursan Komaran

    Associate React Native Developer

    Qtechy
  • Varaki Vakeesan, IT Demonstrator at The Open University of Sri Lanka

    Mentor

    Varaki Vakeesan

    IT Demonstrator

    The Open University of Sri Lanka
Sponsors & partners

Backed by people who believe in local talent

AccroNex 2026 was free for every student because these organisations stepped up. Thank you for building beyond limits with us.

Partner with us
Accron Revolutions
Title sponsor

AccroNex 2026 is presented by Accron Revolutions.

The technology company behind AccroNex: organiser, platform builder and title sponsor of the 2026 edition.

accronautobot.com
  • Luxury Cake
    Silver sponsor

    Luxury Cake

    Celebration cakes in Vavuniya, since 2011.

    No. 106, Station Road, Vavuniya

    Luxury Cake: AccroNex 2026 sponsor announcement
  • Kanga Motors
    Supporting partner

    Kanga Motors

    Backing student builders from Station Road, Vavuniya.

    No. 193A, Station Road, Vavuniya

    Kanga Motors: AccroNex 2026 sponsor announcement
  • Wildway Photography
    Photo & video partner

    Wildway Photography

    Capturing the day on camera, from the reveal to the awards.

FAQ

Common questions

All questions
When and where did AccroNex 2026 take place?

On Thursday 5 November 2026 at the Faculty of Technological Studies, University of Vavuniya. It was a single-day event: check-in opened at 07:00, the Vault opened at 08:50, coding ran from 09:20 to 16:30, and pitches were followed by the closing ceremony and awards at 18:00.

Who won AccroNex 2026?

OutofBonds won the first AccroNex. Team_4rever were runners-up and Kryptonians_404 took third place. The full podium, with each team's members, is on the winners page.

What were the prizes?

Winner: LKR 30,000, winner medals and certificates for every member, and internship opportunities, revealed at the closing ceremony. Runner-up: LKR 15,000, medals and certificates. 2nd runner-up: medals and certificates. Every finalist received a certificate of participation, AccroNex 2026 stickers and meals through the day.

Who could take part?

Current undergraduates of the University of Vavuniya from all three faculties (Technological Studies, Applied Science and Business Studies) and every academic year, in teams of three or four. Participation and meals were free, thanks to our sponsors.

How were the finalist teams selected?

From the registration form. The screening round was open innovation: each team pitched a real problem of its choice, with its skills and past work. The panel looked at how well the team understood the problem, whether the approach was realistic and whether the team could build it. No prototype or code was needed to apply.

Build beyond limits

The winners.
One day. One stage.

Thursday 5 November at the Faculty of Technological Studies. The Vault opened at 08:50, code froze at 16:30, and the winners were crowned at 18:00.