Prarambh 2026 – IBM Hackathon Management Platform
A comprehensive Laravel-based hackathon management platform designed to streamline team registration, learning, project submissions, jury evaluation, and communication for the IBM and AKTU programme.
Project Overview
From Registration to Recognition
How we built a centralized platform to manage the complete hackathon journey, from student registration and IBM training to project evaluation and final results.
Client feedback
“The platform continues to evolve with feedback from participants and the IBM and AKTU programme teams. Students have highlighted the value of IBM sessions in developing structured, creative problem-solving skills.”
Introduction
Prarambh is a GenAI hack challenge organized by IBM in collaboration with AKTU and the Government of Uttar Pradesh under the “AI City in Lucknow” initiative. The platform enables college teams to register, access IBM learning resources, submit projects in two phases, attend mentoring sessions, and participate in structured evaluations.
- Team registration and eligibility verification
- Two-phase project submission and jury evaluation
- IBM courses, bootcamps, mentoring, and live communication
Tech Stack
Built With Modern Technologies
The platform uses modern web technologies to deliver secure access, efficient administration, and scalable hackathon management.
Laravel
Tailwind CSS
Alpine.js
MySQL
PHP
Key Challenges
Managing a Multi-Stage Hackathon
The event required a centralized system to coordinate students, mentors, jury members, and administrators within a
strict registration and evaluation schedule.
Team Eligibility Verification
Validating student IDs, unique registrations, and team eligibility.
Two-Phase Project Submissions
Managing submission formats, deadlines, and evaluation rounds.
Fair Jury Evaluation
Ensuring consistent scoring, restricted access, and transparent rankings.
Learning and Mentoring Coordination
Organizing IBM courses, bootcamps, mentoring sessions, and reminders.
Administration and Content Management
User management, data exports, updates & bilingual content.
The Solutions
A Smarter Approach to Hackathon Management
We developed an integrated platform that combines registration, learning, submissions, evaluation, communication, and administration in one system.
Secure Team Registration
Implemented CAPTCHA protection, unique team and university ID validation, phone number checks, CGPA validation, and team-size restrictions. Automated confirmation emails and registration deadlines help maintain eligibility.
Two-Phase Project Submission
Created separate submission workflows for Phase 1 idea presentations and Phase 2 GitHub projects, with file-size restrictions, deadline controls, URL validation, and email confirmations.
Structured Jury Evaluation
Developed a scoring system with ten evaluation criteria, written feedback, submission statuses, automatic totals, and team rankings. Role-based access ensures evaluators see only their assigned teams.
IBM Learning and Mentoring
Integrated Webex and Google Meet for bootcamps and mentoring sessions, with participant notifications, session recordings, public schedules, and cohort management.
Administrative Dashboard
Enabled bulk user imports and exports, team data exports, activity logs, separate role-based dashboards, and secure user impersonation for support.
Dynamic Content Management
Implemented a page manager for updating homepage content, FAQs, dates, and event rules, alongside English and Hindi language support.
Automated Notifications and Reminders
Implemented automated email notifications for registration confirmations, project submissions, evaluation outcomes, and important event updates.
Real-Time Communication
Integrated real-time chat and discussion forums to connect students, mentors, and organizers throughout the hackathon.
The Results
Transforming Management Through Technology
The platform streamlined registrations, project submissions, jury evaluations, and mentoring, providing a centralized solution for
managing the entire hackathon journey efficiently.
Streamlining the Complete Hackathon Journey
The platform supported the hackathon lifecycle from registration through final evaluation, bringing essential activities into one centralized system.
Centralized Participant Management
Enabled teams to register, access learning resources, earn certificates, and submit projects through a unified portal.
Consistent Project Evaluation
Standardized judging through a ten-point scoring rubric and structured evaluation workflows across both submission phases.
Efficient Event Coordination
Simplified bootcamp scheduling, mentoring, participant management, and team data exports for organizers.
Improved Learning Experience
Provided students with access to IBM training, mentoring opportunities, and collaborative tools that supported structured problem-solving.
Successful Prize Distribution
Supported the final recognition process for the top three teams, with prizes of INR 50,000, INR 30,000, and INR 20,000, alongside IBM certificates.
