Kareema Batool
Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Nov 14–15, 2026 · Free · Online · Open worldwide
Veritas AI International High School Hackathon
48 hours to build something real with AI. Win an internship at Arecibo AI and a share of a $75,000+ prize pool.
A free, virtual hackathon for high school students anywhere in the world. Go solo or team up with up to two friends, build a working AI project over one November weekend, and pitch it live to researchers from the world's leading AI labs.
- 48hours
- 1–3people per team
- $0to enter
- NoAI experience needed
Registration closes in Friday, November 13, 2026 · 11:59 PM ET
“The Veritas AI International High School Hackathon gives high school students anywhere in the world the chance to build a real AI project in one weekend and present it to researchers from the world's leading AI labs. Along the way, they'll learn to turn an idea into working code, earn recognition for their work, and compete for an internship at a health AI startup.”
Dhruva BhatCo-Founder, Veritas AI · Harvard alum and Rhodes Scholar
“The first time you work on a real team, you learn fast that nobody asks how many courses you've taken. They want to know if you can take a messy problem and make progress on it. That's what the Gold team gets to do at Arecibo AI. I wish I'd had that in high school.”
Stephen TurbanCo-Founder, Veritas AI · Harvard alum and former McKinsey consultant
// the top prize
Win an internship at Arecibo AI
The best build this weekend doesn't just win a trophy. Every member of the Gold-winning team joins a real AI startup for a working internship, working directly with its founding team on real projects. It's hands-on work, not job shadowing.
Arecibo AI is a healthcare AI startup founded by serial entrepreneur Benny Esparra and Dr. Yanshan Wang, Vice Chair for Research in Health Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh. It builds AI systems for healthcare organizations and HealthTech companies, and its own app, Arecibo ARC, is an AI companion that helps families and caregivers support older adults living with cognitive impairment.
- Company
- Arecibo AI (arecibo.ai)
- Format
- Working internship
- Awarded to
- Every member of the Gold-winning team
- Claim by
- December 6, 2026
// the weekend
One weekend. One build. Your name on it.
The Veritas AI International High School Hackathon is where ambitious high school builders spend one November weekend shipping a real AI project. Pick the track that fits what you care about, from health and climate to finance and more, and turn an idea into working code, a short write-up and a 2-minute demo.
You don't need to have built with AI before. Every participant gets starter notebooks, and we run free live workshops in the weeks before, so your first model can be built right here.
Every submission is reviewed blind by the Veritas AI team. The best projects make the finals, where teams demo live to our judging panel on November 21. The Gold team wins an internship at a health AI startup, and winners earn scholarships to Veritas AI programs and a permanent spot among the winning projects on veritasai.com.
// how it works
Timeline
Any high school student, anywhere in the world, can register. Compete solo or in a team of up to 3.
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OCT 5Monday
Registration opens
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OCT 17Saturday
Free Workshop: Intro to Google Colab
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OCT 27Tuesday
Tracks announced
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NOV 1Sunday
Free Workshop: How to Scope a Weekend AI Project
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NOV 13Friday · 11:59 PM ET
Registration closes
Your starter kit arrives by email.
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NOV 14Saturday · 12:00 AM ET
Kickoff
Challenge briefs drop at 12:00 AM ET and the 48 hours start.
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NOV 15Sunday · 11:59 PM ET
Submissions close
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NOV 18Wednesday
Finalists announced
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NOV 21Saturday · livestreamed
Live Finals & Award Ceremony
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DEC 6Sunday
Last day for winners to claim internships and scholarships
All dates and times are in Eastern Time (ET).
// judges
Meet the Judges
Finalists pitch live to researchers and engineers from the world's leading AI labs. More judges will be announced in the run-up to the finals.
Niranjani Prasad
PhD in Computer Science, Princeton University
Abdulla Kerimov
Computational Rock Physics
Everything you need to compete
01
About
How the weekend works, what you submit, and how the two rounds run.
02Prizes
An internship at a health AI company and scholarships from a $75,000+ prize pool.
03Judges
The judging rubric and the people scoring the finals.
04Workshops
Free live sessions to get you ready, even if you've never built with AI.
05FAQ
Eligibility, teams, AI tool rules, prizes and more.
06Veritas AI
The organizer: AI and machine learning programs for high school students, built with mentors from top graduate programs.
(opens in a new tab)// organized by
Veritas AI
Veritas AI runs AI and machine learning programs for ambitious high school students. It was founded by Harvard graduate students and alumni, and it's part of the Lumiere Education family.
Students build AI projects with mentors from top graduate programs like Harvard, MIT and Stanford. They've published their research in journals and presented at Regeneron ISEF, the world's largest pre-college science fair.
Ready to build?
Registration for the Veritas AI International High School Hackathon is free and closes November 13, 2026. The top prize is an internship at a health AI company.