HACK-4-SAGES is an interdisciplinary and transnational 4-day hybrid hackathon where participants will be developing projects in the field of astrobiology using digital twins. Participants will compete in one of three categories: 1. Digital Twins in Origins of Life,  2. Digital Twins in Life Detection and Biosignatures,  3. Digital Twins in Exoplanet Habitability.

All HACK-4-SAGES participants must be current Bachelor’s (undergraduate) students in any university in the world. English proficiency of all participants is necessary for a smooth experience.

One winning team in each of the three categories (so three teams in total) will be invited to ETH Zürich in September 2026 to present their projects at the early-career workshop of the Origins Federation Conference. Additionally, they will be awarded extended mentorship to support their project refinement before the workshop. All the trip expenses will be covered. 

The application deadline for the team leader to submit the project proposal is on the 16th of January 2026 11:59 PM CET. No applications will be accepted after this time.

HACK-4-SAGES goes on for five days, from 9th of March to the 13th of March 2026.

HACK-4-SAGES is a hybrid hackathon, meaning it will take place both online and in person. You can choose how you prefer to participate. If you want to participate online, then it’s easy; all you need is Internet access! If you prefer to participate in person, you can find the closest (co-)hosting institution and register to participate there (spoiler alert: many of the hosts offer free lunches and gadgets!).  The host institutions are: 1. ETH Zürich, Switzerland 2. Warsaw University of Technology, Poland 3. Gdansk University of Technology, Poland The co-host institutions are: 1. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands 2. Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan 3. University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA 4. University of Florida, USA 5. University of Porto, Portugal 6. Sofia University, Bulgaria 7. Queensland University of Technology, Australia

To attend the hackathon in person, the team representative must select this option in the registration form. You can participate in the following locations in person: 1. ETH Zürich, Switzerland 2. Warsaw University of Technology, Poland 3. Gdansk University of Technology, Poland 4. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands 5. Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan 6. University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA 7. University of Florida, USA 8. University of Porto, Portugal 9. Sofia University, Bulgaria 10. Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Only the representative of each team fills out the registration form. In this form, the leader states the names of all team members, so all of the team members are registered as soon as the form is submitted.

No, registration does not guarantee participation. 60 teams will be selected (20 in each category) to participate in the hackathon. The selection is made based on each team's proposed project, how it fits into the theme and selected category, whether it’s original and doable in the three days of the main hackathon. The decision on your team’s project selection will be sent to the team representative via email on the 9th of February.

There is no application fee to apply for or take part in HACK-4-SAGES. The event is free for all participants.

The project proposal can be changed after the submission, just make sure to save the submission form edit link. The forms can be edited until the submission deadline on 16th of January 2026 11:59 PM CET. After this date, the project proposal cannot be changed. 

Only current Bachelor’s (undergraduate) students can participate in HACK-4-SAGES. Neither Master’s nor PhD students can participate. However, we welcome PhD students to become mentors to the participants! If you’d like to become a mentor, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@hack-4-sages.org.

All hackathon project teams must comprise 2 to 4 members.

One team can only submit one project proposal.

One team can only sign up for one category in the hackathon. The most suitable of the three available categories (Digital Twins in Origins of Life, Digital Twins in Life Detection and Biosignatures, Digital Twins in Exoplanet Habitability) must be chosen in the registration form. The registration form can only be filled once per team. Remember to save your registration form edit link so that you can edit your response if it becomes necessary to do so. 

A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real system (such as Earth’s climate or a city’s traffic network) that evolves alongside it, using real-time or simulated data. For example, a city traffic digital twin uses sensors placed on roads and in vehicles to feed live data (like speed, congestion, and accidents) into a computer model built with simulation software. The model runs continuously, predicting how traffic will flow if signals change or if a new road is added, allowing planners to test ideas safely in a virtual world. Similarly, an Earth climate digital twin can be created using numerical models, which use physical equations to simulate how temperature, clouds, and ocean currents evolve over time. Scientists can then change variables such as greenhouse gas levels or sunlight and observe how the virtual Earth responds. In the context of exoplanets, a digital twin is built using similar climate and atmospheric models, adjusted to match the planet’s conditions (for example, its distance from its star or the composition of its atmosphere). This helps scientists explore possible climates and predict what telescopes might observe.

The hackathon application form is only available for teams. If you do not yet have a team and want to participate, that’s not a big deal! Just introduce yourself in our Slack channel and seek out other people who do not yet have a team or join a team willing to take you in!  Remember that teams can comprise up to 4 members and that if you want to participate, you must be a member of a team by the submission deadline (16th of January 2026 at 11:59 PM CET).

The application deadline cannot be extended. All project proposals must be submitted by the team representative via the registration form by the 16th of January 2026 11:59 PM CET.

A project must only be assigned to one category in the registration form. The most suitable of the three available categories (Origins of Life, Life Detection and Biosignatures, Exoplanet Habitability) must be chosen in the registration form.

Yes, any team member can switch from one team to another before the registration deadline (16th of January 2026 at 11:59 PM CET). This change must be made in the registration forms of both teams (the member must be removed from one team and added to the other). Remember that teams must always have between 2 and 4 participants to be able to register. Once a team member is registered under a certain team, it is possible to leave that team under special circumstances, as long as the remaining number of team members does not go below 2.

Yes, to do so the team representative must edit the registration form and add new team member’s data there. The registration form can only be edited before the registration deadline (16th of January 2026 at 11:59 PM CET). If the member had previously been registered in a different team, they must also be removed from the members list on the team they are leaving. At all points each team must have a minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 members.

It is not possible to make any changes to the submission after the registration deadline on 16th of January 2026 at 11:59 PM CET.

Yes, the form of participation (in-person or online) of every team member should be stated in the registration form.

The name and contact information to the mentor will be communicated a few days before the hackathon. The first meeting with the mentor will take place on the first day of the hackathon.

There are no prerequisites to participate in the hackathon. Knowledge of the topics of interest ahead of time will be an advantage, but we invite all Bachelor’s (undergraduate) students to participate in the hackathon.

All videos from the orientation session will be recorded and become available on the HACK-4-SAGES YouTube channel after the orientation takes place.

It is not necessary to know how to code in order to participate in this hackathon. Coding knowledge ahead of time will be an advantage, but we invite all Bachelor’s (undergraduate) students to participate in the hackathon.