October 2026 Tech Events and Hackathons: Dates and Links

Five tech events and hackathons in the second half of October 2026, in date order. Four are free to join and can be done online, and one of those pays out $138,000 in cash prizes. The fifth is NVIDIA's keynote in Berlin. Details below come from each event's own page, checked on October 15, 2026. Times and passes change, so confirm on the event's site before you plan around them.

1. NVIDIA GTC Berlin keynote

• KeynoteOct 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CEST
• In U.S. time5 to 7 a.m. ET
• WhereTempodrom, Berlin

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang gives the keynote live at the Tempodrom on Wednesday, October 21. It is part of GTC Berlin, which runs October 20 to 22: workshops on the 20th, then the AI conference and expo at STATION-Berlin on the 21st and 22nd, with more than 100 sessions from CUDA to physical AI. NVIDIA's page does not list ticket prices or say whether the keynote will stream online, so check the page closer to the date if you plan to watch remotely.

See GTC Berlin  or open the keynote page.

2. All Day AI (conference and hackathon)

• DateOct 22, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET
• WhereOnline
• CostFree

A free, one-day online conference with about 120 short practitioner sessions across four tracks: BUILD for engineers, LEAD for managers, SECURE for security teams and SHIP for product, design and go-to-market. Registration takes about a minute.

The same day runs an online hackathon. You can enter solo or in a team of up to five, and each project picks one of the four tracks. The handbook asks every participant to have a GitHub account and to register the team before kickoff. Prizes aren't listed on the page.

Register for All Day AI  or read the hackathon handbook.

3. Amazon Developer Hackathon

• ClosesOct 23, 12 p.m. PT
• WhereOnline (Devpost)
• Prizes$138,000 in cash plus AWS credits

Amazon's first hackathon that opens Fire TV, Alexa+, Ring and Bee to outside developers at once. You pick one track and ship a working demo. There are two extra mini challenges for projects that use AWS services or ship an open-source contribution. Top track prizes are $25,000 in cash for Fire TV and Alexa+ and $12,000 for Bee and Ring, plus a meeting with the Amazon Developer team.

A submission needs a description, a code repository, a public demo video under three minutes and written feedback on the tools you used. Entry is free, and it is open to individuals who are adults where they live, teams and organizations, except in places the rules exclude, such as Brazil, Quebec and Russia. Winners are announced around December 3.

Join on Devpost  or read the official rules.

4. HackOHI/O (Ohio State)

• DateOct 24 to 25
• WhereOhio Union and online
• CostFree

Ohio State's 24-hour hackathon, free for all participants. Any university student can join with a .edu email. If you are not an Ohio State student you need to be 18 or older. You can attend at the Ohio Union, at the OSU Marion campus or online, and you need a team of two to four to be judged. This year adds a Professional Track for working professionals, in all-professional teams of two to four.

Prizes include a Nintendo Switch 2 for first place, a Sony XM6 for second and a Meta Quest 3S for third, plus awards for the most original, most technical and most social impact projects. After you register you get an invite to the event's Discord, which every participant needs.

See HackOHI/O 2026  Students register at go.osu.edu/hack26, professionals at go.osu.edu/hack26pro.

5. GitHub Universe (free virtual pass)

• DateOct 28 to 29
• WhereSan Francisco and online
• Virtual passFree

GitHub's developer conference at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. The free virtual pass includes the streamed keynotes and sessions, virtual-only content and the recorded sessions once they are posted. An in-person pass costs $1,399, or $1,119 each for a team of four or more, and GitHub doesn't list a student discount. A $30 GitHub Certification voucher is also sold alongside the passes.

Get the virtual pass  or compare all passes.

Which one should you do?

If you want something to point to on your resume, the hackathons are the best use of your time. The Amazon hackathon has the biggest prizes but closes October 23, so start now if you want to enter. HackOHI/O is the easiest to finish in a weekend with a team. If you just want to learn, All Day AI and the GitHub Universe virtual pass are free and you can drop in for the sessions that matter to you.