Tribe Innovation Hub AI Hackathon @ SMU

Build something worth showing

There is a big difference between having an idea and having made something.

The Tribe Innovation Hub AI Hackathon @ SMU gives you one focused day to close that gap.

You’ll work with a team to take on an AI-focused challenge and turn your idea into something tangible. That could be a prototype, product concept, AI workflow, user experience, pitch, or live demo.

Throughout the day, mentors with experience across AI tools, technology, product, and UX will be available to help your team sharpen the idea, work through obstacles, and keep building.

Then, before the day is over, you’ll pitch what you made to a panel of judges.

One day. Start to finish.

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What happens at the hackathon?

Get the challenge

The day begins with the challenge reveal. You’ll choose a problem to work on and decide how your team wants to approach it.

Build your solution

Turn the idea into something you can demonstrate. The goal isn’t to use the most complicated technology—it’s to develop a strong solution and make it real.

Work with mentors

Need help with the technology, product direction, user experience, or pitch? Mentors will be available throughout the day to help your team get unstuck and keep moving.

Make the shortlist

Teams will present their initial work, and selected projects will advance to the final round.

Pitch to the judges

Finalists will put their solutions in front of the room and make the case for what they built, why it matters, and how it works.

Compete for cash prizes

The top three teams will take home prices at the end of the day.

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Prize pool

First place — $1,000

Second place — $500

Third place — $250

The prizes add energy to the day, but winning isn’t the only reason to take part.

You’ll leave having built under pressure, tested an idea, worked with people who bring different skills, sharpened your pitch, and seen what other builders can create in the same eight hours.

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Who should join?

This hackathon is for Black and racialized people across Nova Scotia who are interested in building, creating, and solving meaningful problems.

You might be:

• An undergraduate or postgraduate student, or a recent graduate, from SMU or any other university or college in Nova Scotia.
• An aspiring or early-stage entrepreneur
• A technical builder or developer
• A designer or UX thinker
• A product or business strategist
• A community problem-solver
• Someone who is curious about what they could build with AI

You do not need to be an AI expert.

Strong hackathon teams need more than technical skills. They need people who can understand a problem, think creatively, design useful experiences, organize the work, communicate ideas, and make a convincing pitch.

If you can contribute a perspective, you can contribute to a team.

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Come with a team—or find your people in the room

Participants will work in teams of two to five people.

Already know who you want to build with? Register and bring your team.

Coming on your own? You’re still welcome. The event will help individual participants connect with people who bring complementary skills and interests.

Some of the most interesting ideas come from teams whose members approach the same problem from completely different angles.

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What can you build?

Your solution does not have to be a fully finished product.

Depending on the challenge and your team’s skills, you might create:

• A working prototype
• An AI-powered workflow
• A product or service concept
• A clickable user experience
• A technical proof of concept
• A live demonstration
• A researched solution and implementation plan
• A strong pitch showing how the idea could work

The judges will be looking for more than technical complexity. A clear understanding of the problem, a thoughtful solution, practical use of AI, and a compelling presentation all matter.

Good ideas beat complicated ideas.

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What to expect

This is a fast-moving, collaborative day designed around making—not sitting through a conference.

Expect:

• A real challenge to solve
• A full day of focused building
• Access to experienced mentors
• People with a range of technical, creative, and business skills
• Time pressure and quick decisions
• Shortlisting and final pitches
• Feedback from judges
• $1,750 in cash prizes
• A room full of people making things happen

It is competitive, but the competition is not the entire point.

It is social, but it is not simply a networking event.

It is accessible to newer builders, but it will not feel lightweight.

Come ready to contribute, experiment, and put something on the table.

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Why spend your Saturday building?

You can spend another day reading about AI, saving tools, watching demonstrations, and thinking about what you might create.

Or you can give yourself a challenge, a team, a room full of builders, and a deadline.

By 6:00 PM, you could have something you can show.

You might meet a future collaborator. You might discover a new way to use your existing skills. You might build the beginning of an idea you want to continue developing.

And you might leave with a cash prize.

The only way to find out is to get in the room.

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Hackathon details

Date: October 10, 2026

Time: 10:00 AM–6:00 PM

Location: Saint Mary’s University, Halifax

Format: One-day, in-person AI hackathon

Teams: Two to five participants

Capacity: 100 participants

Prize pool: $1,750