As of June 2025

Project Rules

• Any software development tools, game engine, IDE, and/or programming language can be used for the event. If a team member uses a purchased tool licensed to him or her and the license is not transferable to other members, the member’s team must choose one available to all developer teams.
• To ensure a level field for all contestants, all code must be created during the Datathon. You are permitted to use publicly developed and openly licensed API’s and SDKs for your project.
• You will only be able to use a pre-public release of a product in developing your project if you bring at least one extra version that can be used by other teams in Datathon and provide any user support needed to teams using the device.
• Project design/assets can be created prior to the start date of the Datathon. All assets should conform to the Creative Commons License agreement standard or are freely available and you have permission or license to use them. Proof of permission must be given upon request.
• Assets, SDKs, APIs or other tools or components available under a trial license may be used.
• A team can submit only one entry for the Datathon. Participation at the Datathon is subjected on a “per-team” basis meaning you are not allowed to be on more than one team at the event.
• Any intellectual property developed during and within the scope of the Datathon must be open source and licensed under one of the licenses referenced in https://opensource.org/licenses.
• The license selected by the team must be clearly listed in code (page per page) or a generic page announcing the license the application adheres to. The public code used inside your application should also list the licenses the code is subjected to.
• A team can use multiple licenses in the application. For example, the public code used could be licensed under the Apache license agreement whereas the code written by the team for the application licensed under the MIT license agreement.
• A team may not code applications that violate the Code of Conduct. For example, racially insensitive ideas for an application will automatically be disqualified.

AGA Code of Conduct

AGA is dedicated to providing a safe, hospitable, productive environment for everyone participating in our events, regardless of ethnicity, religion, disability, physical appearance, gender, or sexual orientation. It is important to remember that a community in which people feel unsafe or threatened is neither healthy nor productive. AGA prohibits intimidating, threatening, or harassing conduct during our events. This policy applies to speakers, staff, exhibitors, sponsors, volunteers, contractors, and attendees. Participants found to have violated this policy may be sanctioned, including being removed from the Datathon and barred from future events, at the discretion of AGA.

Project Submission

All teams should have a team name and be registered with AGA.  Your team page listing should have the following:

• A mobile phone number (after judging is complete, the number may be removed)
• All team members will be listed with brief biographies.
• Short abstract of the project
• The development tools are used to build the project.
• SDKs used in the project.
• APIs used in the project.
• Any assets used in the project.
• Any libraries used in the project.
• Any components not created during the Datathon.
• A link to the team Github repository.
• A YouTube link to a video of a screen capture of the application.
• All projects should be submitted to the Datathon GitHub account (AGA-Datathon-2026) before the deadline. Failure to submit will result in disqualification. Teams should commit regularly throughout the Datathon to the team repository. A single GitHub commit made near the end of the Datathon will draw the suspicion that the work was not completed during the Datathon.
• All projects’ submissions will be randomly code-reviewed. Applications will be spot checked by code reviewers. All the projects selected by the judges as finalists will be code reviewed to confirm that the code is original work created during the Datathon and all components and assets conform to the licenses allowed in these rules.
• When development ends at least one member from each team will meet with the judging team for a brief review of their submission and to confirm that the team’s AGA page has been correctly updated.

Judging

Members of AGA’s Corporate Partner Technology Committee and Datathon Committee serve as judges of the competition. 

• Innovation and Creativity:
  • How unique and innovative is the solution?
  • Does it introduce new ideas or approaches?
• Technical Implementation:
  • How well is the solution implemented technically?
  • Are the chosen technologies and tools used effectively?
• Data Usage:
  • How effectively are the datasets used?
  • Are the data sources relevant and appropriately utilized?
• Impact and Relevance:
  • How impactful is the solution in addressing the problem statement?
  • Is the solution relevant to the target audience?
• Presentation and Communication:
  • How well is the solution presented?
  • Is the communication clear and effective?
• Feasibility and Scalability:
  • How feasible is the solution for real-world implementation?
  • Can the solution be scaled up if needed?
• Datathon Participation
  • Clarity and quality of project submission on GitHub.
  • Adherence to project development & submission rules.