Catalyst Ingenium 2026
Description
Catalyst is back once again🚀🚀!! Get ready to join CISSA’s annual Sem 2 hackathon from August 20-23 for 4 days and 3 nights of designing, hacking and nonstop excitement!
Join us this year as we introduce a new track with the opportunity to implement the creative solutions from this year’s Product-thon📲.
Whether this is your 1st or 20th hackathon, participants of all skill levels and backgrounds are encouraged to join a creative, beginner-friendly environment.
First time participating? We’ve got you covered with our extensive front-end and back-end development guides that will guide you from zero to a finished product📈!
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
🍕 Thousands of dollars worth of free food!
🧑💼 Mentors from industry and academia available for check-ins and answering your questions!
🏆 Prize pool with 5 categories and a $1.7k prize pool!
🍀 Show up to the campus for exclusive connections with our industry reps!
👩⚖️ An entirely external judging panel from both CIS and Industry!
DETAILS
🗓️ Date: Thursday, August 20th to Sunday, August 23rd
⏰ Time: 6:00pm for the Opening Ceremony!
📍 Location: Brown Theatre - Electrical & Electronic Engineering Building (PAR-193)
PRICE
$15 Early bird tickets!! 🕊️ 🪱
$20 (should you be in exceptional circumstances, please apply for equity tickets by contacting executives@cissa.org.au)
Note: All team members must purchase a ticket, and register as a team.
Looking forward to hacking with you soon 🧑💻💜
Eligibility:
All current university students are welcome to compete.
Teams must comprise 3–5 people. Only teams with AT LEAST ONE University of Melbourne member are eligible to win prizes. Teams with less than the required number may be asked to merge. Catalyst organisers reserve the right to relax this restriction at our discretion.
FAQs
- Will there be catering at the event?
Yes, catering will be provided on Days 1 and 2, while light refreshments will be provided on Day 3 and at the Closing Ceremony
- Will the judging criteria and tracks be provided to participants?
Yes, this will be provided in the opening slides
- Will I be required to attend all the dates?
No, depending on your needs, you can either show up to our working sessions or not; the sole exception is the opening and closing ceremonies. However, it is strongly encouraged to show up, as mentors will be present.
- What is the auction and how does it work?
🔨 THE CATALYST AUCTION — how it works & how not to get played
Track 3 builders, listen up. Before Catalyst, the Product-thon crowd designs
UI/UX blueprints in Figma. The best ones go up for AUCTION at the closing
ceremony, and you don't bid money.You bid POINTS. Off your own final grade.
Here's the deal:
Winning blueprints are auctioned live. 🏆
You bid up to 15 of your final Catalyst points to win one.
Whatever you bid gets deducted from your final score.
Don't win a bid? You build from the free pool of designs, zero cost btw.
Everyone builds from a blueprint. The auction decides who starts strong.
🧠 HOW TO BID WITHOUT REGRETTING IT
A great blueprint is a HEAD-START, not a win. You're still judged on your
BUILD; how well you implement it, and how smartly you improve on it. A
gorgeous Figma won't code itself.So do the math before you raise your hand:
→ A strong blueprint is worth maybe 10-ish points of advantage to you.
→ The cap is 15. That means the last few points are a GREED TAX. 😈
→ Bid what the head-start is truly worth to YOU; not one more than the
team next to you.The teams that win this auction aren't the ones that bid the highest.
They're the ones who bid smart.See you at the ceremony. Bring your nerve. 🎯
#CISSA #CatalystIngenium
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
