DATES

  • Opening Night and challenge reveal: Tuesday 6 October 2026, 5:30pm
  • Team Registrations and Track Selections deadline: Wed 7 Oct, 5:00pm (AEDT)
  • Submission deadline: Thursday 8 October 2026, 5:00pm (AEDT)
  • Screening: Thursday 8 October, 5:00pm – Friday 9 October, 2:00pm
  • Finalists announced: Friday 9 October, 2:00pm (Discord)
  • Closing Night and live finals: Friday 9 October, 6:00–9:00pm

 

ELIGIBILITY

  1. All current Australian university students are welcome, from any degree.
  2. Every participant must hold their own ticket on Humanitix. Tickets are non-refundable. The $10 member price is only for members of both Enactus Melbourne and CISSA, and membership is checked at check-in.
  3. Once your team is finalised, ONE member fills in the team registration form on behalf of the whole team, and then the track selection form.

TEAMS

  1. Teams have 3–4 members. Each participant may only be on one team.
  2. No team yet? We'll help you find one at Opening Night and on Discord. Teams with fewer than 3 people may be asked to merge, though the organisers can relax this at their discretion.
  3. Team members must be finalised by the submission deadline, and every member must be added to the project on Devpost.

PROJECTS

  1. The challenge is revealed at Opening Night. All project work must be done between Opening Night and the submission deadline. You may not submit a pre-existing project.
  2. Each team chooses one track. Your submission is judged against your chosen track for the track prize, and against all teams for the overall placings.
  3. The Fieldday Events business case is fictional. Don't use real personal data in your project; make up realistic sample data instead.
  4. Open-source libraries, public APIs, templates, and no-code and AI tools are all allowed. List the main tools you used in your submission. Anything you pay for is at your own expense.

USE OF AI

  1. AI tools are allowed and encouraged for building, including AI coding tools, no-code builders and vibe coding.
  2. The ideas, decisions and judgement in your project must be your team's own. Every team member should be able to explain how your product works and why you built it that way. Judges may ask about this in Q&A.
  3. Disclose the main AI tools you used in your project description.

SUBMISSIONS

  1. One submission per team, on Devpost, by Thursday 8 October, 5:00pm (AEDT). Late submissions won't be accepted.
  2. Your submission must include everything listed under Submission Requirements. Incomplete submissions may not be considered for the final round or prizes.
  3. Links (prototype, video, repo) must stay public and unchanged until judging has finished.

JUDGING AND PRIZES

  1. Enactus, CISSA and Affinda volunteers screen all submissions and select about 8 finalists, announced on Discord at 2:00pm on Friday 9 October.
  2. Finalists give a live 5-minute pitch and demo at Closing Night, followed by judges' questions. Finalists must attend in person to be eligible for prizes.
  3. All submissions are judged on the same six criteria (see Judging Criteria).
  4. Prizes: 1st $300 plus priority interviews for Affinda's Summer Internship (up to 4 per team); 2nd $300; 3rd $100; best team in each track $100. A team can win both a placing and its track prize.
  5. Priority interviews are a guaranteed interview, not a guaranteed offer, and are subject to Affinda's usual internship eligibility.
  6. The judges' decisions are final.

CODE OF CONDUCT

By taking part in the Affinda AI Innovation Challenge, you agree to the following, in person and online (Discord, Devpost and any event channel).

  1. Respect. Treat every participant, organiser, volunteer, judge and sponsor with respect. Everyone is welcome, whatever their background, identity or skill level.
  2. No harassment. Discrimination, harassment or offensive behaviour won't be tolerated. This includes intimidation, threats, abusive language, offensive jokes or imagery, unwelcome sexual attention, and putting people down for their experience or technical skill.
  3. Fair play. Your submission must be your team's own work. Copying another project without attribution, or passing off pre-existing work as your own, isn't allowed.
  4. Venues. Respect the University of Melbourne venues, equipment and rules at every event location.
  5. Online spaces. Keep Discord discussions relevant and respectful. No spam, hate speech or disruptive behaviour.

Reporting. If you experience or witness a breach of this code, tell an organiser in person, message an Enactus or CISSA organiser on Discord, or email guobin.zheng@enactusmelbourne.com. Reports are handled discreetly.

Consequences. Breaches may lead to a warning, removal from the event and its online spaces, or disqualification. The organisers' decisions are final.

And most importantly: have fun and build something you're proud of! 🚀