Hacktoberfest Hack Day Linz x Young AI Leaders Linz
Join us at JKU Linz on October 30, 2026, from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM for a mini-hackathon. This year, Hacktoberfest is focused on open-source artificial intelligence. This free, in-person event is the perfect chance to bring our community together to learn about or build with open-source AI tools, open-weight models, and beyond. Whether you are a seasoned developer or looking to experience your very first hackathon alongside fellow students, there is a place for you here on campus.
Instead of a full weekend marathon, this focused five-hour sprint allows you to team up, experiment, and build a working prototype in a single afternoon. It is a low-pressure environment designed for learning, collaborating, and testing out fresh ideas using the latest developer tools.
Expect a fast-paced afternoon where you can form interdisciplinary teams, write code, and showcase your projects to the local tech community. As an official MLH event, participants will also have access to exclusive swag and partner prizes.
Bring your laptop, your curiosity, and your ideas. We will provide the space, the support, and the community. Register now to secure your spot!
Challenges
Best Use of Gemma 4
It’s time to see how much you can build with a lightweight, open model. Gemma 4 packs multimodal intelligence into an open-weights model that you can access through the Gemini API. So, what can Gemma 4 bring to your project?
- Multimodal Experience: Work with text and images to create an assistant that understands more of what users share.
- Focused AI Tools: Build a focused AI tool for learning, creativity, productivity, or your community.
- Rapid Prototyping: Experiment with an open model while using the Gemini API to move quickly from an idea to a working prototype.
Bring your idea to life… what will you build with Gemma 4 today?
Best Open-Source AI Project
Build an original project that uses open-source or open-weight AI as an important part of how it works. Teams could create an agent skill, build with an open-weight large or small language model, or build or adapt an open-source model harness. These are examples within one challenge, and teams may combine them.
Open-source or open-weight AI must be an important part of the project.
The project must be published in a public GitHub repository and use an open-source license.
An agent skill must comply with the Agent Skill Open Standard.
A model-harness entry must include an original implementation or meaningful changes to an existing open-source harness.
Submissions aren’t open for this event.