· Nanyang Polytechnic

NYP × Alibaba Cloud Hackathon

Build with Qwen, ship on Alibaba Cloud, and pitch to industry judges. One track for builders who code, one for thinkers who don't. Four real problems, and every one has its own podium.

Register See the problems

Built with

  • Alibaba Cloud
  • Qwen
  • Qoder
Registration
30 Oct – 30 Nov 2026
Workshops online · optional
18 Dec & 8 Jan
Presentations in person
5 Mar 2027 at NYP
Status
Registration opens 30 Oct

Two tracks. Four problems.
Pick the one that fits how you work.

Both tracks present on the same day, to the same judges' standard, for the same prizes. The difference is what you bring to the stage: a working build, or a concept sharp enough to fund.

Morning · 9:00 – 12:30

Technical track

For students who can code, or want to. Your team ships a working prototype that puts AI to real use, then demos it live.

Alibaba Cloud, Qwen and Qoder are supported and taught in the workshops. Any suitable stack is welcome.

Community care

AI for elderly people living alone

Reconcile scattered signals about a senior living alone, judge how urgent and how certain they are, and route the case to the right organisation, then track it until it's resolved.

Read the brief

Small business

Power the little guy's business

Give a hawker, home-baker or one-person shop an AI teammate that actually does the work: replies in the customer's language, sends the invoice, tracks the stock, handles the cross-border paperwork.

Read the brief

Afternoon · 2:00 – 5:30

Non-technical track

For every diploma, no code required. Your team pitches a solution concept: the research, the user, the journey, and how AI and technology would make it work.

Mock-ups and no-code prototypes are welcome. Qwen makes a very good research partner.

Marine conservation

AI-powered ocean early warning network

How might we combine AI ecological forecasting with global cloud infrastructure so ships, fleets and fishers can predict and avoid high-risk encounters with marine life before they happen?

Read the brief

Assistive health

AI-powered wearables for people with disabilities

How might we use AI and cloud to build wearables that learn one person's body and habits, so people with disabilities can predict and prevent problems before they happen?

Read the brief

What you'll build with

These are the tools we teach and support. You're free to use any suitable AI model, development environment or cloud platform; using these isn't required to qualify or to score well.

Alibaba Cloud

Where your project lives.

Your team keeps its code in one GitHub repository, then deploys the app to an Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server (Lighthouse): a ready-to-use cloud server with a public address. Wherever you deploy, judges will ask how your architecture works, so know what each piece does.

  • Git · GitHub one shared repo for your team
  • Simple Application Server host your app at a live URL
  • Model Studio call Qwen models by API

Model Studio in Workshop 1 · 18 Dec
Git and deployment in Workshop 2 · 8 Jan

Qwen

The model family you build on.

Alibaba's open model family, the largest in the world with more than three billion downloads. Qwen3 handles 119 languages and dialects, so an app that talks to Ah Ma in Mandarin or to a customer in Bahasa Melayu is within reach. It also calls tools, which means it can take actions, not just answer.

Covered in Workshop 1 · 18 Dec

Qoder

The agentic coding tool in your corner.

Describe what you want built; Qoder plans it, writes it and edits across your whole codebase. Every participant receives 2,000 Qoder credits to build with.

Covered in Workshop 1 · 18 Dec

The road to 5 March

You build in the weeks before the event, not on the day. The two workshops are online, optional, and timed to get you unstuck before the build starts.

  1. Registration opens

    Sign up on your own or with up to three friends and pick your problem statement. Places on each one are first come, first served.

  2. Registration closes

    Earlier if all 320 places fill first. We then complete every team of four.

  3. Team allocation confirmed

    Everyone receives an email confirming their team and problem statement, ready for the first workshop.

  4. Workshop 1: Qoder & Qwen

    Online, run by DADE. Set up Qoder, build your first app with it, and call Qwen from your own code through Alibaba Cloud Model Studio. Non-technical teams learn to use Qwen for research and prototyping.

  5. Workshop 2: Git, GitHub & deploying on Alibaba Cloud

    Online, run by NYP Cloud. Work as a team in one GitHub repository, then deploy your app to an Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server with a real URL.

  6. Jan – Mar

    Build

    Eight weeks to research, build, test and rehearse a 10-minute pitch. Watch our socials for reminders and the how-to-get-there video.

  7. Hackathon day

    Present in person at NYP. Technical teams in the morning, non-technical in the afternoon, prizes at 6pm.

Schedule: Friday 5 March

Two lecture theatres run side by side. Each hosts one technical problem statement in the morning and one non-technical problem statement in the afternoon. Every team gets a 10-minute slot.

LTS-1School of Engineering

Technical track9:00 – 12:30 · 20 teams

Non-technical track2:00 – 5:30 · 20 teams

LTL-3School of Information Technology

Technical track9:00 – 12:30 · 20 teams

Non-technical track2:00 – 5:30 · 20 teams

Prizes6:00 – 6:30

Your slot. Your venue and slot time come by email once the presentation order is set. You only need to be there for your own track, plus prizes at 6pm.

Getting there. Nanyang Polytechnic, 180 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, Singapore 569830. We'll post a walk-through video to the lecture theatres closer to the day.

Every problem gets its own podium

You only compete against the other teams on your problem statement, and each problem statement has its own first, second and third place. One team from across the whole event also takes the Alibaba Cloud Innovation Award.

S$2002nd
S$3001st
S$1003rd

Placing teams

  • Cash prize for the team
  • A medal for each member and a team trophy
  • NYP Cloud Computing Club Achievement Certificate
  • Alibaba Cloud and Qoder merchandise, with premium merchandise for first place

Everyone who completes the hackathon

  • NYP Cloud Computing Club Participation Certificate
  • Alibaba Cloud and Qoder Participation Certificate

Certificates are issued digitally with your name, the event, the date and your achievement, ready to add to LinkedIn under Licenses & Certifications or Honors & Awards.

Alibaba Cloud Innovation Award

One winning team across the whole hackathon

On top of the four podiums, Alibaba Cloud selects and presents one special award for the most effective and creative use of Alibaba Cloud, Qwen, Qoder or related Alibaba technologies. Every team in both tracks is eligible, including teams that have already placed.

Alibaba Cloud looks for innovative use of AI and cloud technology, practical real-world impact, technical originality and potential for further development.

The winning team receives the Innovation Award trophy, an Alibaba Cloud Innovation Award certificate, and premium Alibaba Cloud and Qoder merchandise.

How you'll be judged

Two judges per problem statement, eight in total. Each track has its own rubric because the two tracks deliver different things.

Draft · final weights confirmed before workshops begin

Technical

  • Working prototype25

    It runs live, end to end. The main user journey works without hand-waving.

  • AI capability & agentic workflow20

    Does the AI meaningfully contribute to the solution? Where it fits, can it reason, use tools, retrieve information or take actions, rather than only answer questions?

  • System & cloud architecture20

    A sensible technical architecture, and you can explain why each component or service is there. Deploy on Alibaba Cloud or any suitable platform.

  • Impact & problem fit20

    Solves the brief for a real, specific user, rather than building technology for its own sake.

  • Pitch & demo15

    Clear story within 10 minutes, a working demo, and team members who can answer technical questions.

+5 bonus if it works in at least one Southeast Asian language besides English.

Non-technical

  • Problem insight25

    Real research: who exactly is affected, how often, why it matters, and what they do today.

  • Solution & user journey25

    A clear concept someone can picture, shown through mock-ups, a storyboard, a prototype or a user flow.

  • Technology & AI reasoning20

    Why AI and technology suit this problem, what they contribute, and roughly how information would flow through the solution.

  • Feasibility & impact15

    Honest about risks, cost, implementation and adoption, and clear about what measurable success looks like.

  • Pitch15

    Persuasive, structured, on time, and confident under questions.

Use what fits the problem. Judges reward appropriate use of AI, not complexity for its own sake. Agentic AI isn't required: retrieval, prediction, vision, language processing, optimisation or a simple LLM workflow can all score well when they suit the brief.

Supported technologies. Use any suitable AI model, development environment or cloud platform. Alibaba Cloud, Qwen and Qoder are provided as sponsored tools, but using them isn't required to qualify or to score well. The Alibaba Cloud Innovation Award is judged separately.

Questions

Who can join?

Any NYP student, from any school or diploma, in any year. The non-technical track is built for people who have never written code.

I don't have a team. Can I still sign up?

Yes. If you register on your own, we'll put you in a team with other participants who also signed up without one, on the same problem statement. Friends who register together stay in the same team. Every team is confirmed by email on 7 December 2026.

Do I get to choose my problem statement?

Yes, on a first come, first served basis. You choose your problem statement when you register, and each one has a limited number of places. Once a problem statement is full it closes, and you can pick from the ones still open. Friends who register together are placed on the same problem statement.

Is it online or in person?

Both workshops are online. The hackathon day on 5 March is in person, in LTS-1 (SEG) and LTL-3 (SIT) at NYP.

Do we build everything on the day?

No. You build in the weeks between team allocation and 5 March. The day itself is for your 10-minute presentation, Q&A with the judges and the prize ceremony.

Are the workshops compulsory?

No, but we strongly recommend them, especially Workshop 2 if you're in the technical track. Deploying to the cloud is much faster with someone showing you.

Do we have to use Alibaba Cloud, Qwen or Qoder?

No. You can use any suitable AI model, development environment or cloud platform, and the judging rubric doesn't favour any vendor. Alibaba Cloud, Qwen and Qoder are provided and supported, and teams that make strong use of them are in the running for the Alibaba Cloud Innovation Award.

What do I get for taking part?

To build your project, every participant receives 2,000 Qoder credits and the Alibaba Cloud and Qwen workshop resources. Everyone who completes the hackathon also receives digital participation certificates from NYP Cloud Computing Club and from Alibaba Cloud and Qoder.

Do I need to be there all day?

Only for your own track's session and the prize presentation at 6pm. Technical teams can leave after the morning and come back; non-technical teams can arrive for 2pm.

What happens if registration fills up?

We close it early. There are 320 places, so don't wait until 30 November.

320 places. Take one.

Registration runs from 30 October to 30 November 2026, or until every place is gone.

Register on nypcloud.com

Questions? Email nypcc@sit.nyp.edu.sg