Applications open in September. If you have a NAT membership, please email portal@neuralberta.tech from you natPortal email, with the subject header “NAT membership for natHacks Hacker Application" to confirm ownership of the email connected to the natPortal account used to purchase the membership.

⚠️Please see the Rules page for information on participant eligibility and our code of conduct before participating.

Eligibility 

Participants may be undergraduates, graduates, and early-career professionals from diverse fields. These fields may include computer science, neuroscience, engineering, design, business, and health sciences.

Important participant eligibility rules:

• Participants residing in Edmonton must be at least sixteen (16) years of age. Participants under the age of eighteen (18) will only be accepted if they reside in Edmonton and can return home overnight. NAT will not accept participants under eighteen (18) from outside Edmonton if overnight accommodation would be required.

• If individuals sign up to participate in natHacks from outside of Edmonton, they must be at least eighteen (18) and the age of majority under the laws of the jurisdiction in which they reside, unless otherwise authorized by NAT.

• Participants must be current high school or postsecondary students or recent graduates who have graduated from high school or postsecondary within the past thirty-six (36) months, unless otherwise authorized by NAT

• Participants must be eligible to receive prizes in competitions such as the Hackathon under the laws of the jurisdiction in which they reside.

• Teams must consist of at least 50% Alberta residents in order to be eligible to receive Prizes.

1. Registration & Fee

Participants apply individually through the NAT website, where they fill out the hacker registration form. They will then be directed to the natHacks 2025 Luma page, where they will be asked to register and fill out their payment information. The deadline to fill out the Luma registration is OCTOBER 26 at 11:59 PM MT. Please note that you will not be charged until your hacker registration is approved; moreover, your application CANNOT BE APPROVED UNTIL YOU FILL OUT THE REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT INFORMATION ON THE LUMA PAGE. $25 is a non-refundable program fee, while $25 is refundable under specific conditions.

Once you submit the registration form, you will receive an email confirming that your registration information was received. Our team will let you know whether or not your natHacks registration was approved as soon as possible–you will receive an email with important information about event details and resources. Please note that you will not be charged the $50 deposit until your hacker application is approved. 

Refund Conditions:

To receive the $25 refundable portion, Participants must complete the Hackathon in full by meeting the following requirements:

• All Participants:

• Attend Hackathon Weekend (Nov 7–10, 2025).

• Submit a complete project on Devpost by Nov 10 at 11:00 AM MST. Note: Exceptions may be considered in cases of extenuating circumstances, at the sole discretion of NAT organizers.

• Participate in final judging presentations.

• Problem Provider Division Participants (additional requirements):

• Attend Pitch Night (Oct 17, 2025) or review pitch materials asynchronously.

• Submit all three Development Reports by the deadlines (Oct 24, Oct 31, Nov 7).

Failure to meet any of these requirements, or withdrawal at any point, will result in forfeiture of the $25 refundable portion.

We offer subsidies to make natHacks accessible to all participants. For more information, please visit nat.ltd/nh25-subsidy. 

• Apply by October 11th at 11:59 PM MT to be eligible for the Problem Provider Division. 

• The final registration deadline is October 25th at 11:59 PM MT. Please note that if you apply to the Problem Provider Division after the October 11th deadline, there is no guarantee that you will be matched to a Problem Provider team. 

After your application is approved, the next step is to join a team in one of two divisions:

• Problem Provider Division (PPD)
  natHacks organizers will match individual hackers to teams guided by Problem Providers, experts with a real-world challenge for hackers to solve. Teams in this division will work with their Problem Providers to complete weekly development for the three weeks prior to the Hackathon Weekend.

• Attend the virtual Pitch Night to learn about the available problems on October 17th, or watch their pitch videos asynchronously. More information on Pitch Night will be sent to you in the approval email.
  You MUST request placement on specific problem(s) using the Problem Interest Form (via the hacker registration form on natSite). The Problem Interest Form will be open all day on October 17th 2025. Teams will be announced on October 18th.

• Please note, placement in the PPD is not guaranteed; in lieu of placement, you will be placed in the Standard Division.

• ⭐ Problem Provider Division teams will be awarded bonus points based on the quality of weekly development reports completed. Weekly development reports give teams the opportunity to plan how to approach their problem. There are three development reports, due on October 24, October 31, and November 7 at 11:59PM MT. ⭐

• Standard Division
  Participants are free to form their own teams to solve the problems of their choice. Teams can be formed using the Standard Team Creation Form (via the hacker registration form on natSite), available from October 26th - November 7th at 11:59 PM MT.

• You can meet potential teammates on Devpost, Discord, or through the official natHacks networking mixer on November 7 from 3-5PM.

• ⭐ We are encouraging diversity within standard division teams by awarding bonus points based on the variety of academic majors represented. The greater the diversity of disciplines among your team members, the more bonus points your team will earn. ⭐

• Team Rules (all divisons):

• Each team must consist of at least 50% Alberta residents to be eligible for prizes.

• Teams must include between 4 and 6 individuals.

Thank you for your interest in natHacks 2025, and we can't wait to see what you hack together during the event!