GOVERNANCE & PROTOCOLS
OFFICIAL PROGRAM RULES
Standardized guidelines governing participation, submissions, evaluation criteria, and the Dubai Grand Finale for NOVA 2026.
SECTION 01
Eligibility & Team Composition
- •Open to university students, researchers, and early-career innovators worldwide. No geographical restrictions.
- •Participation is structured in teams of 2 to 4 members.
- •Cross-institutional and inter-college team compositions are fully allowed.
- •100% free registration across all qualification tracks.
SECTION 02
Qualification Tracks & Structure
- •Track A (IIT Hackathon Series): On-ground qualifier hackathons hosted across 3 IITs (August, September, October 2026).
- •Track B (College Hackathon Series): On-ground qualifier hackathons hosted across 3 non-IIT partner colleges.
- •Track C (Global Online Submission Route): Online submission of problem statements, pitch decks, and demo videos open globally.
- •Winners and top teams from Tracks A, B, and C earn direct qualification to the International Grand Finale in Dubai.
SECTION 03
Project Originality & Intellectual Property
- •All code, design assets, and prototype materials submitted must be built during or explicitly developed for the program.
- •Use of existing open-source libraries, public SDKs, and pre-trained models is permitted, provided they are cited in the submission documentation.
- •Participants retain 100% ownership of their intellectual property (IP) and project source code.
SECTION 04
Submission Requirements
- •Submissions must include a functional code repository / prototype link, a 2-3 minute video demonstration, and a project summary slide.
- •Project entries must explicitly state which program theme or track they are competing under.
- •Late submissions past official track deadlines will not be evaluated.
SECTION 05
Judging & Evaluation Criteria
- •Innovation & Originality (30%): Uniqueness of approach and novel technical/design paradigm.
- •Technical Execution (30%): Depth of engineering, software architecture, and functional implementation.
- •Practical Impact & Viability (20%): Real-world applicability, scalability, and market relevance.
- •Pitch & Presentation (20%): Clarity of communication, demo quality, and structural presentation.
SECTION 06
Grand Finale Protocol (Dubai)
- •Direct finalists must present on-ground at BITS Pilani Dubai Campus on November 14 & 15, 2026.
- •Finalists will pitch live to an international jury of tech executives, venture capitalists, and academic judges.
- •Decisions made by the NOVA Grand Jury are final and binding.