UCL Computer Science Confirmed that all are girls hackathon With plans to return in 2026, the department will announce plans for a second year of outreach efforts and an overview of more focused activities on LinkedIn. artificial intelligence.
The event is scheduled to take place on 16 February 2026 at UCL's Gower Street campus in London and is free to attend for eligible students.
UCL Computer Science is the computer science department of University College London, which engages in teaching, research and support activities across areas such as AI, data science and computing education.
According to a post on LinkedIn, the 2026 hackathon will focus specifically on AI, marking a shift from last year's challenge-based theme.
The three-hour 'mini-hack' will run from 11:00 to 14:00 and is open to Year 12 students from English state schools studying A-level mathematics. Applications close on January 19th.
The event is designed to give students early exposure to technical problem solving in a university environment, with a particular focus on widening participation in computer science and AI, the ministry said.
Building on 2025 pilot event
The announcement follows the department's first girls-only hackathon, held in January 2025 for A-level maths students from state schools across the UK.
This inaugural event enabled students to work in teams to tackle technical challenges centered around financial literacy, with support from UCL academics and current students. Participants also had the opportunity to access career fairs and join other hackathon communities within the university.
UCL Computer Science says the 2026 event will build on this first pilot and will introduce AI to reflect growing interest in how early education can connect students to the emerging field of computing.
