IIT Roorkee
Cognizance, IIT Roorkee
IIT Roorkee's annual technology festival, running 200+ events across three days - its hackathon tracks are among the larger student-run (rather than corporate) hackathons in India, typically a 36-hour on-site build.
Brabble editorial · Updated 12 Aug 2026 · Official page
Particulars
- Organiser
- IIT Roorkee
- Mode
- In-person, on IIT Roorkee's campus
- Prize / outcome
- Cash prizes per track, amount set per edition
- Team size
- Up to 4 members (varies by track)
- Application fee
- Free (varies by specific track)
- Rounds
- 3
What it is
Cognizance is IIT Roorkee's flagship annual tech fest, running for three days each March with well over 200 events spanning hackathons, workshops, and competitions across every technical discipline. Its headline hackathon tracks are typically 36-hour continuous, on-site builds around a real-time problem statement revealed at the start - student-organised rather than corporate-run, which shapes both the culture (open to broader themes each year) and the judging (student and faculty panels rather than a single sponsor's criteria).
Rounds
01. Registration
Teams register for a specific hackathon track within Cognizance ahead of the March fest dates.
02. On-site hackathon
A continuous on-site build (recent editions: 36 hours) against a real-time problem statement revealed at the start, with no pre-known brief to prepare against in advance.
03. Judging
Student and faculty judging panels evaluate working prototypes at the end of the build window.
Who can enter
- Open to undergraduate and postgraduate students in any discipline, and in some tracks, working professionals
- School students are generally not eligible for the hackathon tracks
- Team sizes vary by specific hackathon track (recent editions: up to 4 members)
What you actually get
Winners get cash prizes and recognition within one of India's most established student tech-fest circuits; for many participants, simply being selected to attend and build on IIT Roorkee's campus is itself a credential, given the scale of the applicant pool for a fest with 200+ events.
Frequently asked questions
- Effectively two: registration for a specific track, then a continuous on-site build window (recent editions: 36 hours) against a problem statement revealed only at the start, judged by student and faculty panels at the end.
- No - these are separate IIT-organised events. Cognizance is IIT Roorkee's broader annual tech fest with hackathon tracks inside it; searches for a specific "Hack36" event should be verified directly against that event's own registration page, since the name isn't consistently documented as a standalone recurring IIT Roorkee hackathon in current public sources.
- Undergraduate and postgraduate students in any discipline, and in some tracks working professionals - school students are generally excluded from the hackathon tracks specifically, even though Cognizance overall runs 200+ events across many formats.
- Student-run - it's IIT Roorkee's own tech fest, distinct from a company-sponsored hackathon like Flipkart GRiD or HackOn With Amazon. Judging is by student and faculty panels rather than a single sponsoring company's criteria, though individual tracks within the fest can carry corporate sponsors and prizes.
How many rounds does the Cognizance hackathon have?+−
Is Cognizance the same as Hack36?+−
Who can participate in the Cognizance hackathon?+−
Is Cognizance a corporate or student-run hackathon?+−
More guides
Checked against aggregator and event-listing reporting on the 2026 edition (13-15 March), 12 Aug 2026. Exact tracks, themes and rules are republished each year on cognizance.org.in - confirm there before registering.