Prompt Coding

Prompt Coding: Ai-Assisted / Human-Centric Hackathon:  Event Overview: This is a 24-hour, offline, high-intensity hackathon focused on problem-solving, system thinking, and engineering judgment. The event is designed to simulate real-world constraints where participants must: Understand unfamiliar problems quickly Make trade-offs Build practical solutions Clearly explain and defend their work This is not a long coding marathon. It is a thinking-first, execution-second competition.     2. Key Details: Mode: Offline Maximum Duration: 24hours Theme: Miscellaneous (open domain) Prize Pool: ₹30,000 (initial) Participation Fee: ₹199 per team Certificates: Participation certificates will be issued to all participants who complete the event. 3. Team & Participation Rules:   Team Size: Solo participation is allowed Teams of up to 4 members are allowed Team size must not exceed 4   College Restriction: Inter-college teams are NOT allowed All members of a team must belong to the same institute 4. Problem Statements: Problem Release: Problem statements will be released on the spot No prior preparation, coding, or research is allowed Source of Problems: If sponsors provide real or realistic problems, those will be used Otherwise, problems will be curated by faculty If no sponsor-specific problems exist, the domain remains miscellaneous Problem statements will be: Clearly defined Open-ended Solvable within the event duration 5. Event Flow & Timeline (Indicative): Exact timings will be announced on event day. Opening & Rules Brief Planning Phase: Understand the problem Define assumptions Design solution approach Core Build Phase –  Build MVP / working solution Feature Twist – Last Hour A new relevant feature or constraint is introduced Tests adaptability and design quality Final Demo & Explanation Live demo preferred Judges Q&A Results & Closing Total time will not exceed 6 hours. 6. Tools & Development Environment: Allowed: LLM-based code assistants — ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, and equivalents — are fullypermitted. AI image generation, design tools (Figma AI, Canva AI), and documentation generators are permitted. AI may be used for debugging, code suggestions, test generation, documentation, and boilerplatescaffolding. AI-generated code is treated identically to human-written code — team members must be able to explain it  Strictly Prohibited Activities: Generating an entire end-to-end project from a single AI prompt and submitting it wholly unmodified. Automated bots or scripts that commit code to the repository on behalf of team members without direct human involvement. DDoS attacks, ARP spoofing, packet sniffing, or any network interference targeting event infrastructure or other teams. Screen-sharing, remote-desktop access, or real-time code collaboration with individuals outside theregistered team. Using external services or APIs that are not publicly accessible (e.g., private paid APIs that constitute pre-built logic for the PS) 7. AI Usage Policy (Human-First): Conversational AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) may be used via browser chat interface AI may assist with: Planning Reasoning Code generation Debugging AI is treated as a support tool, not an automation replacement. Teams are evaluated on: Understanding Decisions Explanation Not on how much AI they used. 8. Main Build Chat Rule (MANDATORY) Each team must maintain one Main Build Chat, which serves as the primary AI interaction thread. Main Build Chat: Used for: Architecture planning Core code generation Iterative improvements All AI-generated code included in the final solution must originate from this chat Submission Requirement: At the end of the event, teams must: Share the Main Build Chat link (or export, as instructed) This will be used post-event for verification if required Side Chats: Allowed for: Brainstorming Learning concepts Clarifying doubts AI-generated code from side chats must not be directly copied into final solution Manual (human-written) code is allowed. 9. Prompt Budget System (important – Read Carefully): Purpose: The prompt budget exists to: Encourage thinking before prompting Prevent AI spamming Add strategic depth Keep competition fair How It Works: Each team is given a fixed prompt budget Prompt budget will be announced on the spot The number disclosed during the event is final  Example only (NOT final): If a team is given 10 prompts, it means: They may send 10 meaningful messages to the Main Build Chat Each meaningful request for code, logic, or design counts as oe prompt This number is only an example. Feature Twist Prompt Budget: When the final feature/constraint is introduced: Teams will receive additional prompts This ensures fairness and allows adaptation Example only (NOT final): If initial budget = 10 prompts Feature twist bonus = +3 prompts Total = 13 prompts Again, numbers are examples. What Counts as a Prompt: Any message intended to: Generate code Modify logic Design architecture Minor clarifications may be ignored at organiser discretion What Happens If You Exceed: Teams exceeding the budget may: Lose points Be penalized during judging Details will be announced clearly before coding starts 10. Judging Criteria (5-Point Scale): Each criterion is scored 1 to 5. Problem Understanding & Framing Novelty & Approach Engineering Decisions & Design Execution & Demo Quality Explanation & Clarity: Judges will not judge: Lines of code AI vs manual ratio Tool complexity 11. Explanation-Based Evaluation (Core Fairness Rule): Every team must: Explain their system architecture Justify design choices Answer follow-up questions Respond to a “what if we change X?” scenario Failure to explain clearly may result in: Score reduction Disqualification in extreme cases 12. Fully AI-Generated Solutions: Solutions built entirely with AI assistance are allowed Such teams must: Demonstrate full understanding Defend decisions Adapt to questions Understanding determines score — not code origin. 13. Submissions: Each team must submit: Project code (GitHub or ZIP) Main Build Chat link/export Short explanation/demo (live) Exact submission format will be shared during the event. 14. Code of Conduct: Fair play is mandatory Misrepresentation or dishonesty may lead to penalties Respect participants, judges, and volunteers Organisers’ decisions are final 15. Results, Prizes & Certificates: Winners will be announced at the end of the event Prize distribution will be disclosed before judging begins All participants receive participation certificates 16. Final Notes: All remaining logistical details will be disclosed before the event Organisers reserve the right to: Modify timelines slightly Clarify rules Resolve edge cases The spirit of the event is fair competition, learning, and clear thinking. Price pool will be subject to the number of participants if number of participants is not adequate the competition will get cancelled and the money will be refunded to you bank account