About BuildersVault
BuildersVault runs a monthly AI hackathon series across BC. Each event targets a different industry and pairs builders with real organizations that have real problems to solve.
We handle the infrastructure: sourcing challenges, curating teams, managing sponsors, and following up on the best work. The goal is to turn hackathon output into funded projects.
Engineers, data scientists, designers, founders. If you build things, we give you something worth building.
Hackathon #3
Build AI-powered tools for frontline social services teams in Victoria. Two tracks with real partner nonprofits — inter-organizational referral and care coordination (Cool Aid Society) and food security delivery operations (FatiCare). Starter kit is public and ships realistic synthetic data so teams are building within the first hour.
Date
April 20-25, 2026
Format
Monday kickoff + week-long build + Saturday demo day
Venue
Modus Design Labs, Victoria BC
Capacity
~50 builders, max teams of 2
Challenge Tracks
Track 1: Inter-Org Referral & Care Coordination
Cool Aid Society. HIFIS 4, Coordinated Access, PIPA/FOIPPA/OCAP. 7 tables, 9 orgs, 800 clients, 5k consent records.
Track 2: Food Security Delivery Operations
FatiCare. Meals on Wheels, VRP, cold chain, volunteer ops. 9 tables, 10k requests, 300 routes, ~3.5k stops with actuals.
Partners
How it works
Curated selection, not open registration. We want serious builders who ship.
Teams of 2. Bring a partner or get matched with a complementary builder.
Real healthcare datasets, real challenge brief. Cursor licenses and API credits provided.
Live demos. Expert judging. Prizes. And a direct path from prototype to real-world deployment.
Schedule
Monday, April 20
Kickoff Night
Welcome, challenge briefs revealed, team formation. Meet your teammates, hear from partners, and start planning. Food provided.
Tuesday - Friday, April 21-24
Build Week
Build with your team on your own schedule. Mentors available. Submissions due Friday night.
Saturday, April 25
Demos, Judging & Awards
Teams present their builds. Expert judging panel. Winners announced. Networking and food provided.
Judging Criteria
Innovation & Creativity
Original approach to the problem. Surprise us.
Technical Execution
Does it work? How well is it built?
Business Viability
Could a healthcare organization or research team actually use this?
Presentation Quality
Clear story. Clear demo. Clear impact.
Rules & Eligibility
Teams of 2. Bring a partner or get matched on the night.
You must apply and be accepted. This is curated, not first-come-first-served.
All skill levels welcome. Developers, researchers, designers, clinicians, data scientists. Diverse teams win.
Bring your own laptop. Cursor licenses, API credits, and cloud compute provided.
$1,000 Prize Pool
Prizes awarded to top teams. Interested in sponsoring? Get in touch.
Hackathon #1 Recap
40 builders. 7 hours. Real AI solutions for the Victoria Royals hockey franchise. Here's what they built.
Comprehensive game-day analytics dashboard with deep operational KPIs, attendance trends, and revenue insights.
Mansahaj Singh Popli & Manty Biring
View use caseSpatial heat map visualization for crowd flow, concession hotspots, and real-time foot traffic analysis.
Luke Thomas & Aashna Sadeque
View use caseAI-powered rewards platform for driving repeat attendance, merchandise engagement, and personalized fan experiences.
Mark Axelus & Ali Ozmen
View use caseFAQ
BuildersVault is a monthly AI hackathon series in Victoria, BC. Every month we pick a new industry, source real challenges from real organizations, and bring together curated builders to solve them. The best prototypes get connected with the companies that need them, turning hackathon output into paid engagements.
Most hackathons end with abandoned repos. BuildersVault events use real data from real organizations, curate participants for quality, provide professional tools and API credits, and actively connect winning solutions with the businesses that need them. Our first event already led to a unified platform being developed for the Victoria Royals.
Developers, data scientists, designers, researchers, clinicians, and domain experts. You don't need to be a developer. We value diverse teams, and industry expertise is just as important as technical skill. If you build things and care about real-world impact, BuildersVault is for you.
Apply solo and we will match you with someone complementary during kickoff night. We pair people based on skill set and interests so every team has what it needs to ship.
The best projects get featured on our site, shared with our partner network, and connected with organizations looking to deploy real solutions. BuildersVault is not a weekend exercise. It is a launchpad for real work.
Yes. Food and drinks are provided throughout the event so you can focus on building.
Our Commitment
BuildersVault is committed to building hackathon environments where everyone can contribute. We actively recruit from women-in-tech organizations, Indigenous tech communities, and underrepresented groups across BC because the problems we tackle span healthcare, social services, and public infrastructure, and they affect everyone.
Our events pair technical builders with domain experts: social workers, clinicians, community organizers. Cross-disciplinary teams consistently produce the most impactful solutions.
Every venue is wheelchair accessible, dietary needs are accommodated at all catered events, and we provide flexible participation options for builders who need them. If you need an accommodation, reach out at team@buildersvault.ai.