ZINNOVATIO 4.0 (Zinnovation) — National Level Gen Z Innovations Hackathon Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University's premier national hackathon series. Over 3 seasons and 5,700+ student builders, Zinnovatio turns bold concepts into working software. Now launching Zinnovatio 4.0 for the next generation of engineers.

Edition 4.0 Finale

30-31

Oct 2026

Hackathon starts in

00days

00hours

00mins

00secs

Registered teams

600+

on Unstop

Registration closes

19 Sep

12:00 AM IST

THE ZINNOVATIO MOVEMENT5,700+ BUILDERS REGISTERED3 HISTORIC EDITIONSZINNOVATIO 4.0 LIVE NOWCHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY30-31 OCT 2026 FINALE36-HOUR HYBRID SPRINT

Where ideas become
working software.

Hosted by Chandigarh University and organized by the Department of CSE, Nalanda, Zinnovatio is a high-stakes, real-world crucible. Moving far beyond slide-deck hackathons, teams build live code, deploy working hardware-software systems, and defend their creations before senior industry leaders.

Read Full 4.0 Brief Explore Past Editions

30—31 Oct 2026

Overnight non-stop prototyping sprint on campus

Mohali, Punjab

Central campus auditorium & dedicated hacking lab

3 to 5 Builders

Cross-disciplinary teams forming across India

2-Day Sprint

36h physical final round with live code & hardware demos

₹1,00,000+ Pool

Prize pool awards across 6 national focus areas

Working Code Only

Live repo & functional demo, no slide decks

Edition 4.0 Focus Areas

Choose one area
to solve for.

Track

Smart & Sustainable Cities

Build tools for better city services, traffic, waste, air quality, public safety, or disaster response.

IoTMapsAICivic apps

Latest Updates.

View all live announcements

September 20, 2026

Zinnovatio 4.0 – National Level Hackathon (Round 1 Submission)

Round 1 submissions for teams registered via Unstop. Only the Team Leader should submit this form on behalf of the team.

Submit Round 1 Form

The Visual Journey

The Story of Zinnovatio.

A chronological journey of how an ambitious campus initiative evolved into a national hackathon phenomenon across landmark seasons.

Zinnovatio 1.0September – October 2024

Bridging Classrooms to Working Prototypes

In autumn 2024, the Department of CSE, Nalanda at host university Chandigarh University launched the first-ever Zinnovatio. With 832 young developers forming cross-disciplinary teams of 3 to 5, the inaugural edition set out to build practical software for healthcare, women's safety, and civic accessibility. Teams presented live working demos before university leadership and industry mentors, awarding ₹50,000 in prizes.

Builders:832 Registered

Prize Pool:₹50,000 Awarded

Format:2-Round Hybrid

Explore Zinnovatio 1

Zinnovatio 2.0January – February 2025

Tackling Lunar Vision, Deepfakes & Cloud Defense

Season 2 dramatically raised the technical bar. Builders tackled advanced challenges including ISRO Chandrayaan-2 lunar crater enhancement, AI-based face-swap deepfake detection, and cloud DDoS mitigation architectures. Participation surged by +90% to 1,581 developers. Winning teams were honored on stage with giant ₹30,000, ₹20,000, and ₹10,000 cheques against the official Zinnovatio 2.0 backdrop banner.

Builders:1,581 (+90% Surge)

Prize Pool:₹60,000+ Awarded

Problem Sets:25+ Deep Tech Statements

Explore Zinnovatio 2

Zinnovatio 3.0October – November 2025

3,303 Builders, Overnight Coding & UN SDGs

Zinnovatio 3.0 marked the transition into a premier national hackathon. Scaling past 3,300 registrations from institutions across India, the event became a grueling 36-hour overnight hackathon on campus. Teams hacked non-stop through the night solving for 8 UN Sustainable Development Goals, evaluated in-person by domain experts. A grand prize pool of over ₹1,00,000+ was distributed on the finale stage.

Builders:3,303 (+109% Surge)

Prize Pool:₹1,00,000+ Awarded

Format:36-Hour Overnight Sprint

Explore Zinnovatio 3

✦

Zinnovatio 4.030—31 October 2026 LIVE EDITION

Empowering Builders Across 6 Domains

Zinnovatio 4.0 takes the movement to unprecedented heights. Open to engineering squads nationwide, this edition features 6 critical problem domains—spanning Agentic AI, Autonomous Systems, FinTech, GreenTech, Cyber Defense, and Open Innovation. Following online abstract screening, selected finalist teams convene at Chandigarh University for an intensive 36-hour physical hackathon sprint judged by top industry pioneers.

Live Hackathon SpecsPhase 1 Active

Finale Dates30—31 Oct 2026

FormatOnline Round + 36h Finale

VenueChandigarh University

Registration FeeFree (500Rs/team if shortlisted)

Team Squad3 to 5 Members

What you will do

Build, test,
and present your idea.

Work with your team, get mentor feedback, improve your prototype, and show it to the jury during the offline final.

View schedule

Organizers &
Partners.

Partner details

Host University

Chandigarh University

Department of CSE, Nalanda (Host)

Chandigarh University is the host university and the Department of CSE, Nalanda is the host for Zinnovatio 4.0. Uniting world-class campus infrastructure, advanced computing facilities, and industry engineering mentorship for a 36-hour national hackathon sprint.

Visit University Portal