GavThon 1.0 | 1st IIIJS Legal Hackathon, 2026 by University of Engineering & Management: Register by Nov 15

About University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Kolkata

The University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Kolkata is a private university in New Town, Kolkata, established under Act No. 25 of 2014 by the Government of West Bengal. It is part of the IEM-UEM Group and approved by AICTE, UGC and the Bar Council of India. UEM offers UG, PG and doctoral programmes in Engineering, Management, Law and allied disciplines, and is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (London) and the Association of Indian Universities.

The Department of Law (IIIJS) offers the five-year integrated BBA LLB (Hons.) programme, approved by the Bar Council of India, and is headed by Prof. (Dr.) Shambhu Prasad Chakrabarty, Dean. The department runs national conferences, international collaborations, webinars and moot courts, and trains legal professionals who bridge jurisprudence, technology and public policy.

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About the Opportunity

GavThon 1.0, the 1st IIIJS Legal Hackathon 2026, is a national-level, inter-university event held fully online. More than 50 million cases are pending in Indian courts and AI is reshaping legal practice, so the hackathon invites students of Law, Engineering, Management, Computer Science and allied fields to build solutions to real legal challenges.

Choose one of four tracks

• A. Access to Justice & Legal Aid: technology-driven legal aid, community legal literacy and access for marginalised, rural and peri-urban communities.
• B. AI & Court Technology: AI tools for the judiciary, such as case management, summarisation, multilingual chatbots, filing-defect removal and predictive analytics.
• C. LegalTech Startup & Business Innovation: a legal startup or business plan for legal services, compliance, contract automation or ADR.
• D. Law, Policy & Governance: evidence-based policy proposals on data privacy, environmental law, labour rights, cyber law or criminal justice reform.

Three rounds

1. Round 1: abstract of up to 1,000 words, blind review. Up to 20 teams are shortlisted.
2. Round 2: concept document of up to 8 pages (PDF). The top 8 teams become Grand Finalists.
3. Round 3: Grand Finale on 17–18 December. Each team gives a 15-minute pitch and 8-minute Q&A to the Grand Jury, with a final report, deck and 1-minute summary video. Finalists get mentoring from faculty and legal practitioners beforehand.

Final evaluation

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Theme

“Justice in the Age of Technology: Innovate, Advocate, Transform”

Eligibility

Open to currently enrolled undergraduate students of any university or institution in India, from any discipline.

• Disciplines: Law, Engineering, Management, Computer Applications, Sciences and allied programme.
• Team size: 2 to 4 members, all from the same institution. Individual entries are not allowed.
• Members may come from different departments, programme or years. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged, and at least one member with a law or legal-studies background is encouraged.
• Each team nominates a Team Leader as the sole point of contact.
• A student can join only one team. Membership of more than one team disqualifies every team concerned.
• Every participant needs a valid student ID card or bonafide certificate.
• Alumni, faculty, staff and working professionals who are not enrolled students cannot compete.
• All institutions of the IEM-UEM Group count as one institution.

Registration Fee

• Rs. 1,199 per team, including GST, paid once at registration and covering all rounds.
• IEM-UEM Group students pay no fee.
• The fee is non-refundable, even if a team is not shortlisted, withdraws or is disqualified. It is refunded in full only if the organisers cancel the event.

Prizes

Six awards: three principal awards with cash prizes and three special recognition awards.

• Every registered team gets an e-Certificate of Participation, and all 8 Grand Finalists get a Certificate of Merit.
• A team can win one principal award and one special award.
• Cash prizes are paid by bank transfer to the Team Leader, subject to applicable taxes and KYC.

Important Dates

Registration and the Round 1 abstract close on 15 November 2026, 23:59 IST; the Grand Finale runs 17–18 December 2026. Dates follow the Rules’ Event Timeline.

Registration Process

Click Here To Register.

Registration is complete only when the form, the abstract and the payment proof (where applicable) have all been received.

1. Open the Google Form and enter the names, institution, programme and contact details of all members. Name the Team Leader.
2. Choose one track: A, B, C or D.
3. Upload each member’s student ID proof and a bonafide letter from the institution, signed by the HoD, Dean or Principal.
4. Upload the Round 1 abstract as one PDF: English, up to 1,000 words, Times New Roman 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing, 1-inch margins. It must not name the team or institution, because review is blind. File name: GavThon_R1_<TeamName>_<Track>.pdf.
5. Pay Rs. 1,199 using the payment QR code in the form and upload the proof of payment. IEM-UEM Group teams skip this step.
6. Submit the form by 15 November 2026, 23:59 IST.
7. Check the Team Leader’s email: results and the Round 2 and Round 3 submission links are sent there.

Each team needs its own device, stable internet, webcam and microphone. No travel is required at any stage.

Contact

For all queries, write to [email protected].

• Address: Department of Law (IIIJS), UEM Kolkata, New Town, Action Area III, Kolkata 700160
• Website: uem.edu.in/uem-kolkata/department-of-law/event
• Convenor: Prof. (Dr.) Shambhu Prasad Chakrabarty, Dean, Department of Law (IIIJS)