Welcome to Edinburgh BioHackathon 2026! 🎉

BioHackathon Edinburgh 2026 is a 3-day interdisciplinary hackathon bringing together biologists, programmers, data scientists, and entrepreneurs to collaborate on real-world biological and computational challenges.

We're part of the Bio-Innovation Series — a broader initiative of pre-hackathon workshops, the flagship event, and post-hackathon continuation support — designed to cultivate a long-lasting ecosystem that bridges academic research with real-world innovation.

📅 Dates

20–22 March 2026

📍 Venue

• Day 1 (Fri 20 Mar): Edinburgh Futures Institute, Room 2.35

• Days 2–3 (Sat–Sun 21–22 Mar): The Nucleus Building, King's Buildings Campus, University of Edinburgh

🧬 Who is this for?

Undergraduate students, postgraduate taught/research students, postdocs, academic staff, and recent graduates (within the past year) from UK universities interested in biological and computational innovation. No coding experience required.

Challenge Tracks

🔬 Academic Research Track

Collaborate on open-ended research challenges proposed by academic groups — including computer vision for biological image segmentation and classification, protein characterisation, and machine learning approaches for biological datasets. Teams get access to sample datasets, academic mentors, and opportunities for follow-up collaborations.

🏭 Industrial Innovation Track

Work on problem statements proposed by industry partners from biotech, health, and data-driven companies. These challenges are practical and outcome-focused, aiming to translate ideas into prototypes, pipelines, or analytical insights.

🧩 Non-Coder Problem-Solving Track

For participants without a coding background: design experimental frameworks, conceptual solutions, and project management strategies. Activities include problem-based team exercises, scientific storytelling, and collaborative design thinking.

Weekend Schedule

Day 1 — Friday 20 March

• 13:00 — Registration & welcome

• 14:00 — Opening ceremony + challenge introductions

• 15:30 — Networking / final team formation

• 16:00–17:00 — Q&A with challenge providers and sponsors

• 17:00 — Team formation deadline & hacking begins

• 18:30 — Dinner

• 21:00 — Building closes

Day 2 — Saturday 21 March

• 08:00 — Breakfast

• 10:00 — Optional workshop / mental health break

• 12:00 — Lunch

• 15:00 — Mental health break (guided walk)

• 18:00 — Dinner

• 20:30 — Evening break

• 23:00 — End of day

Day 3 — Sunday 22 March

• 08:00 — Breakfast

• 10:30 — Mental health break

• 12:00 — Submission deadline (DevPost)

• 12:00 — Lunch

• 13:00–15:00 — Pitching & judging sessions

• 15:00–15:30 — Judges deliberate

• 15:30 — Closing ceremony & awards

• 17:00 — End of event

Pre-Hackathon Workshops

All workshops are free to participants. Pre-event workshops are optional and can be selected based on skill level.

Computing Resources

Participants will have access to:

• Edinburgh University's Eddie HPC cluster, including GPU resources

• OpenAI API access for teams working on LLM-enabled challenges

• Pre-hackathon onboarding and guidance for computing resource setup

Sponsors & Partners

• School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh

• Digital Research Services, University of Edinburgh

• OpenBioSim

• Quas Drinks

• Amytis

• Converge Challenge

• Centre for Engineering Biology

Organised By

Ian Yang (Swain Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh) in collaboration with PRIMED Edinburgh and the Centre for Engineering Biology.

📧 Contact: ian.yang@ed.ac.uk

🌐 Website: https://biohackathon2026.cjxol.com/

💬 Discord: https://discord.gg/XvdWCmKF

📸 Instagram: @primed_edinburgh

🔗 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ukprimed

Hashtags: #EdinBiohack2026 #PRIMEDEdinburgh

• Technical Quality
  Soundness of code / methodology; is it functional and robust?
• Relevance to Challenge
  Does the project directly address the brief and stay on scope?
• Innovation & Creativity
  Novel approach, idea, or perspective applied to the problem.
• Scientific Rigour
  Biology / data analysis / domain knowledge applied correctly.
• Feasibility & Execution
  Amount actually delivered within the 48-hour timeframe.
• Communication & Pitch
  Clarity, structure, and persuasiveness; accessible to a non-expert.
• Impact & Value Proposition
  Real-world significance; clear problem being solved.
• Team & Collaboration
  Cross-disciplinary teamwork; evidence all members contributed.
• Bonus
  Extra mile: working demo, market research, website, follow-on plan…