KU HACKFEST 2025 Experience
Published: (February 1, 2026 at 02:09 AM EST)
5 min read
Source: Dev.to
Source: Dev.to
KU HackFest 2025 – My Experience
Overview
A few months back I participated in KU HackFest 2025, one of the biggest events under IT Meet. It’s an international‑level, 48‑hour hackathon held annually at Kathmandu University in Dhulikhel.
- Dates: December 24 – 26, 2025
- Prize pool: NPR 1,70,000
Full Details of KU HackFest 2025
(Link to official page – if you have one, insert here)
Getting Started
Convincing my friends to join wasn’t easy – we had to skip classes. After some persuasion, we filled out the registration form on the event website.
- Login: GitHub (made me nervous; worried teams might be judged by profiles)
- Team profiles: Two of us had decent GitHub histories, the other two did not.
- Project idea & execution plan: Requested upfront, which felt counter‑intuitive. I always thought hackathons started with a theme reveal and everyone coded from scratch. It seemed they were encouraging pre‑prepared projects (which would be a disqualification, but you never know).
Good news: we were shortlisted!
- Selected teams: 40 (≈ 160 participants)
- Notable team names:
hog2.6,Mini_Pekka(clearly some Clash Royale fans 😂)
Huge respect and special thanks to Utkrist Neupane, Lead Organizer, for handling accommodation, internet, food, mentors, and volunteers for such a massive crowd.
Day 1 – Arrival & Kick‑off
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 09:00 AM | Event officially starts |
| 09:15 AM | Received ID cards & table with team name |
| 09:30 AM | Set up laptops, Wi‑Fi, and a cup of milk tea |
Logistics
- Two buses from Kalanki and Balaju dropped us at KU – a lifesaver; otherwise we’d have been juggling multiple early‑morning rides.
First Hours
We were completely confused because we hadn’t prepared anything. Our rescue was ChatGPT – it gave us an implementation roadmap and split tasks among the four of us.
- Project focus: Vision AI (a field we had limited experience in)
- Design: Used Lovable and other AI tools to generate a bare‑bones UI, letting us concentrate on the logic while AI handled the visuals.
Meals & Snacks
| Meal | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | ~1 PM (coupons handed out) | Late but the cafeteria food was surprisingly home‑cooked‑like. Each day included at least one non‑veg meal. |
| Snacks | Afternoon | Samosa, pakoda, “jerry” (soft drink), etc. Felt a bit wasteful after lunch. |
| Dinner | Evening | Good, but long lines (≈ 60 people). |
| Midnight snack | ~12 AM | Sandwiches – most participants were already full, so many went uneaten. |
Development Highlights
- “Vibe coding” – used agentic AI tools for rapid development (instead of the usual manual coding + occasional GPT help).
- Discovered a new editor Antigravity – powerful and fun.
- Internet: Wi‑Fi was flaky despite 5–6 routers. Ethernet worked well, but we only had one cable per team, forcing us to pair‑program on two laptops.
- Environment: Chill atmosphere, brutal cold at night. Warm water dispensers and black coffee were available. I brought a thin blanket that helped keep my legs warm.
Accommodation
- Provided sleeping bags; we could sleep on the stage or at the back of the hall.
- Chose the stage – surprisingly warmer.
- Night 2 issue: The chain on my sleeping bag slipped, leaving me shivering. I woke up with a sore throat and a light cold. The next night we ended up sleeping under our tables after coding until 2–3 AM.
Minor Hiccups
- Toilets: Ran out of water late at night; no flushing or hand‑washing. Participants moved to lower‑floor toilets, which also dried up. Eventually we used facilities near the cafeteria.
- Cafeteria confusion: Missed the location change because we didn’t check the Discord announcement.
- Organizers & mentors: Regular check‑ins; notable mentor Kritam Bhattarai (ICT Award 2025 winner).
Day 2 – Continued Coding
- Breakfast: Chickpeas (chana)
- Lunch / Dinner: Standard meals, plus momo as a snack.
- Activities: Fun games (word‑guessing, bingo). We skipped bingo to focus on the project.
We prepared our presentation slides, expecting a stage presentation.
- Final commits: Made by 9 AM on evaluation day.
Evaluation Day (Day 3)
- Initially thought judges would evaluate teams individually, but they arrived late, so the schedule shifted. (The rest of the evaluation details were cut off in the original text.)
Reflections
- Teamwork: Limited internet forced us into effective peer‑programming.
- AI assistance: “Vibe coding” and AI‑generated UI saved precious time.
- Logistics: Managing 160 participants is a massive undertaking – kudos to the organizing team.
- Personal health: Sleep‑bag mishap reminded me to double‑check gear for comfort.
Overall, despite the hiccups, KU HackFest 2025 was an intense, rewarding experience that pushed us to learn new tools, collaborate under pressure, and enjoy the vibrant hackathon community.
My KU HackFest 2025 Experience
Category: Open Category
The Day of the Evaluation
- The schedule was changed to simultaneous evaluations at different tables.
- We didn’t realize that no snacks or meals would be provided that day, so we waited while everyone else went out to eat.
- Suddenly, we received a call that our turn was coming up much earlier than scheduled, and we rushed to the evaluation hall.
Presentation
- We had rehearsed a short act for a stage presentation, but since it was a desk evaluation, that effort went unused.
- I’m not a great speaker, but I tried my best.
- Our project was solid, but I think I messed up the Q&A round and didn’t give the best answers, leaving my teammates a bit disappointed.
After the Evaluation
- We had some tea and waited for the results.
- Unfortunately, we didn’t win any awards, but it was an amazing learning experience.
Closing
- Once the winners were announced, we had our final meal at a nearby hotel and headed back home, tired, cold, but happy.
- Overall, KU HackFest 2025 was an unforgettable experience, and I’d definitely recommend participating in any such hackathons if you ever get the chance.
Nepvents: May 2026 be the year you join and win a hackathon. Good luck! 👍