Hackathon PPT guide
How to make a hackathon PPT that gets shortlisted.
Idea rounds are judged on a PDF, often by a few people reading many decks in one sitting. A reviewer opens yours, reads the problem and the approach, and decides whether to keep going. Below is what they check on each slide and the mistakes that get a deck skipped.
Use the organiser’s template if there is one
If the hackathon gives you a template, keep its slides, its order and its slide limit. Some rounds reject a deck that changes the template. Rebuilt templates for several Indian hackathons are on the templates page. With no template, this order works:
| Slide | What to put on it | What the reviewer checks |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Title | Team name, the idea in one line, the problem statement ID or track, members and college | That the IDs are right and the one-liner says what you are building |
| 2. The problem | Who has the problem, where, and what it costs them today. One fact with a source, if you have one | That you understood the problem statement and can say it in your own words |
| 3. Your solution | One sentence on what it does, then how a user gets from opening it to the result | Whether they could explain your idea to someone else after this slide |
| 4. How it works | A diagram from input to output, with the real tools named: the framework, the database, the model | That it can be built, and that “AI” means a specific model or method |
| 5. What is new | What already exists for this problem and what yours does differently | Whether this is a known app under a new name |
| 6. Feasibility and risks | What you will finish in the hackathon, what is hard, and what you would do if it fails | Honesty. A plan where nothing can go wrong reads as one nobody has thought through |
| 7. Impact | Who benefits, how much, and how you would measure it | Something concrete they can picture |
| 8. Prototype | Screenshots, a demo link or a mockup | Proof that part of it exists. Optional in an idea round |
| 9. Team and references | Who builds what, and the source for every number in the deck | That the roles cover the build |
How to write each slide
- Make the slide title the point of the slide. “Farmers wait a full day to sell at the mandi” tells the reviewer more than “Problem”.
- Keep to one idea per slide. A slide that needs a paragraph is two slides, or a diagram.
- Draw the architecture as boxes and arrows. Reviewers look at the picture before they read the text around it.
- Name your stack. “Flutter app, FastAPI backend, PostgreSQL, a YOLO model fine-tuned on our images” can be judged; “a mobile app powered by AI” can’t.
- Use only numbers you can point to a source for, and put that source on the last slide.
- Add a screenshot, even of a rough first screen. It shows you have started.
- Read the PDF on your phone before you upload it. If the text is too small there, it is too small on a reviewer’s laptop.
Mistakes that get a deck skipped
- The problem slide copies the problem statement word for word.
- The solution slide lists six features and never says which one matters.
- Blockchain, IoT or AI appear with no word on what each part does.
- The deck changes the official template or runs past the slide limit.
- The problem statement ID or team ID doesn’t match the portal.
- The submission goes in on the last evening and the upload fails.
For Smart India Hackathon, see how to get through the SIH internal round and the SIH 2026 template.
Draft it from your repo or notes
Paste your repo and add the problem statement and your idea notes on the next page. devreport writes the slides above from them, with your flow diagram and charts from your own data. You get a PDF, and a PowerPoint file if you want one (2 more credits). 15 free credits on sign‑up (enough for your first deck). No card.
Questions
How many slides should a hackathon idea PPT have?
As many as the organiser allows and usually fewer. Many idea rounds cap the deck at five to ten slides, and some reject a deck that goes over. With no limit given, eight or nine slides is enough for the order on this page.
Should I submit a PPT or a PDF?
Whatever the round asks for. Most idea rounds take a PDF upload, because it looks the same on every reviewer’s screen. devreport makes the PDF, and a PowerPoint file if you need one.
We have no prototype yet. Is that a problem?
Not in an idea round, which judges the idea and the plan. Show what you can instead: a mockup, a screenshot of a first screen, or the flow diagram. Say plainly what exists and what you will build.
Can devreport write the deck for us?
It writes a draft from what you give it: your repo, the problem statement and your notes on the idea. It follows the slide order you list in the notes, draws the flow diagram and plots charts only from data you supply. It does not invent users, research or results.
How long does it take?
Usually three to five minutes, a little longer for a big repo, plus the time you take to answer its questions.
What does it cost?
New accounts get 15 free credits. A deck costs 10 credits and each change you ask for afterwards costs 1; editing text on the page yourself and switching themes are free. A build that fails gives its credits back.
Related
Know the slides? Draft them now.
Your repo and idea notes in; a hackathon deck in the order above out.
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