Canva Student Hackathon | University of Birmingham
Bringing the Canva Student Hackathon back to Birmingham — bigger, faster, and for the first time, with our Gen C Student Canvassadors.
📅 Wednesday 10 June 2026
⏰ 10:00 – 16:00 sharp
👤 In-person event
📍 University of Birmingham
🎟️ 100% Free
⚡ This isn't a lecture. This is a hackathon.
This isn’t a coding competition or a room full of genius developers building apps overnight.
This is a fast-paced creative challenge where you’ll work in a team to solve a real brief using Canva, AI tools, strategy, storytelling, design, ideas, and quick thinking.
Some people come for the creativity. Some for the business side. Some just want to try something new and meet smart people outside their course.
🚀 New to hackathons? Perfect.
You do not need design experience.
You do not need coding experience.
You do not need to come with a team.
You just need to show up willing to collaborate, experiment, and build something in a few hours with people you’ve probably never met before.
That’s the fun part.
👥 Who it's for
All UoB students. Undergrad, postgrad, any year, any subject. No design experience required, but the keen ones warm up at Canva Design School first.
Spend 30 minutes on Canva Design School before the day. It’s free, fast, and it’ll put you a step ahead when the clock starts.
Run through the basics, the AI tools, and Brand Kit walkthroughs.
You’ll thank yourself at 10:01.
🏆 What's on the table
Up to £1,750 in gift cards.
🥇 1st place — £1,000 in gift cards (£200 each)
🥈 2nd place — £500 in gift cards (£100 each)
🥉 3rd place — £250 in gift cards (£50 each)
Show up. Win. Walk out loaded.
🔥 Why hack with us?
Portfolio gold. Real work. Real brief. CV-ready by the time you go home.
Canva team feedback. Live. Direct. Honest.
Meet your people. Designers, marketers, builders, founders-in-the-making from across UoB.
On Canva’s radar. Winning ideas get built for real.
🤝 We sort the teams
Come with a friend? Great — bring two. But you'll be split up on the day.
We mix every team ourselves, on purpose. You'll build with people you've never met.
Walk in with one mate. Walk out with four new ones.
⚠️ How registration works
First come, first served.
100 spots.
20 teams of 5.
It will fill fast.
🔴 Please don’t take a seat if you can’t commit to the full day.
Every no-show pushes a keen student off the list and breaks up a team of five.
If you can only do half the day, please leave the spot for someone who can do the lot.
Reminders go out 24 hours before and again on the morning of the event.
Waitlist runs until doors open.
💻 Bring your laptop. Every brief, every build sprint, every pitch lives in Canva. No laptop, no hack.
🥐 Snacks and drinks.
🎁 Canva swag worth showing up for. Branded tote, stickers, surprises. Bigger drops for the winners.
The countdown starts today. ⚡️
P.S. Check out this video on why Canva can be such a valuable tool throughout your academic journey:
https://bham.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=65997de3-081e-4489-b644-b41900992646