YOU Build: Future Shapers
YOU Build: Future Shapers
Ages 18+ | YOU Summit 2026
Build Bold. Build Meaningful. Build the Future.
YOU Build: Future Shapers is an AI-powered innovation hackathon for college students, emerging professionals, entrepreneurs, creators, and builders who want to turn real-world problems into working solutions.
Participants will identify an important challenge, understand the people affected by it, and use AI-powered development tools to rapidly design and build a functional prototype.
The challenge goes beyond experimenting with AI.
Participants are encouraged to ask:
What should exist that doesn't exist today?
Over the course of the hackathon, builders will move through the journey from problem discovery → validation → solution design → AI-powered building → working prototype → pitch.
Theme
Build YOUR Future — Use AI to create solutions that help people thrive in an AI-powered world.
Challenge Tracks
Future of Learning & Skills
Reimagine how people learn, develop skills, discover opportunities, and prepare for an AI-driven future.
Future of Work & Opportunity
Build solutions addressing career navigation, productivity, entrepreneurship, workforce transitions, or new ways of working.
Human Wellbeing in an AI World
Create technology that helps people stay healthy, connected, resilient, and supported as technology transforms everyday life.
Access, Community & Impact
Use AI to expand access, strengthen communities, improve inclusion, or address meaningful societal challenges.
Build What's Missing — Wildcard
Identify an overlooked problem or unmet need and build the solution you believe should exist.
The Experience
Participants will:
Find a problem → Validate the need → Design the experience → Build with AI → Test the solution → Demonstrate the impact
Projects will be evaluated not simply on technical sophistication, but on the strength of the problem, usefulness of the solution, innovation, meaningful application of AI, quality of the working prototype, and potential real-world impact.
The strongest projects should leave judges asking:
“Why doesn't this already exist?”
October 3rd, 2026
During YOU Summit 2026
The HUB | University of Washington, Seattle
Innovate with purpose. Build for tomorrow.