IBM Quantum: Qiskit Fall Fest Hackathon
IBM Quantum: Qiskit Fall Fest Hackathon
Join IBM Quantum’s Qiskit Fall Fest Hackathon, organized by Miami Dade College, DeepStation, and Entangled Solutions Group. Build your first quantum project in our fully virtual event, November 4–11, 2026.
Bring an idea and use AI tools to help you build a small quantum project with Qiskit. Test it, explain your results, and show what you learned. No quantum experience is needed.
The DeepStation hackathon page is the primary source for current event details, registration, and teams. The MDC repository provides supporting learning material.
Build with your team, share what you learned, and compete for the opportunity to become a Florida statewide winner.
What to Expect
🔹 Vibe code with AI tools as you explore quantum computing and Qiskit.
🔹 Collaborate in teams of up to four, wherever you are.
🔹 Use the participant guides and linked IBM learning resources to get started.
🔹 Build a project, test an idea, and show what happened.
🔹 Present your work for online judging and recognition.
What Could You Build?
Choose a small project that you can explain and support with evidence.
🔹 A problem model: show how a real problem could be represented as a quantum problem.
🔹 A comparison: test a small problem with classical and quantum methods, then explain the results.
🔹 A tool: create a circuit visualizer, teaching aid, or another tool for quantum work.
🔹 An analysis: investigate where quantum computing could help a field, including its current limits.
You can contribute code, industry knowledge, research, or presentation skills. Use AI to help you build, but understand what you created and what your results support. Simulator-based projects are welcome; quantum hardware is not required.
Getting Started
Create an IBM Quantum account. Try Quantum Composer in your browser, or follow the Qiskit Hello World guide. Pick one question to explore and keep your first experiment small.
Prepare for Your Demo
Bring a short project overview, code or a notebook where applicable, results or other evidence, and a brief presentation or demo. Explain the problem, your quantum approach, what you compared against, and the limitations. Be ready to describe each teammate's contribution.
Resources to Get You Started
🔹 Miami Dade College repository: the Miami Dade College supporting materials.
🔹 Participant handbook: project ideas, account setup, and learning guidance.
🔹 Notebook catalog: examples grouped by how much coding they involve.
🔹 Judging criteria: the seven assessment areas.
Some supporting documents still contain older campus references. Use the DeepStation hackathon page for the current event details and registration.
Judging and Statewide Recognition
The MDC repository lists seven judging areas, each scored out of ten: problem definition and relevance; quantum reasoning and limitations; Qiskit implementation; results and validation; creativity; presentation; and questions, teamwork, and learning.
Show what you tried, what worked, and what did not. Explain your evidence without claiming quantum computing is automatically better than classical methods.
Our November 4–11 hackathon and final judging take place online. The statewide competition is a separate next stage afterward. Advancement follows the statewide organizers' eligibility and selection process.
Who Can Join?
Everyone is welcome, wherever you are. No prior quantum computing experience is needed, AI tools are welcome, and teams can have up to four members.
Bring your curiosity, a computer, and your willingness to try something new.
Event Details
📅 November 4–11, 2026
⏰ Kickoff: Wednesday, November 4, 6–7 PM Eastern Time
📍 Fully virtual, including final judging and the awards ceremony.
The closing hour will be confirmed. The calendar closing time remains provisional.
Registration
Please complete your hackathon registration on DeepStation. Every teammate should register individually.
🔹 Open the Miami Dade College hackathon registration page on DeepStation.
🔹 If you are signed out, select Sign in to join and sign in to your DeepStation account.
🔹 Select Join Hackathon and check that you see Registered.
🔹 Open Teams to Create Team or Join Team. Create a team of one if you are participating solo; teams can have up to four members.
To join a private team, select Join with Code and enter the invite code shared by your teammate.
Thank You
Organized by Miami Dade College, DeepStation, and Entangled Solutions Group.
What is DeepStation?
We're on a mission to create the world's most connected AI learning community. As an official OpenAI Academy Launch Partner with 6,000+ global members, we're building more than AI skills through expert-led workshops and regional summits: we're creating economic development ecosystems where innovators are made.