Cursor Hackathon Bucharest
About
Join us for the first official Cursor Hackathon in Romania!
Take part solo or form a team, then demo what you built. All skill levels welcome.
The event is free to join — just bring your laptop and ideas.
Cursor will provide credits for participants so everyone can hack away without worrying about costs.
Prize pool: $1000 in Cursor credits + $1500 in cash prizes provided by Convex (terms apply, please check FAQ).
Schedule
14:00 – 15:00 – Check-in, Intro & Getting setup
15:00 – 18:00 – Hackathon build time
18:00 – 18:30 – Dinner
18:30 – 20:00 – Demos, winner announcement, wrap up
Topics
To keep things fair, the first line of code must be written at the event. BUT: you can create the system architecture, app design, as well as AI prompts BEFORE the event itself.
Any projects started before won’t be considered for prizes.
This hackathon focuses on:
Health
Wealth
Knowledge
NGO Wildcard (help non-profits)
Participants perks
$20 credits coupon from Cursor
3 months free for the Creator tier from Elevenlabs
Prizes
Cursor: Open to all
First:
600 USD Cursor credits
Second:
300 USD Cursor credits
Third
100 USD Cursor credits
Convex.dev: projects built using Convex
First:
1,000 USD cash
6 months Convex Pro via Convex for Startups program
Second:
500 USD cash
6 months of Scale tier (11+ million characters) for the "Best project built with ElevenLabs
For the winning team (doesn't have to use Elevenlabs): 3 months of the Pro tier
Q&A
Isn't 3 hours a bit too fast to build something?
We think the with all the features that Cursor has NO. These three hours will be for pure coding but you can come up with well crafted plan (prompts) to the event already. There have been at least 5 Cursor events where this was the designated time and people build really cool stuff so there's no reason why Romanians would not be able to do it.
Where is it?
We're hosting it at the beautiful How to Web HQ, the leading technology and startup conference in Eastern Europe, conveniently located by the biggest mall in Bucharest, AFI Cotroceni (parking available at the mall).
What should I bring?
Your own laptop and charger. Wi-Fi and power outlets will be provided.
Can I join solo?
Yes! You can come solo, or we’ll help you find a team during check-in.
How big can teams be?
1–4 people.
Do I need to use a specific tech stack to qualify for prizes?
For the $1500 cash prizes from Convex, your project must use Convex as your backend.
For the $1000+ in Cursor credits, you can build with whatever stack you like — just make sure you’re hacking in Cursor IDE.
How can I learn more about Convex?
Victor (the organizer) will give a brief intro session during the hackathon kickoff. If you want a head start, especially if you’re aiming for the cash prize, check out their YouTube video: “What Is Convex & Why Should Developers Care?”
How will I get the Cursor credits to hack away during the interview?
Credits will be distributed during the “Getting setup” part of the schedule.
How will the team formation happen?
We will use the data in the signup form during the intro part of the event to form balanced teams.
Who can join?
Open to anyone — students, professionals, or hobbyists.
What is the registration cap?
The space at our host is limited to 50-60 people and we will be capping RSVPs at 80 people
How will projects be judged?
Judging will be based on creativity, usefulness, technical difficulty, and presentation.
What’s included?
Dinner is provided. Coffee and snacks will also be available during the day.
How do demos work?
Each team will get 3–5 minutes to present what they built.
Will there be support if I get stuck?
Yes! Organizers and mentors will be around to help with Cursor setup and general questions.
What is the judging criteria?
Notes on redeeming the Cursor credits:
You don’t have to be on a paid plan to redeem the credits
If you’re on a free plan and you redeem the credits, you should see it in the dashboard in the Overview section -> Credits
These will be automatically applied to your next invoice
If you don’t see credits in dashboard after redeeming them, try to hard refresh or logout and login to the dashboard
If you’re on a free plan and run into usage limits, you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro plan using the credits
This will not work if you’re on a Team plan, only for solo users
Note: Certain features like Background Agents / Web do not work without a paid plan
If you’re still having issues, you can upgrade to a paid plan and you should see the discount applied in the checkout.
Notes on redeeming Elevenlabs plan:
Sign up for an ElevenLabs account (if they don’t already have one).
Click the coupon link to redeem the code.
After the code has been added to their account, go to My Workspace → Subscription and select the Creator tier.
The coupon will be automatically applied at checkout.