Startup Shuffle Startups Recruitment [Hackathon + Carnival]

​Startup Shuffle 2026 — Skill-Based Student Hiring

​BLOCK71 and Projet are reimagining Startup Shuffle, happening on 7 October (Wed), 6–10pm at i3 Building, NUS Enterprise.

​Startup Shuffle connects startups with students looking for hands-on opportunities in the startup ecosystem. This year, startups can meet and evaluate potential interns, project-based contributors and early team members through two formats running concurrently:

​🎪 Startup Carnival

​A casual, conversation-based hiring format where startups can meet students through 1-to-1 conversations, short interviews and networking.

​💡 Hackathon Challenge

​A skill-based hiring format where students work on a short, role-specific challenge provided by your startup before presenting their solution for judging. This allows you to evaluate candidates based on how they think, create and execute, beyond their résumé.

​How the Hackathon Works

​Participating startups will:

• ​Introduce their company and available roles for students

• ​Provide a practical challenge relevant to each role - that can be completed in an hour

• ​Specify the expected deliverable — e.g. a prototype, slide deck, code submission, written proposal or demo

• ​Support students with relevant context or resources during the challenge, if necessary

• ​Review and judge final submissions 1-1 to identify promising candidates for further conversations or hiring

​Challenges should reflect a genuine problem relevant to the role while remaining achievable within the event timeframe.

​Event Flow

​6–6:30pm — Startup Introductions
6:30–8:30pm — 🎪 Carnival + 💡 Hackathon run concurrently
*Dinner served during the evening
8:30–9:30pm — Hackathon Presentations & Judging
9:30–10pm — Networking & Wrap-up

​**Things to Note When Registering for Hackathon

​All startups participating in the Hackathon will automatically be included in the Startup Carnival, giving you the opportunity to meet students outside of those completing your challenge. You do not need to register for both formats separately.

​If you would prefer to participate in the Startup Carnival only, please register through the Carnival Form instead: https://luma.com/3bdvob7r.

​‼️ Registration closes 28th September for Hackathon Sign Ups.

​Stay in touch with us on Telegram for more upcoming events at @nussec!

​For any questions, contact Samaira at @samaiirakapur or Simran at @simraiin via Telegram.