U.N. Reboot the Earth Hackathon
Challenge Overview
🌍 Calling all students! The United Nation’s Reboot the Earth hackathon is coming to UC Davis on Friday-Saturday October 23–24, 2026!
Students will spend two days on the UC Davis campus building open source tools to tackle real climate and environmental challenges. Students at all levels and any university are eligible to participate. The winning team will receive a funded trip to present at the next U.N.’s Open Source Week in New York. Mentors from government agencies (including CAL FIRE), UC Davis, and industry will help guide teams as the build for a better tomorrow.
This event is sponsored by the United Nations Office of Information and Communication Technology, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in collaboration with UC Davis Open Source Program Office (OSPO) and DataLab. Support for the UC Davis OSPO and the UC OSPO Network is provided in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Prizes for the UC Davis hackathon are sponsored by U.S. Bank. This event is held during Open Access Week and underlines the UC Davis Library’s commitment to open science.
Register now!
https://events.library.ucdavis.edu/event/reboot-the-earth-hackathon-ucdavis
Schedule:
 Advance registration required. Please plan to participate for both days.
FAQ
Who can participate?
This hackathon open to students of all backgrounds and experience levels – from undergraduate to graduate and doctoral students, from any university or college. Each team must include at least one UC Davis student.
Do I have to know how to code?
Nope! No prior coding or hackathon experience is required — just bring your curiosity and an eagerness to build something that matters! Participants are strongly encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams and include peers from a variety of majors.
Why should I participate?
- Contribute to solving pressing problems in our community
- Get experience working on a cross-functional team
- Develop and release an open-source product
- Network with mentors from government agencies, industry, and academia
- Winners receive a travel stipend and invitation to the U.N. Open Source Week at the United Nations Headquarters in New York!
Do I have to have a team?
Yes, students should work in teams with a minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 students. Each team must include at least one UC Davis student. You can form a team when you register, connect with prospective teammates on the hackathon’s Slack workspace, and/or form a team live at the event.
What is Reboot the Earth?
Organized by OICT, Reboot the Earth is a social coding event that brings a diverse group together to improve or build technology solutions addressing the current climate crisis to save the planet through innovation. As inheritors of our planet, it is essential for youth to contribute to this important cause. Computer programmers, developers, and especially those with an interest in building technology that advances the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are encouraged to participate.
The 2026 events take place around the globe with a focus on agriculture, wildfire and AI, including at the following locations in 2026:
- Washington D.C., USA (April 18)
- San Diego, California USA (May 8)
- Kigali, Rwanda (20 July)
- Doha, Qatar (September 23)
- Davis, California USA (October 23-24)
- San Paulo, Brazil (November 6)
What are the UC Davis hackathon challenges?
We have several challenge tracks focusing on different climate and environmental challenges including wildfires, agriculture, and infrastructure preparedness. You can learn more on the hackathon’s Slack workspace (registration required).
Where is the hackathon at UC Davis? Do I have to stay overnight?
The hackathon will be in Shields Library room 167. You are welcome to hack for as long as you’d like, but it is NOT an overnight event! We want you to eat and sleep as well code! See the schedules for day 1 and day 2 for details.
What have other UC students built at Reboot the Earth?
At UC Santa Cruz (November 2025), the winning team built an AI-powered voice-to-text tool called FireForm that lets firefighters complete required documentation by speaking naturally instead of typing. This enables comprehensive and timely completion of important documentation, and saves firefighters time so they can get back to their job of managing wildfires. The team continued developing FireForm after the hackathon and it has since been certified as a United Nations Digital Public Good. Congrats FireForm on this huge achievement!
At UC San Diego (May 2026), the winning team created FireLink, an SMS-based platform that delivers wildfire updates to residents with no internet or smartphone required. This tool addresses equity barriers to disseminating critical information, enabling timely evacuations for all residents in at risk zones.
What should I bring?
Each student should bring their laptop and charger, and reusable water bottle. The hackathon space has whiteboards, but dry erase pens may be limited.
How do I get started?
Register now to be added to the Hackathon’s Slack workspace, where you can network with peers and form (or join) a team, learn more about the hackathon challenge tracks, explore related datasets, and discover tips for successful open source projects development and project pitches.
I want to get involved but I’m not a student.
Professionals can apply to be a mentor or judge using this form. Students and community members interested in volunteering to provide day-of support can reach out to us at davis-ospo@ucdavis.edu.