Build something real. Learn something new. Discover what you can do.
HackEd is Tech Educators' student hackathon programme. Over a few days, teams tackle a real-world problem with technology, learning new skills and building working solutions with support from industry mentors, teachers, sponsors and judges.
HackEd started in Norwich in 2025 and now takes place across the East of England several times a year. Every event is free for students, thanks to our sponsors.
Be Part of HackEd96.6%
of students rated their HackEd experience positively
82.8%
said HackEd is going on their CV
62.1%
said HackEd encouraged them to start looking for work in tech
20.7%
said HackEd made them want to study tech at university.
HackEd is hands-on from the start. Students work in teams to tackle a real-world problem and turn their ideas into something that actually works.
We provide everything they need: loan laptops, Raspberry Pis, training, food and plenty of support. They just need to bring themselves.
Before the event, our lead-in programme gives students the chance to become familiar with the challenge, the tools and what to expect, so everyone arrives ready to get stuck in.
Then it's time to Create, Code and Collaborate.
Every HackEd finishes with Innovation Alley, where teams show our judges what they've built and present their final concept. And the experience doesn't end there: afterwards, we help students turn their HackEd project into something they can confidently talk about and put on their CV.
Places for schools and colleges are free, thanks to our sponsors. HackEd is Tech Educators' own event series and, for many of the schools we work with, forms part of their wider involvement in the TechFirst youth programme.
I can honestly say this event has been one of the most meaningful and impactful events I have attended as an educator. Three days of fast paced, perfectly gauged challenge, support and guidance.
Looking forward to the next one.
- Chris Fitzjohn
Teacher of Computer Science at GPUTC
4–5 November 2026
The Corn Exchange, King's Lynn
The hackathon finale of the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk's Future Talent: Tech Programme, following school workshops and a Gaming Day at King's Lynn Library.
Event details22–24 February 2027
Duke Street Riverside, Norwich
Three days of Create, Code and Collaborate at Duke Street Riverside, taking on this year's brief: Tackling Youth Unemployment. Mentor recruitment and the schools lead-in programme are open now.
Event details23–25 February 2026
Duke Street Riverside, Norwich
HackEd returned to Duke Street Riverside, where 120 students spent three days creating “Design for Good” projects for the Norfolk community.
See HackEd in action16–18 September 2025
The Bradfield Centre, Cambridge
Delivered with Form the Future as a core event of Cambridge Tech Week 2025, bringing students together at The Bradfield Centre on the Cambridge Science Park.
See HackEd in action24–26 February 2025
Duke Street Riverside, Norwich
The very first HackEd. 100 students from schools, colleges and universities across Norfolk and Suffolk came together to build technology designed to make life better for local residents.
See HackEd in action100%
of mentors rated their HackEd experience positively
88.9%
of mentors developed skills themselves, particularly in coaching and project management
£59,000
of social value per event, measured against the Social Value TOMs framework
Every team is supported by two industry mentors: a technical mentor to help them build, and a business mentor to help them shape their idea into something real.
You'll be there throughout the journey: helping your team turn a first idea into a working solution, supporting them when they get stuck and helping them tell their story at the final presentation.
You don't need to be a teacher. You just need to know your craft and be willing to share it.
And the learning goes both ways. Every mentor at the last HackEd rated the experience positively, while most told us they came away with stronger coaching and project management skills of their own.
Mentor recruitment for the next HackEd is open now.
Support the next generation of tech talent.
HackEd is funded by sponsors who believe students deserve the chance to experience what a career in technology can really look like.
Your support makes every student place free, giving young people the opportunity to build something real, work alongside people from industry and discover what they're capable of.
Sponsors also put their brand behind £59,000 of measured social value per event, while getting to know the young people who could become part of their future workforce.
Sponsor HackEdTechEducators; partnered with Google, Quadmark, Salable, Arm, Breakwater, Wondermake, Aviva, Triple Bottom Line, Ashtons Legal, Norwich University of the Arts, The Bradfield Centre, Akcela, KPMG, Inspire 2 Ignite, Redgate, Connected Innovation, Fuel Studios, Made Tech, Barclays, Eastern promise, Work in Norwich, Greater Anglia, Aidos, Cambridge Tech Podcast.
