Last updated: June 25, 2026
https://sites.google.com/view/prompt-to-prototype/home
(Registration is closed now): https://shadygrove.usmd.edu/news-events/events/prompt-prototype-generative-ai-hackathon-experience-0
Welcome, everyone. Over the next 48 hours, you’re going to transform your ideas into working AI-powered applications. This is a fast-paced, hands-on hackathon where you’ll learn how to use cutting-edge generative AI tools to design, build, and pitch a real product - no technical background required.
You’ll be working in small teams, moving from your first prompt all the way to a functional prototype, while tackling real-world challenges. Along the way, you’ll build practical skills in AI, innovation, and rapid problem-solving. You’ll collaborate with peers from different backgrounds, get guidance from experienced mentors, and have the opportunity to compete for prizes and recognition.
Whether you’re here because you’re curious about AI, exploring a future career, or ready to build something meaningful, this is your opportunity to create - not just consume - the future of technology.
Objective:
This hackathon is designed to catalyze regional innovation by engaging students and the broader community in the practical application of artificial intelligence. Today's AI tools significantly compress the distance between idea and execution, enabling participants to rapidly transform concepts into functional prototypes within days rather than months. This acceleration unlocks a new level of confidence and creativity, allowing more individuals to participate meaningfully in innovation.
However, the hackathon is not an endpoint - it is the starting point of a larger economic pipeline. Just as university lab prototypes evolve into industrial-grade solutions, the outputs of this event represent early-stage innovations with the potential to mature into investable products. What traditionally required a year or more of development can now be initiated in weeks, dramatically increasing the velocity of entrepreneurship.
By fostering this rapid prototyping and development cycle, the hackathon aims to stimulate sustained entrepreneurial activity, attract investment, and position the region as a hub for AI-driven innovation. It is a strategic step toward building a resilient, future-ready local economy powered by talent, technology, and opportunity.
Thursday, June 25, 4:00–6:00 PM (Online. A calendar invite will be sent to your email with the link to join.)
(You must attend this event to participate on Friday. Otherwise, you will be unprepared compared to all the others.)
Kick things off by learning the basics of generative AI and how to use it to build apps - no coding experience needed. You'll meet your team (if you don't have it, we'll assemble one for you on Day 2), explore project ideas, and start planning what you would like to create.
Detailed Schedule
Setup Instructions
Introduction to Vibe Coding
Sample applications
Class activities in breakout rooms
Rules of the Hackathon
Link to the Google Slides deck, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vNiDzyhOrNqQ39qok4DPFRHUR82Pv1Aineqw1D5KjGQ/edit?usp=sharing
Parking:
You will park your car at the Traville Gateway Garage, 9638 Gudelsky Dr, Rockville, MD 20850, or use the map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/TtJFqAEA95yDv2su7 .
You exit the garage into a quad. The BSE building is at the other end of the quad, and you will see signs pointing towards it. Get the parking ticket - you will be reimbursed for it by showing the ticket to the event staff.
Here is an interactive map of the campus.
You will find us upon entering the building, and we will check you in for the day.
Laptops:
Please bring your own working laptop or tablet with a web browser.
Bring power cords too as you will be using your laptops for long hours.
The Vibe Coding App runs through a webpage, so you don't need to install anything on your computer.
WiFi:
You will get access to a special WiFi network with your unique password. Please do not share it with others. Each of your group member will get his/her/their password.
Location: Biomedical Science and Engineering Building (Building IV).
Meet us in the main lobby/atrium on the first floor. You will be assigned a room (that you will share with a few other teams) at that point.
Room 1201 (Final Ceremony will be held here)
You will be assigned one of the two: Room 3305 or Room 3308, BSE Building. Please wait for the instructions from the event staff to find out which room has been assigned to your team.
Room 3335 (Available to realx).
8:30 AM
Students start arriving and are assigned their desks/rooms to start working. No breakfast will be provided, but students can purchase items from the options available on campus and nearby restaurants.
Those coming without a group, will be assigned a group.
WiFi passwords will be assigned.
Access code to the VibeCode Tool will be assigned.
9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
The official event starts. The four tracks will be announced, and student teams will be given 15 minutes to discuss and choose their track. They will then
Once committed, you will not be able to change the track. The data will be collected via an online app that will close promptly.
Students start working on their projects, in teams, on their assigned desks.
11:30 AM
Lunch.
Salad, sandwich wraps (including options for those with dietary restrictions), cookies, chips, water and lemonade.
Students may decide to eat at their desks and to continue working.
12:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Students continue working on their projects
3:30 PM
Dinner
Pizza, salad, (options for those with dietary restrictions), assorted sodas and water.
If you still have some fine-tuning to do, you can continue to work. But the assumption is that your main app is ready by now. Making changing just before the event may destroy your app with no time to fix things.
4:15 - 4:30 PM
Closer to 4:15 PM everyone stops working and gathers in the main hall for the main judging and closing ceremony, starting 4:30 PM.
4:30 - 6:00 PM
Pitch
Students present their work, and judges evaluate from a business perspective.
Judges would be a mix of business/marketing professors and industry representatives.
Scores will be collected to find the top performers.
6:00 - 6:30 PM
Awards ceremony, and the meeting is adjourned.
Award Categories:
Best Overall Solution: Awarded to the team that demonstrates the strongest combination of problem identification, innovation, practicality, and impact.
Most Innovative Concept: Awarded to the team that presents the most creative, original, or unexpected solution. May not be the most practical, but demonstrates exceptional imagination.
Best Real-World Potential: Awarded to the team the judges would be most likely to pursue, fund, adopt, or implement. Strong focus on feasibility, usefulness, and future growth.
Special Judge's choice awards
Lunch will be provided and will be available around 11:30 AM.
Dinner will be provided at 3:30 PM.
If you need breakfast/coffee, there is a self-service cafe on the first floor of this building (BSE Building). If the selection there is not enough and you want more, you can either bring more food with you or use the nearby food vendors.
Here is a list of nearby restaurants, all within walking distance and located on the Traville Gateway Dr. That is the same road where you found the Traville Gateway Garage for parking.
To give you an idea, Dunkin is only a 2-3-minute walk from the exit door of this building (Biomedical Engineering and Science Building, or Building IV).
Dunkin (9761 Traville Gateway Dr, Rockville, MD 20850)
Bageltowne Deli (Breakfast)
Black Lion Coffee & Cafe
Sweet Treat, LLC (Dominican desserts)
You are free to bring your own food/beverage supplies.