Info
◀ Back to deckEligibility & logistics
Before you apply
The practical stuff
If your question is not here, email us. We answer everything.
What does it cost?
- Nothing. Soton Ship 2026 is free to attend, with no ticket price, no deposit and no fees of any kind. There are only 120 places and every one is applied for. Food across the weekend is on us. Travel is not.
Who can apply?
- Current university students, 18 or over on 16 October 2026, with student ID to show at the desk. You do not need to be a Southampton student and you do not need hackathon experience. This also meets the Hackathons UK requirement that at least 80% of attendees are in formal education, or have been within the last 12 months.
Who owns what I build?
- You do. Participants keep full ownership of everything they build at Soton Ship. Neither the organisers, the AI Society, the University, Hackathons UK nor any partner claims any intellectual property in your work. You are encouraged, but never required, to open-source your project.
How do I get a place?
- Register on Luma. Places are reviewed for a mix of universities, courses and experience levels, not first come, first served. Confirmations go out by email on 30 September and 5 October, and you have 72 hours to accept before the place goes to the waitlist. There are 120 places.
Do I need a team?
- No. Register on your own and form a team on the Friday evening. Teams are two to five people, all registered and present. There are no solo entries in the judging.
Where is it?
- Barclays Eagle Labs (Network Eagle Lab), Marlands Shopping Centre, second floor, Portland Terrace, Southampton SO14 7SJ. Use the street-level entrance on Portland Terrace, opposite Quilter. It is a short walk from Southampton Central.
Can I stay overnight?
- No. Eagle Labs is not open overnight. The venue closes at 20:30 on Friday and Saturday and reopens at 09:00, so nobody sleeps at the venue and you will need somewhere to go. Plenty of people book a hotel or stay with friends in the city. University of Southampton students can also carry on hacking in the Hartley Library on campus overnight and come back in the morning.
What should I bring?
- A laptop and its charger, photo student ID for the desk, and whatever makes a long weekend comfortable: a hoodie, a water bottle, a power strip if you have one. Flag any accessibility needs when you register and we will sort them before you arrive.
What are the rules on conduct?
- We run under the Hackathons UK Code of Conduct, and we enforce it. Read it on our Code of Conduct page, along with every route for reporting a problem. All of them can be used anonymously.
Venue
Barclays Eagle Labs · Network Eagle Lab, Portland Terrace, Southampton, SO14 7SJ
Still stuck? Email aisoc@soton.ac.uk or Ivan.ling@soton.ac.uk. Conduct questions are answered on the Code of Conduct page.