Frequently Asked Questions

I didn’t receive a confirmation email for registering. Am I registered?

Once you’ve completed the form and get the confirmation page on the website, there is no further action needed. We will be reaching out to participants after registration closes with additional details about the Hackathon kickoff.

If you are registered as part of a team, only the team leader will receive the confirmation email. The team leader’s email will serve as a point of contact for all future email communications from MIT App Inventor. All team members are welcome to join the Slack channel included in the confirmation email.

Can I submit an existing app?

No. Apps should be developed during the July 12-18 period. We will be announcing a specific set of themes on July 11 for the hackathon and apps should be developed to address one or more of those themes. Apps that do not address one of the themes announced on July 11 will likely not score well during the judging period.

Please do not resubmit previous App of the Month, Coronavirus Challenge, etc. apps.

Can I use extensions in my app?

You may use any extensions from MIT, or any free extension so long as you include a note from the extension author that it can be redistributed by MIT as part of the competition.

Can I use another platform based on App Inventor?

No. Judges will be using code.appinventor.mit.edu to test apps. Because the different platforms have different components, it is likely your app will not work correctly when reviewed using MIT App Inventor.

Will I receive a certificate of participation?

Yes. Everyone who participates in the hackathon will receive a certificate of participation. Winners will be given separate documents to indicate their placement. The judges reserve the right to also identify honorable mentions for apps.

What if I (or a team member) will turn 18 during the competition?

Please complete your information based on your age on July 11, 2020. If you were born July 15, 2002 and you will turn 18 on July 15, 2020, then put 17 for your age. If you were born July 11, 2002 and you will turn 18 on July 11, 2020, then put 18 for your age.

How large can a team be?

There is no restriction on the size a team, but be aware that adding more team members may impede team progress.

How do we submit our app?

Individual participants and team captains will receive a link during the hackathon period to the submission server. This link is tied to your registration, so do not share it with anyone else (otherwise, they can submit your app as if they were you!). On the submission form, you will need to fill out some basic information as well as pointers to your AIA and video files.

We recommend that teams consider uploading their submissions sooner than the submission cutoff deadline to ensure that their submissions go through in a timely manner.

How can multiple people collaborate on an app?

App Inventor only lets one person edit a project at one time. One way to collaborate is to separate tasks such as design, art, and programming across people, and then import those assets into the final project. If you want to have multiple programmers on a team, each programmer can build each screen in a separate project and then use the Project Merger Tool to merge the projects together.