BioHackathon Edinburgh 2026

Welcome to Edinburgh BioHackathon 2026! 🎉 BioHackathon Edinburgh 2026 is a 3-day interdisciplinary hackathon bringing together biologists, programmers, data scientists, and entrepreneurs to collaborate on real-world biological and computational challenges. We're part of the Bio-Innovation Series — a broader initiative of pre-hackathon workshops, the flagship event, and post-hackathon continuation support — designed to cultivate a long-lasting ecosystem that bridges academic research with real-world innovation. 📅 Dates 20–22 March 2026 📍 Venue

Day 1 (Fri 20 Mar): Edinburgh Futures Institute, Room 2.35

Days 2–3 (Sat–Sun 21–22 Mar): The Nucleus Building, King's Buildings Campus, University of Edinburgh

🧬 Who is this for? Undergraduate students, postgraduate taught/research students, postdocs, academic staff, and recent graduates (within the past year) from UK universities interested in biological and computational innovation. No coding experience required. Challenge Tracks 🔬 Academic Research Track Collaborate on open-ended research challenges proposed by academic groups — including computer vision for biological image segmentation and classification, protein characterisation, and machine learning approaches for biological datasets. Teams get access to sample datasets, academic mentors, and opportunities for follow-up collaborations. 🏭 Industrial Innovation Track Work on problem statements proposed by industry partners from biotech, health, and data-driven companies. These challenges are practical and outcome-focused, aiming to translate ideas into prototypes, pipelines, or analytical insights. 🧩 Non-Coder Problem-Solving Track For participants without a coding background: design experimental frameworks, conceptual solutions, and project management strategies. Activities include problem-based team exercises, scientific storytelling, and collaborative design thinking. Weekend Schedule Day 1 — Friday 20 March

13:00 — Registration & welcome

14:00 — Opening ceremony + challenge introductions

15:30 — Networking / final team formation

16:00–17:00 — Q&A with challenge providers and sponsors

17:00 — Team formation deadline & hacking begins

18:30 — Dinner

21:00 — Building closes

Day 2 — Saturday 21 March

08:00 — Breakfast

10:00 — Optional workshop / mental health break

12:00 — Lunch

15:00 — Mental health break (guided walk)

18:00 — Dinner

20:30 — Evening break

23:00 — End of day

Day 3 — Sunday 22 March

08:00 — Breakfast

10:30 — Mental health break

12:00 — Submission deadline (DevPost)

12:00 — Lunch

13:00–15:00 — Pitching & judging sessions

15:00–15:30 — Judges deliberate

15:30 — Closing ceremony & awards

17:00 — End of event

Pre-Hackathon Workshops All workshops are free to participants. Pre-event workshops are optional and can be selected based on skill level.

Workshop
Date
Format
Delivered By

Intellectual Property
Wed 4 March, 15:30–16:30
Online
Lysimachos Zografos, Edinburgh Innovations

Git & GitHub
Tues 17 March, 14:00–17:00
Hybrid (Murchison LG.15)
Dr Alasdair Ivens, Director of Bioinformatics, CIIE

How to Use Eddie HPC
Wed 18 March, 14:00–17:00
Hybrid (Murchison LG.15)
Mike Wallis, Digital Research Services

Computing Resources Participants will have access to:

Edinburgh University's Eddie HPC cluster, including GPU resources

OpenAI API access for teams working on LLM-enabled challenges

Pre-hackathon onboarding and guidance for computing resource setup

Sponsors & Partners

School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh

Digital Research Services, University of Edinburgh

OpenBioSim

Quas Drinks

Amytis

Converge Challenge

Centre for Engineering Biology

Organised By Ian Yang (Swain Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh) in collaboration with PRIMED Edinburgh and the Centre for Engineering Biology. 📧 Contact: [email protected] 🌐 Website: https://biohackathon2026.cjxol.com/ 💬 Discord: https://discord.gg/XvdWCmKF 📸 Instagram: @primed_edinburgh 🔗 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ukprimed Hashtags: #EdinBiohack2026 #PRIMEDEdinburgh