Projects

Submit projects from 16 March 2026

Project selection criteria for BioHackathon Europe 2026

Call for projects opens: 16 March 2026
Deadline for project submission: 15 April 2026

Each project must have three co-leads, and each co-lead can support only one project. At least one of the three co-leads must attend the BioHackathon event in person. Please be aware that merging compatible projects after submission and evaluation will not be facilitated.

To develop leadership skills within ELIXIR, this year we are introducing the prerequisite for at least one project co-lead is a newcomer to the role at Biohackathon Europe, alongside one experienced BioHackathon Europe project co-lead. This is a valuable mentoring opportunity for experienced BioHackathon co-leads to share their experience and support the career development of colleagues.

Projects will be evaluated based on:

  • Commitment to attending
  • Collaboration
  • Balancing veterans and newcomers
  • Alignment with ELIXIR’s 2024–2028 Scientific Programme
  • Novelty
  • Feasibility
  • Vision
  • Inclusivity strategy
Inclusivity

While not contributing to the overall scoring, the project inclusivity strategy may be taken into consideration in the event of a tie-break situation to select projects. As part of the submission, project leads are invited to briefly outline how they intend to foster inclusive participation within their team. We expect projects to demonstrate intentional outreach beyond established networks, balanced involvement across career stages, awareness of intersectional barriers, and equitable distribution of tasks, visibility and leadership opportunities. Inclusion should be embedded in team culture, communication and collaboration practices.

An inclusive project team is one that:

  • Actively broadens participation, including outreach beyond immediate networks and consideration of participants from groups traditionally underrepresented in life sciences and research infrastructures.
  • Recognises intersectionality, acknowledging that participants may experience barriers related to multiple aspects of identity (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, disability, geography, career stage, caregiving responsibilities, language, or socioeconomic background).
  • Creates space for different experience levels, ensuring that newcomers, early-career researchers and those new to the BioHackathon have meaningful opportunities to contribute and learn.
  • Promotes equitable participation, with clear communication, transparent decision-making and attention to how tasks, visibility and leadership opportunities are distributed.
  • Considers accessibility, including clarity of documentation, openness of communication channels, time-zone awareness (where relevant), and practical considerations that enable participation.

We do not expect project teams to solve structural inequalities within the scope of a single BioHackathon. However, we do expect proposals to show awareness of these issues and to outline realistic steps that support respectful, inclusive collaboration.

Previous BioHackathons

You can explore previous BioHackathons to get an idea of the types of projects developed. Each project has a GitHub repository with detailed descriptions, code and progress updates, and we also publish an annual BioHackathon report summarising the projects, outcomes and key achievements from each event.