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Frequently Asked Questions

All Virginia Tech students currently enrolled at the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus and at least 18 years of age or older as of date of entry are eligible to participate  Pre-registration is required and free.

CodeFest is all about collaboration and teamwork. We encourage you to find a diverse working group of teammates.   Individuals may participate but it is strongly recommended to participate as a team of up to five people.  If you don’t have a team, register anyway and we will have options to help you connect with others who are looking to form a bigger team. 

After you register, you will be invited to join a Canvas “class” where we will manage all the details about the event. 

Absolutely! There are many important roles other than programming and coding that are involved in the creation of software. Some of these are Product and Industry Knowledge, Architecture, Security, Design, and Testing. From writing use cases to creating the final pitch and marketing presentation, there are several ways you can contribute tremendous value to your team.

The evaluations will focus on four key pillars of your submissions and will be judged by senior leaders from Marriott International:

  • Hypothesis (30%): Validity, Originality and Articulation
  • Solution Framework/Modeling  (30%): Novelty, Practicality, and Creativity of Technical Architecture
  • Cyber Security Considerations (10%):  Security Standards and Practices
  • Demonstration (30%):  Working Code and Quality of Presentation and Pitch

You needn’t be a Marriott Bonvoy member to win. However in order to redeem the prizes, the winning individuals or teams must join Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s award-winning travel program and marketplace, which is at no cost to the registrant.

1st Prize

  • 99,999 Marriott Bonvoy Points to use for travel to our hotels (# of nights varies based on property and location); purchase experiences, shopping – check out the possibilities: Redemption Information;  AND
  • IPad with pencil
  • Average Retail Value $1,700

2nd Prize

  • 77,777 Marriott Bonvoy Points to use for travel to our hotels (# of nights varies based on property and location); purchase experiences, shopping – check out the possibilities: Redemption Information; AND
  • Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones
  • Average Retail Value $1,340

3rd Prize

  • 55,555 Marriott Bonvoy Points to use for travel to our hotels (# of nights varies based on property and location); purchase experiences, shopping – check out the possibilities: Redemption Information; AND
  • Portable Speaker
  • Average Retail Value $747

 All participants receive a certificate and bragging rights!

  1. Your team may choose any programming language, framework, or technology stack for your project.  
  2. Your team may use open-source libraries, tools, APIs, or custom implementations.  
  3. Your team may use any cloud provider or even your laptops for hosting (Cloud hosting is recommended). 
  4. DO NOT connect to the Marriott network, use Marriott APIs, services, databases, or any Marriott infrastructure environment (public cloud or on-premise).  
  5. DO NOT use any Marriott proprietary data and/or intellectual property. 

The deadline for registrations is by midnight EST on October 13, 2024.

To ensure all participants receive the prompts at the same time,  coding challenges/prompts will be revealed at the kickoff event, which begins at 6:00 pm on October 18.  

Start reading about Marriott International, the Bonvoy Loyalty Program, and the Travel and Hospitality Industry – be curious and think about innovations.  After registration, we will also share some recommended links to review with participants.