System Siege — ₹20,000 AVV Chennai Build & Defend Hackathon — Frequently Asked Questions

System Siege is a 24-hour systems-focused engineering competition organised by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (AVV), Chennai. Teams build and deploy a working product, then spend the rest of the event attacking other teams' systems and defending their own against incoming attacks. It is designed to test engineering judgment across building, breaking, defending and recovering.

The total cash prize pool is ₹20,000. First place receives ₹10,000 along with an internship at Nithilam Tech, second place receives ₹6,000, and third place receives ₹4,000.

The competition is open to all undergraduate students. You can take part in a team of 2 to 4 members, and your teammates do not need to be from the same college or the same specialisation — inter-college and inter-specialisation teams are explicitly allowed.

Registration closes on 15 July 2026, and the entry fee is ₹300 per team. Teams register through the Unstop listing for the event.

Your project has to be deployable, testable and accessible to others throughout the event. Accepted project types include web applications, APIs that come with a usable interface, browser-based tools, dashboards, and containerised setups made up of multiple services.

Hardware-dependent projects are not permitted, nor are mobile apps, kernel-level or OS-level modifications, mockups that do not actually function, or anything that requires a person to manually step in and rescue the environment. Every submitted project must genuinely run on its own.

It runs in two windows. Phase 1 is a 6-hour build window on 16 July 2026, in which teams create and deploy an MVP. Phase 2 is a continuous 18-hour live game window across 16 to 17 July 2026, when repositories become visible to everyone, bug reporting opens, and teams attack and defend each other's systems.

Scores combine build quality, attack points and recovery points, with a time-decay penalty applied to bugs that remain unpatched — the longer a known flaw stays open, the more points it costs you. No team is eliminated at any stage, and a score floor of 25 points guarantees every team stays in the competition until the end.

Yes. Every team member must actively take part in building, defending and presenting the project — no silent passengers. All code must be original work written by the team during the event.

No. System Siege is a competition, and the rewards are cash prizes and an internship rather than an investment. Nothing is taken in exchange for the prize money, and there is no repayment obligation.

No. DPIIT (Startup India) recognition is not listed as a mandatory requirement for System Siege — ₹20,000 AVV Chennai Build & Defend Hackathon, though having it can strengthen your application and unlock other benefits.

Apply directly through the official application link on this page. Review the eligibility criteria and prepare your startup documents before you begin.