Citadel Hackathon – Season 1 is a 30-hour software and hardware hackathon taking place on July 11–12, 2026, at the University of Engineering & Management (UEM) in Kolkata, India. The event draws inspiration from the Mahabharata, framing technology as a modern-day ‘astra’ and inviting participants to form teams—called ‘Akshauhini’—to tackle real-world problems. An online preliminary round precedes the on-site finale, where selected teams will build their projects over an intense sprint. The hackathon covers a broad range of domains, including AI and machine learning, cloud computing, data science, cybersecurity, Web3 and blockchain, DevOps, SaaS platforms, and product innovation.