Update: We have increased the participant prize from $12 USD credit to the DEV Shop to $25 USD! Now, by simply sharing a submission to the MongoDB Atlas Hackathon, you will earn enough DEV shop credits to get your choice of a free beanie, two sticker packs, a mug, etc.! 💰

We are thrilled to announce a brand new challenge on DEV in partnership with our friends at MongoDB: the MongoDB Atlas Hackathon!

From now through January 13th, 2022 (or January 14th if you're following UTC time), MongoDB is offering you the chance to use your ingenuity and creativity to build an application using MongoDB's library of tools like Atlas Search. In addition to getting the chance to participate in a community event, show off your skills, and learn something new, everyone who submits a project for the MongoDB Atlas Hackathon will be automatically entered to win some seriously amazing prizes.

Now, let's get into the granular details of this challenge so you can start building and winning 👀

The Challenge

If you've been a member of the DEV community for a while, you've likely encountered articles by the talented team over at MongoDB (many members of their team have been using DEV for years).

But while you might be familiar with MongoDB, it's possible that you haven't used their modern database platform for yourself — this hackathon is the perfect opportunity to explore it! MongoDB believes that working with data doesn't need to be hard. In fact, it can be an intuitive experience for all developers.

For this hackathon, we're offering you the chance to build an application within the guidelines below by utilizing MongoDB Atlas: a collection of cloud database and data services that helps you accelerate and simplify how you use data in your work, including but not limited to:

• Atlas Search: Build fast, relevance-based full-text search in your applications in minutes.
• Atlas Serverless Instances: Deploy a serverless database that can scale on-demand with minimal configuration.
• Time Series Collections: An efficient way to store sequences of measurements over a period of time.
• Realm Functions: Define and execute JavaScript functions to build APIs, integrate with cloud services, and lots more.

• Realm Triggers: Automatically run functions in response to database changes, user events, or preset intervals.

• To view documentation for each tool listed, please click on the hyperlinks above.

DEV and MongoDB are challenging you to choose a category (from the list below) and build an application that utilizes Atlas and other MongoDB tools as described within that category.

Once your app is complete and follows all the requirements (see "How to Submit" below), you'll be publishing a post on DEV that describes what you created. That post will serve as your official submission.

We’re excited to see what you build for the MongoDB Atlas Hackathon using MongoDB's ecosystem of tools built for developers, by developers.

Categories

• E-Commerce Creation: Build an e-commerce store using MongoDB Atlas Search.
  (Sample use-cases: product catalog, food ordering/delivery service)

• Prime Time: Build an application using MongoDB Time Series Collections.
  (Sample use cases: IoT, financial analytics, climate observations)

• Action Star: Build an event-driven application using MongoDB Realm Functions and Triggers
  (Sample use cases: inventory monitoring, logistics apps, alerts/notification apps)

• Automation Innovation: Automate a task that you perform on a weekly basis using MongoDB Atlas Serverless Instances.
  (Sample use-cases: Payroll/ billing, reporting, scheduling, email responses)

• Choose Your Own Adventure: Create an application using MongoDB Atlas that doesn’t fit into any of the categories above.
  (Note: the winners we select in this category will be the ones that got super creative and wacky! Feel free to go as random as possible.)

Sounds like fun, right? The great news is that this hackathon provides you with more than just fun and a chance to learn — all participants with valid submissions will also be entered to win a part of MongoDB's exciting prize package 💰.

Prizes

5 Grand Prize Winners (one in each category):

• $1,500 USD gift card or equivalent
• $300 USD credit to the DEV Shop
• MongoDB Swag Pack
• DEV Sticker Pack
• DEV “Atlas Hackathon” grand prize winner profile badge

Runner-Up Prizes (10 Total):

• $250 USD gift card or equivalent
• $150 USD credit to the DEV Shop
• MongoDB Swag Pack
• DEV Sticker Pack
• DEV “Atlas Hackathon” runner-up profile badge

Participants (with a valid project):

• A $25 USD or equivalent credit to the DEV Shop
• DEV “Atlas Hackathon” participant profile badge

In order to submit a valid project, please follow the submission process, and rules below...

How To Submit

1) Create a MongoDB account if you don't already have one.

2) Fill out this form to receive a special code for $100 USD worth of MongoDB credits to create your project._

Note: By filling out the form above, you should receive an email containing your special MongoDB code within one hour. If you don't see it within that timeframe, please check your spam folder.

3) Select your category and refer to MongoDB’s documentation for each service used as you build your application
4) Share your app's code in a repository on GitHub and include a README
5) Ensure that your application's code is licensed with the Apache-2 permissive license
6) Publish an overview of the app on DEV using this post template between December 13, 2021 - January 13, 2022 (PT).
Note: You must ensure that you provide your app’s URL, category, screenshots, a description, and source code in your submission post.

Additional Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to 18+. Contest entry period ends January 13, 2022 at 11:59 pm UTC/7:59 AM UTC on January 14, 2022. Contest is void where prohibited, or restricted by law or regulation. For Official Rules, see Contest Announcement Page and General Contest Official Rules.

Community Help and Support

Hackathons are all about community and this one is no different! If you need help at any stage in the process of building and submitting your app, please share all questions in the MongoDB Atlas Hackathon Help thread. The thread will be monitored by members of the DEV team and MongoDB teams.

Looking for some motivation or brainstorming? Don't miss the Community Discussion Thread where you can bounce ideas about your submission off of others, lend or get some encouragement, and share updates about your project.

Important Dates 🗓

• December 13, 2021: Hackathon Begins!
• January 13, 2022: Hackathon Submission Due at 11:59 PM PT (2:59 AM ET on January 14/7:59 AM UTC on January 14).
• January 28, 2022: Hackathon Winners Announced

Have fun with this challenge from our friends at MongoDB!