This section provides important information regarding paper acceptance at participating conferences, the independence of this hackathon, and details on travel and hardware grants. Please read carefully before participating.

Paper Acceptance Disclaimer

  • No Guaranteed Acceptance:
    While the hackathon includes an internal review process involving mentorship and expert feedback, final paper acceptance decisions rest entirely with the independent conference peer-review process.

  • Hackathon Independence:
    The IEEE IES Generative AI Challenge is organized independently of IECON and IRAI. Hackathon organizers have no influence over conference review outcomes, scheduling, or publication decisions.

  • Conference Inquiries:
    For conference-related matters such as registration, visa invitation letters, schedules, and presentation logistics, please contact the conference organizers directly.

Travel Grants

We provide IGAC Travel Grants to support IEEE IES Generative AI Challenge winners in presenting their papers at IECON 2026 and IRAI 2026. Key details are outlined below.

1. Grant Purpose

  • Covers airfare, conference registration, accommodation, visa fees, and local transportation for one (1) team member to present an accepted paper at IECON 2026 or IRAI 2026.
  • If additional team members attend, reimbursement may be possible but is capped within the same overall funding limit.

2. Grant Amount

  • Top 3 teams per conference (total 6): Up to USD 2,000 per team.
  • Next 3 teams per conference: Up to USD 1,000 per team.
  • Reimbursements are processed within one month after the conference concludes.
  • An additional travel grant pool may be allocated based on the quality of the manuscript, reviewer feedback, and travel distance. Final decisions regarding additional funding rest with the hackathon organizing committee.

3. Eligibility

To be eligible for a travel grant, participants must:

  • Be an active IEEE and IEEE IES member.
  • Have a paper accepted by IECON 2026 or IRAI 2026.
  • Complete conference registration (early-bird rates only).
  • Attend and present the paper at the conference.
  • Adhere to the IEEE Code of Ethics.

4. Reimbursement Timeline & Process

  • Reimbursement Basis: Participants must cover expenses upfront and submit valid tax invoices for eligible costs.
  • Eligible Expenses: Airfare, registration fees, accommodation, visa fees, and local transportation.
  • Not Eligible: Meals, insurance, or personal expenses.
  • IEEE Travel Policy:
    • Economy-class flights only (lowest non-refundable fare).
    • Single-room occupancy for accommodation.
  • For detailed policies, refer to the IEEE Volunteer Travel Guidelines.
  • Reimbursements are processed within one month after the conference, subject to document verification.

5. Not Eligible for Other IEEE Travel Grants

Participants receiving IGAC Travel Grants are not eligible for additional travel funding for IECON 2026 or IRAI 2026 from IEEE, IES, or the respective conferences.

6. Visa Invitation Letters

  • Hackathon organizers do not issue visa invitation letters.
  • Official invitation letters are issued by the conference upon successful registration.
  • If required, the hackathon team can provide a sponsorship confirmation letter upon request.

7. Other

  • Hybrid Conference Participation:
    For conferences offering hybrid (online + in-person) participation, if a participant chooses to attend online, reimbursement is limited to the conference registration fee only. Travel-related expenses (airfare, accommodation, visa, local transport) will not be reimbursed in such cases.

  • Sunk or Unsuccessful Expenses:
    Expenses that do not result in successful participation are not reimbursable, including but not limited to:

    • Visa application rejections
    • Cancelled travel bookings
    • No-show or failure to attend the conference

  • Conditional Reimbursement:
    All travel-related reimbursements are subject to:

    • Successful attendance and presentation at the conference
    • Submission of valid supporting documents (boarding passes, registration confirmation, receipts, etc.)

  • Organizer Discretion:
    Final approval of all travel reimbursements rests with the organizing committee. Submission of expenses does not guarantee reimbursement.

Hardware Grants (Up to USD 100)

1. Purpose

The Hardware Grant is intended to support experiment-related costs incurred during the development and evaluation of your solution. This includes resources directly used for building, running, and validating your methodology.

The grant is not intended for general productivity tools, writing assistance, or long-term infrastructure setup.

2. Eligibility

Teams are eligible for reimbursement if they:

  • Successfully complete all hackathon milestones
  • Submit a final manuscript to a conference (IRAI 2026 or IECON 2026) (regardless of acceptance outcome)
  • Provide valid receipts/invoices for all claimed expenses

3. Eligible Expenses

The following categories are generally eligible:

  • Compute Resources:
    Cloud GPU/CPU usage (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP, Google Colab, RunPod, Lambda, Vast.ai).

    • For subscription-based services, only the portion attributable to the active experiment period (March–April) is eligible
    • Long-term subscriptions must be pro-rated to this period

  • API Usage (Preferred):
    Token-based or usage-based billing for AI services (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Together, etc.), where usage can be reasonably linked to experimentation

  • Experimentation Tools & Services:
    Tools directly used in building, testing, or evaluating the system (e.g., simulation environments, evaluation pipelines, dataset access)

  • Small Hardware Components:
    Low-cost components required for experimental validation (e.g., sensors, microcontrollers, IoT modules, basic electronics)

  • Storage & Data Handling:
    Cloud storage or data processing costs required for datasets, logs, and experiment outputs

4. Not Eligible Expenses

The following are not reimbursable:

  • General-purpose subscriptions, including but not limited to:
    ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro/Max, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Grammarly, etc.

    • Stacking multiple subscriptions or higher-tier plans is not allowed

  • Tools used primarily for writing, coding assistance, or documentation

  • Personal productivity software or general development tools

  • Large capital hardware purchases, including:
    GPUs, laptops, high-end devices (Reach out to the organizing committee if you are not sure)

  • Personal device upgrades, including:
    RAM, SSD, or other system upgrades

  • Internet, data plans, electricity, or personal infrastructure costs

  • Demo or portfolio hosting, including:
    Websites, dashboards, or front-end hosting are not required for experimentation

  • Unspecified or “miscellaneous” expenses without a clear breakdown

  • Any expense not directly tied to experimentation and validation

5. Conditional / Case-by-Case Expenses

The following may be considered only with clear justification:

  • UI-based AI usage (e.g., Claude usage credits or similar tools)
  • Backend hosting or infrastructure, only if required for evaluation or system validation
  • Non-standard tools required for specific experimental setups

To be considered, teams must:

  • Clearly explain how the expense is directly linked to experimentation
  • Provide a brief breakdown of usage (e.g., % used for experiments vs other tasks)
  • Acknowledge that partial reimbursement may be applied

6. Time Window for Eligibility

  • Only expenses incurred during the active experiment period (March–April) are eligible
  • Costs outside this period will not be reimbursed
  • Subscription-based services must be pro-rated to this period only

7. Reimbursement Process

  • All claims must include valid receipts/invoices
  • Invoices must be issued in the name of a registered team member. Claims without identifiable ownership may be rejected
  • Currency conversions must be provided in USD using the OANDA Currency Converter (https://www.oanda.com/currency-converter/)
    • The exchange rate on the invoice date must be used*
    • Teams must include a screenshot or reference as proof
  • Organizers may request additional clarification or supporting details
  • Reimbursements are reviewed and approved at the discretion of the organizing committee
  • Approved reimbursements are processed after the hackathon concludes

8. Important Notes

  • The maximum reimbursement per team is USD 100 (You can request more but subject to approval)
  • Reimbursement is based on the eligibility of items, not the total expenditure
  • Teams are encouraged to use API-based and measurable resources for transparency
  • Submission of a claim does not guarantee reimbursement

Certificates

  • Completion Certificates:
    All teams that complete the hackathon by submitting a final project will receive an official certificate of participation from the IEEE IES Generative AI Challenge.

For questions related to reimbursements or grants, please contact the Hackathon Organizers.
For conference-related inquiries such as registration or visa letters, please contact the Conference Organizing Committee directly.

Still Have Questions?

  • Visit the Contact page for direct email support.
  • Follow our social media channels for updates (coming soon).

We are committed to making your hackathon journey smooth, transparent, and rewarding.

Powered by the Web & Information Committee of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

© Copyright 2026 IEEE - All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.