Learn New Skills. Build New Things.
In this 40-hour competition, teams of students and recent graduates work alongside community partners to design, build, and pitch solutions in accessibility.
Registration for natIgnite 2026 has now closed. Join our newsletter to be the first to hear about our next competition!
How It Works
Event Breakdown
Pitch Day
Hear our Problem Providers present their real-world challenges and select the ones you’re most interested in so we can match you with a team.
Orientation Day
Meet other participants and learn how the competition works.
Development Phase
Start planning with three short reports to help your team prepare before the competition.
Competition
Build, test, and present your solution during the 40-hour competition with mentor support.
Why Join?
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👩💻 Gain hands-on, project-based experience
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💬 Make friends & network with professionals
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🤝 Workshops and mentorship available to support your ideas
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🌱 $10,000 in seed funding and in-kind project support available for winning teams
2026 Theme: AccessTech (Accessibility)
Accessibility shapes how people interact with the world around them.
natIgnite 2026 challenges participants to design new ideas, technologies, or systems that improve accessibility. Projects may address physical accessibility, digital accessibility, financial accessibility, or more inclusive services and environments. By rethinking how systems are designed, we can remove barriers and create opportunities for more people.
Win Funding to Take Your Idea Further!
natIgnite offers winning teams a total of $10,000 in reimbursement-based seed funding and in-kind project support to continue developing their solutions after the competition.
Seed funding can be used to reimburse eligible project expenses such as hardware components, software tools, prototyping materials, testing costs, or domain registrations. In-kind support may include mentorship, technical and business advising, and access to development resources.
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🏅 1st Place
$3,000 CAD in seed funding and $3,000 CAD in in-kind services
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🥈 2nd Place
$1,500 CAD in seed funding and $1,500 CAD in in-kind services
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🥉 3rd Place
$500 CAD in seed funding and $500 CAD in in-kind services
Other Ways to Participate
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Sponsor natIgnite
Explore the wide range of benefits available through our sponsorship packages.
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Provide a Problem
Submit your real-world challenge and guide your team in developing a tech-based solution.
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Become an Advisor
If you are a tech or business professional, you can support project teams through a mentorship role.
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Become a Judge
If you are a professional in industry, academia or healthcare, evaluate projects on their technical or business prowess.
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Volunteer
Make new friends and add meaningful experience to your resume.
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Become a Community Partner
Spotlight your organization by involving your team in mentoring, judging, or volunteering at natHacks.
A huge thank you to our amazing partners.
The partners below share our belief in the potential of young innovators. natIgnite would not be possible without their support!
