ONE FOCUSED SPRINT
BUILDERS PER TEAM
TEAMS AT NATIONALS
CAMPUSES THIS SEASON
The format is simple on purpose. A clear problem, a hard deadline, and the decision-maker in the room.
01
A real problem your team faces. We shape it into a build brief with you.
DAY 0 · PREP
02
You walk the teams through the problem on a short remote call.
DAY 1 · KICKOFF
03
Teams build toward a working pilot, steered by your two check-ins.
DAYS 2–4 · BUILD
04
Teams demo their builds to the officials who brought the problems.
DAY 5 · DEMO DAY
ON THE TABLE
State leaders, agency directors, and mayors’ offices bring the problems they need solved. Service delivery, data, workflows, communications. If a public-sector team wrestles with it, it qualifies.
“How can we coordinate trauma-informed services so they reach every resident?”
DIRECTOR, HEAL PA
“How can the state make services more accessible and keep residents informed on what they qualify for?”
STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA DIRECTOR
“How can open government data be made easier to explore, understand, and use in decisions?”
DIRECTOR, UPENN FELS AI LAB
WHO SHOWS UP
One week on a problem that touches millions of people, with the official who owns it in the room.
Team up across engineering, policy, and design
Demo to the officials who own the problem
Win your campus and take your build to Washington
You keep the IP. All of it, always.
Hand a team your hardest problem and steer it with about half a day of your time across the week.
Working software by Friday, and a deliverable from every team
Pilots can continue with your agency after the week
Meet your next interns and hires with their work on screen
A room of state, metro, and municipal peers
UPCOMING EVENTS
Every lab is run with the university and its student organizations. Officials from the school’s own backyard bring the problems, and each campus champion advances to Washington.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
INAUGURAL HOST · BACK THIS FALL
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
UP NEXT · NOV 2–6, 2026
Stanford in Government
Stanford, CA
PARTNER CAMPUS · SPRING 2027
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
SPRING 2027
Howard University
Washington, D.C.
SPRING 2027
American University
Washington, D.C.
SPRING 2027
REGIONAL LAB · SPRING 2027
Carnegie Mellon and Pitt team up with PGH Lab, the city’s Office of Innovation, and the Mayor’s Office for a citywide lab.
APRIL 2027 · WASHINGTON, D.C.
Every campus champion advances. Officials, sponsors, and investors watch the strongest student builds in government technology demo on one stage, and the prize pool is awarded.
THE SEASON
AUG – SEP
Campuses and sponsors lock
Campuses and categories confirm before the fall labs.
OCT – DEC
Fall labs run
Penn returns in October, and Vanderbilt runs November 2 to 6.
JAN-MAY
Spring labs run
The remaining campuses run their weeks and pick their champions.
LATE SPRING 2027
Nationals at Amazon HQ2
Winners at each campus are flown out to Washington D.C. to compete for the grand prize.
PAST EVENTS · PENN
We have watched a county manage $40 million in grants on hand-scanned paper, and a city run its permitting on sticky notes. The people who can fix that are already on campus.
1776 Labs launched at Penn in spring 2026, and it puts student builders and the officials who own the problem in the same room for one focused week. The strongest builds keep going after demo day, into pilots with the agencies that need them.
Featured in GovTech Magazine, Technical.ly, and The Daily Pennsylvanian.
THE INAUGURAL LAB · PENN
STUDENTS
PENN SCHOOLS
BUILD GOING STATEWIDE
Pennsylvania’s state leaders and agency directors brought the challenges and stayed to judge. One team’s build is now moving toward statewide rollout with HEAL PA.
INSIDE LAB ONE · TANGEN HALL, WHARTON · APRIL 2026
SPONSOR THE LABS
Every season runs on its sponsors. Funding pays for the build weeks, the demo days, the national prize pool, and the trip to Washington for every campus champion. In return, one season puts your name in front of six campuses of builders and the officials they build for.
Back the builders
Your name on the prize pool, on campus demo days, and on the national stage at Amazon HQ2.
Be a part of progress
The problems on the table come straight from the agencies. Sponsors see what government is asking for next.
Meet your next hires
The students who ship a working build in a week are the ones every govtech team is trying to find. Meet them with their work on screen.
Four tiers from $2,500, campus supporter to founding partner. Category exclusivity available.
Connect with us to find out how to bring 1776 Labs to your city!
