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Built with Google Gemini: Writing Challenge Built with Google Gemini: Writing Challenge

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Built with Google Gemini: Writing Challenge

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Reflect on what you've built with Google Gemini and share your story!

Challenge Status: Live Ended

Last week, we announced that DEV has joined Major League Hacking. To kick things off, we're launching a writing challenge about a topic both communities are already familiar with: Google Gemini.

Running through March 4 at 11:59 AM ET, the Built with Google Gemini: Writing Challenge presented by MLH is an opportunity to show off what you've built with Google Gemini, reflect on your experience, and share what you're up to next! Whether you competed at an MLH hackathon, tackled a DEV Challenge, or hacked on something independently with Google Gemini as your go-to, we want to hear about it.

5 Winners will each receive:

All participants with a valid submission will receive a completion badge on their DEV profile.

Key Dates

  • Contest start: February 25, 2026 12:00 PM ET
  • Submissions due: March 04, 2026 11:59 AM ET
  • Winners announced: March 12, 2026

Badge Rewards

Built with Google Gemini Writing Challenge Completion Badge
Built with Google Gemini Writing Challenge Completion Badge
Built with Google Gemini Writing Challenge Winner Badge
Built with Google Gemini Writing Challenge Winner Badge

Find Out More

Ask questions and share your ideas on the Built with Google Gemini: Writing Challenge Launch Post.

View Launch Post

Challenge Prompt

Hack, Reflect, Look Forward

Every great project starts with a spark, and every great builder knows that the learning doesn't simply end because the deadline hits.

Write a reflection post about a coding event or dedicated project where you used Google Gemini. This could be an MLH hackathon, a DEV Challenge, or any other event you've participated in recently. Look back on what you built, what surprised you, and where you're headed next.

Your post should cover:

  • What you built with Google Gemini: give us the overview! What was the project, what problem did it solve, and what role did AI play? If your project was deployed on Cloud Run, please embed it.
  • What you learned: technical skills, soft skills, unexpected lessons. What stuck with you?
  • Your Google Gemini Feedback: what worked well? Were there moments where you needed more support or ran into friction? Don't be afraid to be candid. We want to read about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The best submissions will offer a window into your process, your growth, and your perspective as a builder.

Submission Template

Judging Criteria:

  • Style and Presentation
  • Technical Depth
  • Clarity
  • Originality

How To Participate

In order to participate, you will need to publish a post using the submission template.

📌 Important Note: submissions are due on March 4 at 11:59 AM ET — this is 12 hours earlier than our usual challenge submission time!

Frequently Asked Questions

Participation

Can I submit more than once?

Yes, you can submit multiple submissions but you'll need to publish a separate post for each submission.

  • In the event that you may win two or more submissions, and your submissions are very close with another participant, we will favor the other participant.
  • In the event that you do win with multiple submissions, you will only receive one winner badge.

How old do I have to be to participate?

Participants need to be 18+ in order to participate.

If I live in X, am I eligible to participate?

For eligibility rules, see our official challenge rules and General Contest Official Rules.

Submission

Can my submission include open source code?

Riffing on open source code and borrowing and improving on previous work/ideas is encouraged but it's important your changes are significant enough to ensure your submission is valid.

When does riffing become plagiarism?

It will depend, but transparency is important, license compatibility is important. You can use someone else's code to give you a jumpstart to demonstrate your ideas on top of someone else's base, but not just re-package the base. It should be clear to the judges what you added to the project in terms of the code and conceptual inspiration. This means, you should clearly state what you were building on and what elements are original to this new submission. When building on existing code, we expect a significant change that adds something tangible to the output. i.e. a new animation, and new sprite, a new function, a new presentation. Not just changes to the source - i.e. changing colours, changing one sprite, changing one function.

What happens if my submission is considered plagiarized or invalid?

Anything deemed to be plagiarism will not be eligible for prizes. Incidental plagiarism may simply result in your disqualification from the challenge (regardless of the number of other valid submissions you have published). Egregious plagiarism will result in your suspension from DEV entirely. Any non-generic, non-trivial usage of prior work, including open source code must be credited in your submission.

Do submissions have to be in English?

Non-english submissions are eligible for a completion badge but not eligible for prizes due to the current limitations of our judges. We will not be judging on mastery of the English language, so please don't let this deter you from submitting if you are not a native English speaker! We hope to evolve this in the future to be more accommodating.

Can I use AI?

Use of AI is allowed as long as all other rules are followed. We want to give you a chance to show off your skills in realistic scenarios. If you use AI tools to help you achieve your submission, all the power to you.

Judging and Prizing

Can there be ties?

In the event of a tie in scoring between judges, the judges will select the entry that received the highest number of positive reactions on their DEV post to determine the winner.

How will I know if I won?

Winners will be announced in a DEV post on the winner announcement date noted in our key dates section.

When will I receive my DEV badge?

Both participation and winner badges will be awarded, in most cases, the same day as the winner announcement.

When will I receive my prizes?

The DEV Team will contact you via the email associated with your DEV profile within, at most, 10 business days of the announcement date to share the details of claiming your prizes.

Built with Google Gemini: Writing Challenge Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to 18+. Contest entry period ends March 4, 2026 at 11:59 AM ET. Contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law or regulation. All entries must be submitted during the contest period. For Official Rules, see Built with Google Gemini Writing Challenge Contest Rules and General Contest Official Rules.