What a hackathon mentor actually does (and how to use one)

A hackathon mentor is not a senior developer who fixes your bug, and not a judge who tells you what to build. Having mentored 200+ students through TechVerse Enclave and coached teams before events, I think of the role as three interventions delivered at the right moments.

Intervention one: the scoping question

In the first hours, the most valuable thing a mentor says is: "What is the one thing you will demo, and can you show me a sketch of that screen?" Teams that cannot answer are about to build a platform. The mentor's job is to help them find the single path and let the rest go.

Intervention two: unblock without building

When a team is stuck at hour ten, the mentor asks questions until the team finds the fix, points to documentation, or suggests a simpler approach. The mentor does not type. A mentor who writes the code has removed the learning and, in most rulebooks, disqualified the team.

Intervention three: the mock pitch

Two hours before freeze, run the pitch with a timer and play the harshest judge in the room. Ask the questions in questions judges ask in hackathon Q&A. Then give one strength and one fix, the same way a good judge would.

How teams should use mentors

• Book a slot early for scoping, not late for debugging.
• Bring a specific question and the code or sketch it is about.
• Ask what a judge would think of the demo path — mentors have usually judged.
• Do not ask which idea is better; ask which one you can finish and demo.

For organisers

Schedule mentors in shifts with a visible board, brief them on the rubric, and separate mentors from judges where you can — a mentor who later judges the same team is in an awkward position. I am glad to take either role at student hackathons; organisers can reach me at [e-mail].

About Pranjul Rathour

At an Integral Startup Foundation hackathon

In a packed college auditorium

At a formal campus event

Pranjul Rathour

Presenting Annapurna on stage

Pranjul Rathour is a GenAI engineer from Kanpur, India, and CTO at SCULT INDIA, currently shipping production RAG,
fine-tuning and agentic AI systems, mentoring 200+ students through TechVerse Enclave, and judging and speaking at
student hackathons across India. Updated 2026-09-06.

Reach out if you want to talk GenAI, book a campus session, or invite him to judge:

• Email: [e-mail]
• Invite / talk menu: https://pranjulrathour.scult.in/invite
• Portfolio & blog: https://pranjulrathour.scult.in
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pranjul-rathour/
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• GitHub: https://github.com/Pranjulrathour

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Pranjul Rathour · GenAI engineer, 3x hackathon winner, campus mentor. Open for GenAI roles, hackathon judging, mentorship sessions and guest talks: [e-mail] · Invite me to your campus
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