2026 France Tech Arena

Light Chaser (Optical Networks) or Future Network (Data Communications)

Frequently Asked Questions



Participation

You can sign up HERE.

First click on “Create an account” and follow the instructions. Then click the red “Participate now!” button on the platform to finalize your participant account. You can then submit your proposal!

You will receive a confirmation email upon registration. If not, please email [email protected]

When there is an update, you will receive an email from the admin on the Agorize platform and a notification at your provided email address. Please make sure you have clicked ‘Participate’ and check your junk mailbox!

To update your details, log in at LINK and go to your participant profile and/ or space to edit or change your details.

After completing the registration process, you will see options to join an existing team or create your own. Additionally, you can go to the Team page on our website to manage your team. To help your friends join your team, share the webpage with them. They can follow the registration instructions provided to find and join your team easily.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this competition, you are:

  • 18 years or older
  • Non-Huawei employee
  • Registered at a Higher Education Institution in European Union
  • Studying engineering/mathematics/computer science/physics or other related fields
  • Undergrad/Master/PHD student
  • Participant who has graduated up to 3 years ago are also eligible

Your team can include:

  • Students who are currently in undergraduate, Master's, or PhD programs.
  • Students who are enrolled at a higher education institution in European Union.
  • Students studying engineering, mathematics, computer science, physics or similar fields.

Important Points:

  • Teams can have up to 4 members.
  • It’s a good idea to have at least one PhD student on your team.
  • Each participant can only be a member of one team per problem.

Deliverables can be in Python, Java, C, C++. 

Registration Phase

For the Registration Phase, your team must register by completing and submitting the participation form. 

The deadline for registration for Light Chaser (Optical Networks) : August 27 - October 21, 2026, at 23:59 Central European Time (UTC+2).

The deadline for registration for Future Network (Data Communications)  : August 27 - November 13, 2026, at 23:59 Central European Time (UTC+2).

Round 1

Yes, you can modify your submission during Phase 1 before the final deadline of October 21, 2026, at 23:59 Central European Time (UTC+2) for Light Chaser (Optical Networks) problem, and

before November 13, 2026, at 23:59 Central European Time (UTC+2) for Future Network (Data Communications) problem. However, there is a limit of three submission modifications per day.

 

You will be required to upload your complete codebase in the participation form, including all files needed to replicate your solution. These files will need to be in .py OR compressed in a zip.

If two or more submissions have the same score, the following tiebreakers will be used:

  1. The submission that can be generated in the lowest amount of time will be considered the higher-scoring submission.
  2. If there is still a tie after considering the generation time, the panel of Mentors will vote to determine the higher-scoring submission among the tied submissions.

Awards

 

Announcement of the winners will be made on October 30, 2026 for Optical Networks problem and November 25, 2026 for Data Communications problem.

Prizes

The top teams of the Final Hackthon will compete for the following cash prizes:

  • Grand Prize: EUR 5,000 for the top-placing team.
  • First Prize: EUR 3,000 for the runner-up team.
  • Second Prize: EUR 2,000 for the team that place second.
  • Third Prize: EUR 1,000 for the team that place third.

Yes, a total of 4 teams of the Final Hackthon will be designated as Huawei Competition Students and will be eligble to pass an interview in order to access internship opportunities at Huawei. 

 
 

Participate