Acceptance

Because the main LauzHack event typically receives far more applications than we have physical space to host, we cannot accept everyone. Our acceptance process is a random draw done in batches that balances EPFL and non-EPFL participation.

The earlier you finish the application process, the more chances you have to be accepted. Acceptance decisions do not take into account your CV nor personal details such as dietary restrictions.

If you apply as a group, we guarantee that if one member of the group is accepted, then all others are also accepted. You can form a team with whoever you want during the event, regardless of who you applied with. Accepted participants may not be replaced by someone else nor add someone to their group after acceptance.

Application decisions are final. If you are rejected, the decision is about space constraints, not about you personally. Please do not contact us asking if you could participate anyway.

Sleeping and Accommodation

You are welcome to sleep during the event, including going home to sleep if you live nearby. Depending on where you come from, you may need accommodation before or after the event. You can include the cost of hostels/hotels/AirBnB in the travel reimbursement up to the relevant limit, as described in the travel reimbursement section below.

• Before the event for the Friday-Saturday night, either use the accommodation managed by us described below, or find your own accommodation
• During the event for the Saturday-Sunday night, we will have hostel spots available for free on a first-come-first-served basis
• After the event for the Sunday-Monday night, if you have no travel options once the closing ceremony is over, please find your own accommodation

For Friday-Saturday, we have a limited number of places in a hostel near the venue, available if you arrive before 23:00 at EPFL on Friday, which means landing before 21:00 at Geneva Airport. It counts for CHF 50 from your travel reimbursement budget. After acceptance, you will receive a link to the reservation form. We cannot guarantee there will still be space when you are accepted, since participants accepted earlier may have already filled the space.

Travel reimbursement

This policy applies to our main event, not to mini-hackathons such as Swiss AI weeks

We reimburse the following upon presentation of receipts, at the end of the event, in CHF cash:

• Per participant from the greater Lausanne area, nothing.
• Per participant from Switzerland, up to 75 CHF of public transport costs, no planes nor cars.
• Per participant from Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, the UK, and Benelux, up to 150 CHF of travel costs including plane, car, train, bus, hotel/AirBnB.
• Per participant from the rest of the world, up to 200 CHF of travel costs including plane, car, train, bus, hotel/AirBnB.

Important:

• No need to let us know about the need for this reimbursement, it applies to everyone and does not impact acceptance to the event.
• Only accepted participants can be reimbursed, do not make travel expenses before you receive an acceptance confirmation.
• You must stay for the entire event and demo your hack to be reimbursed, including attending the closing ceremony.
• If you live away from your university, such as for an internship, provide some basic proof such as the badge of the company you’re interning in.
• You must upload your receipts before the Sunday of the event, the system to do so will be open before the event starts.

Details:

• Public transport trips not yet bought at reimbursement time, such as a train trip back, are reimbursed given the receipt for the one-way trip at the same cost.
• Car rental, fuel, and parking all count.
• Hotel stays from Friday to Saturday, either because the free hosting above has run out or because you cannot arrive early enough, count.
• Hotel stays from Sunday to Monday also count.
• Food and travel-adjacent purchases such as sleeping bags or mobile data do NOT count.

About receipts:

• Receipts must show the price paid, date, origin, and destination when relevant.
• Receipt currency doesn’t matter, we’ll use the conversion rate on the day of the reimbursement.
• Multiple participants can be on the same receipt, such as a shared car or hotel, we will split equally between them.

Please understand that these policies exist to provide fairness for participants and workload management for the organizers, who are volunteers. We will not make exceptions such as not-yet-bought asymmetric train trips, unequal sharing of receipts, late reimbursements, or bank transfers.