Postponed · 120 minutes · Free to enter

MitsuruTech ColdStart

A free two-hour coding competition for students.

Develop and deploy a backend service that processes data by a set of rules, in two hours, on a machine that already has everything you need on it. No cloud account, no card, nothing to install. Bring your own editor and whatever AI assistant you like.

The competition has been postponed

It has been postponed so that it does not clash with school and university term dates in some regions. The new date will be confirmed later, and it may differ by region. Please register your interest and we will email you when it is announced.

Register your interest

The prizes

First

$200

Second

$120

Third

$80

Fourth

$60

Fifth

$40

The task

You get the problem when the clock starts, and not before. You develop a backend service that processes some data according to a set of rules to come up with the expected results in the most efficient way, using some mock AWS services (S3, DynamoDB, SQS and so on) and a database, PostgreSQL, MySQL or SQLite. You write it in Python, Node, Go or Java. How you are scored is explained in the problem statement on the day.

Try a deployment before the day

You do not need an account to look around, but do practise deploying before the day. The playground only runs code, so it is not the way to practise: once you register, open Deployments and deploy one of the sample apps, to see how a deployment works and how long a build takes.

While you wait, a free account gives you your own files, a database, a cloud stack and somewhere to deploy. Practise as much as you like. Nothing is reset for the competition.

What the machine gives you

These are the limits we can publish in advance, so you can plan around them rather than discover them at half past the hour.

Deploying
Builds are shared, so a queue at the end is real: deploy early and deploy on purpose.
Run time
How long your app is allowed to run is not published. It depends on the problem.
A database
PostgreSQL, MySQL or SQLite, yours alone, created from the Databases tab.
A cloud stack
An object store, a NoSQL table and a message queue, on AWS-compatible APIs, reachable from your app and from a console in the browser.
A terminal
A Linux shell in the browser, already pointed at all of it.
No internet from inside
Your app runs on a closed network. Anything it needs has to be declared as a dependency before it runs, not fetched while it runs.

Questions people ask

Is the competition free to enter?
Yes. Entering is free, the account is free, there is nothing to install and no card to give. It stays free afterwards: what you get is an ordinary individual account on the platform and it is yours to keep.
Do I need an AWS account or any cloud account?
No, and that is most of the point. The database, the object store, the NoSQL table and the message queue all run on the platform and speak the AWS-compatible APIs, so you install the ordinary SDK and point it at what we give you. MitsuruTech is not affiliated with Amazon and the marks are theirs.
Can I use AI coding assistants like Copilot or Claude?
Yes, and public online resources, and your own editor on your own machine. None of that is cheating here: it is how the work is actually done now. You must still write, run and deploy the submission yourself, and what is checked is understanding, because the top three are interviewed about what they built before a prize is confirmed.
What if I have never deployed anything before?
Then this is a good reason to practise, and you can start the moment you register. The account works straight away: build something small, deploy it, break it, do it again. That is the whole skill the 120 minutes tests.
How long is it and when does it start?
120 minutes, on a clock that starts when you open the task and does not stop. The competition has been postponed to avoid clashing with academic calendars in some regions, and the new date will be confirmed later; it may differ by region. Register your interest and we will email you when it is announced.
What do I actually get out of it?
Three people win $200, $120 and $80. Everybody who enters keeps the account and the code they wrote, which you can redeploy any time and show to anybody: a working app you built end to end in 120 minutes is a better thing to talk about than a certificate.
Who is eligible?
Students currently enrolled in a full-time or part-time programme at a recognised post-secondary education institution, aged 16 or over: universities, further-education colleges, polytechnics and technical institutes, on an undergraduate degree, foundation year, HNC/HND, BTEC Level 3 or above, T-Level, Access to HE course or national diploma. Postgraduate students are not eligible, and winners show proof of enrolment.
I am a teacher. Can I enter my class?
Not as a team: entries are individual, with no shared accounts. Eligible students can each register themselves with their own free account, so give them the link. You do not need a MitsuruTech college account for any of it, and if you already run one the competition does not touch your modules, your students or your billing.
Can I enter if I am under 18?
Yes, if you are 16 or 17 and enrolled at a recognised institution, and you can win. A parent or guardian has to agree to the prize being paid and be present for the interview. We ask for an age band rather than a date of birth, and we do not store a date of birth at all.

The terms

All of them, here, rather than behind a link. Registering means you have read these. The binding version is Part E of our terms, which says the same things at more length and governs if the two ever differ.

Who can enter
Open to students currently enrolled in a full-time or part-time programme at a recognised post-secondary education institution: universities, further-education colleges, polytechnics, technical institutes and equivalents. That includes undergraduate degrees, foundation years, HNC/HND, BTEC Level 3 and above, T-Levels, Access to HE courses and national diplomas. Postgraduate students (master's and doctoral) are not eligible. You must be 16 or over; below that we cannot take a registration at all, whoever asks. Use an email address you will still be able to read when the prizes are given out.
Your tools are your own
Use whatever editor you like, on your own machine or ours, and any AI coding assistant or public online resource. None of that is cheating here. What you hand in has to be built and deployed on the MitsuruTech platform, using the account issued for the event.
The work has to be yours
You must personally write, run and deploy your submission. You can use an assistant; you have to understand what it wrote, which is what the interview below is for. Entries are individual: no teams, no shared accounts, and no sharing of code or outputs with others during the event.
How long you have
120 minutes, on a clock that starts when you open the task and does not stop. What is saved when it runs out is what is judged.
The day, and the time
The competition has been postponed so that it does not clash with academic calendars in some regions. The new date has not been decided and will be confirmed later, and it may differ by region. Register your interest and we will email you when it is announced. Nothing is lost by waiting: your account stays yours either way.
The interview
The top three are interviewed over a video call before anything is confirmed. It is a short conversation about what you built and how, and it is where we confirm your age band. Winners must also show proof that they are enrolled at a recognised institution. A prize is not confirmed until both have happened.
If you are under 18
You can enter and you can win. A parent or guardian has to agree to the prize being paid and be present for the interview.
The prizes
First, $200. Second, $120. Third, $80. Fourth, $60. Fifth, $40. Paid in US dollars by a method we agree with you after the interview. Nothing is deducted; whatever your own country asks of you about it is yours to handle.
What we do with what you tell us
Your name or nickname, your school, your age band and your timezone, and nothing else. The name is what appears on the leaderboard. We do not ask for a date of birth and we do not store one. See the privacy policy.
If it has to be called off
If the platform cannot run the contest on the day we will say so and run it again rather than judge a broken one. Your account is yours either way.

If you are a teacher

Entries are individual, so a class cannot enter as a team. Give the link to students who are eligible and each registers themselves, with their own free account. You do not need a MitsuruTech account of any kind, and you do not need to be there on the day.

If you already run a college here, this touches none of it: an entrant gets an individual account, so your modules, your students and your billing are unaffected. The manual page has the version written for you rather than for them.

Registering takes a minute

An email address. We email you a link, and opening it makes you a free account you can practise on straight away and keep afterwards.

Register your interest

Know somebody who would enter? Send them this page: WhatsApp, LinkedIn, or email.