November 3, 2025
Registration OPENS.
February 23, 2026
Deadline Extended! Registration closes February 23, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
February 24, 2026
Deadline for teams to request a free MATLAB license.
Friday, February 27-Monday, March 2, 2026
Challenge Weekend
Choose your continuous 14-hour work time during: 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday through 11:00 p.m. ET on Monday.
March 3, 2026
Consent to Participate & Team Records
Each team member’s Consent to Participate form must be completed before the start of Challenge weekend, either by the participant (if the participant is 18 years or older) of their parent/guardian (if the participant is younger than 18).
Deadline for coaches and students to log in and make changes to team record is at 3:00 p.m. ET.
March 6, 2026
Authenticity Certification
The coach must, for each team, log in and certify that the team’s submission is authentic and was completed according to the Official Rules and Guidelines. Coaches of teams from public schools in the U.S. will also be asked whether their school is Title 1 eligible.
March 5-18, 2026
Triage judging activities: both for overall M3 Challenge and MATLAB Technical Computing Awardees.
March 19, 2026
Teams making it through triage judging into Round 2 are notified.
March 19-22, 2026
Contention judging activities: both for overall M3 Challenge and Technical Computing Awardees.
March 25, 2026
Finalist and Technical Computing Awardee teams and coaches are notified.
Updated: Semi-Finalists and Honorable Mentions will be notified on or about March 27, 2026.
TBA April 2026
SPARK awardees are notified.
Monday, April 27, 2026
Confirmation judging in New York City with presentations by M3 Finalist teams and Technical Computing Awardees, followed immediately by awards ceremony.
