manifesto
Useless Projects is an 18-hour overnight make-a-thon where you build whatever you want - because making things doesn't always have to be about making something useful.
In a world chasing results, we paused to ask - what if we made space for students to create without the pressure to be “useful”? That’s how Useless Projects was born. A name that made people laugh, wonder, and then get curious enough to build.
This initiative wasn’t about big ideas or polished outcomes. It was about courage.
What emerged was magical. Scrappy prototypes. Ridiculous ideas. And most importantly, students who dared to begin. One participant, barely weeks into college, built her first hardware project by morning. That spark? That’s what we’re here to ignite.
Because before innovation, there is imagination. Before skill, there is play. And before impact, there is belief.
Useless Projects returns with the same spirit - to remind young people that it’s okay to play, to mess up, to dream without a roadmap. Because in those moments of low stakes and high courage, something real is sparked.
We invite you to be part of it - as a host, a partner, a believer in the power of messy, joyful making.
- Kurian Jacob, Curator