HackPSU is a 24-hour, 900+ person Hackathon taking place at The Pennsylvania State University. From seasoned coding veterans to first-time hackers from any major or field, all are welcome to join. Discover your ability to create change by developing technology to solve real-world problems, working with industry leaders, and collaborating with your peers. 

Eligibility

  • All projects must be built on site at HackPSU by registered participants
  • Individuals over 18 years of age
  • Teams can consist of up to 5 participants    

Requirements

Please have project submitted by 2:00pm Sunday Nov 3!

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$10,000 in prizes

HackPSU 1st Place

$500, Amazon Gift Cards split amongst team members equally. ($100 each for team of 5)

HackPSU 2nd Place

$400, Amazon Gift Cards split amongst team members equally. ($80 each for team of 5)

HackPSU 3rd Place

$300, Amazon Gift Cards split amongst team members equally. ($60 each for team of 5)

HackPSU | Best Use of an Internet of Things Device

$300, Amazon Gift Cards split amongst team members equally. ($60 each for team of 5)

MLH | Best Use of Google Cloud

Build your hackathon project with a suite of secure storage, powerful compute, and integrated data analytics products provided by Google Cloud. See full list of products here: g.co/cloud. Each winning team member will receive a Google Home Mini.

MLH | Best Domain Registered with Domain.com

Domain.com provides all the domain services you need from registration to hosting to SSL certificates and beyond. Each hacker will receive a FREE domain name and year of domain privacy from Domain.com for their project this weekend! Each winning team member will receive a Domain.com backpack.

MLH | Best Use of MongoDB Atlas

Create a hack using MongoDB Atlas to host a database in the cloud! Automate the provisioning and deployment process with ease, while focusing all your efforts on your hack. Projects built using MongoDB Atlas will be eligible to win an AirCharge Plus.

MLH | Best Use of Twilio

Create a hack using Twilio's powerful communications API. Do things like send SMS messages, phone calls, email, and much more in your project. The team that has the best use of Twilio will win a $50 Amazon gift card per team member.

DICK's Sporting Goods | #SaveYouthSports Challenge

Use technology to help #SaveYouthSports
First place: $100 gift card per team member
Second place: $50 gift card per team member
Third place: $25 gift card per team member

Geico | Weather API Challenge (3)

Create or consume other weather source APIs to craft an engaging customer experience. More specific details will be provided in the Geico workshop.

First place: $500 split amongst team members equally
Second place: $250 split amongst team members equally
Third place: $100 split amongst team members equally

JPMorgan Chase | Best Hack for Disaster Relief and Recovery

Winner will receive Bose Soundlink Wireless Headphones

Loop Software | Best Data-Driven SaaS Application (2)

Best Data-Driven SaaS Application. Must be built on LAMP stack, and must use OOP. Temporary LAMP hosting is available for each competing team - stop by the Loop Software sponsor table to obtain access!
First place: $1000 split amongst team members equally
Second place: $500 split amongst team members equally

Nittany AI | Artificial Intelligence Challenge (3)

Use the power of artificial intelligence to make your impact in the fields of: Health, Humanitarianism, Education, Sustainability/Climate Change
First place: $99 Amazon gift cards to each member
Second place: $50 Amazon gift cards to each member
Third place: $25 Amazon gift cards to each member

Textron | Turning Chaos Into Insights Challenge (2)

We as a society are drowning in data. Over the past decade the volume of data to analyze has grown exponentially and there is no end in sight. Companies that can identify ways to take datasets from a variety of sources and transform this chaos into meaningful insights can be incredibly successful, just ask companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. Textron Systems is looking for teams that can identify a way to combine geospatial data with open source data to produce a meaningful insight, such as highlighting trends, activities, and anomalies that are not perceptible without combining data in a certain way. Geospatial data includes satellite imagery, maps, video, and GIS data that is freely available from a variety of providers ranging from Government agencies, non-profit organizations, and companies. Open data sources include media (newspapers, magazines, etc.), Internet (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), public Government data (weather, environmental, budgets, etc.), and commercial data (publications, financial reports, etc.) Successful teams will be those that can demonstrate an ability to fuse together multiple datasets and identify something interesting or visualize something interesting that is not easily obtainable through existing services.
First place: $750 split amongst the team
Second place: $250 split amongst the team

Vanguard | Best Hack to Educate Teens about Finances (2)

Use technology to educate teens about finances!
First place: $75 Visa gift cards
Second place: $50 Visa gift cards

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

HackPSU Team

HackPSU Team
HackPSU

Judging Criteria

  • Creativity & Originality
    Is the solution novel, original and not-obvious? Does it approach the problem from an unusual or different perspective? How creative is the problem statement? Does the solution address a problem which is novel, original and not-obvious?
  • Technical Skills
    Was the solution technically challenging? (Taking into account team size and measured relative to competition) How intricate was the solution? Did the solution pose a challenge to the group?
  • Implementation
    Was the solution effective in addressing the problem? Was the solution easy to operate for the target demographic? (user friendliness) Is the solution needlessly complex? Overall, is the solution viable in addressing the problem statement?
  • Clarity
    Was the team able to convey their ideas in a way understandable to the audience? Were the topics accessible to the audience? Were all obscure acronyms or jargon explained?
  • Knowledge
    How effectively did the team handle questions? Did the team demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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