Welcome to Hack to the Future! 🚀

Hack to the Future is a 48-hour hackathon organized by Laurier Computing Society where university students can build innovative solutions that make a real impact.

This is an open-ended hackathon — you have complete creative freedom. Build whatever you want, use any tech stack, and bring your own ideas to life. Can't think of an idea? We've got a suggested challenge below to spark inspiration!

The Challenge

Option 1: Build Anything

  • Got an idea? Run with it.
  • Want to build a tool, app, or service? Perfect.
  • Use any technology, any approach, any vision.

Option 2: Suggested Challenge If you're looking for direction, here's a topic we think is worth exploring:

"Create an application or resource that helps students learn to track, budget, and understand their personal finances during their time at university."

What Makes Hack to the Future Special

✨ Direct Engineering Support - 3 hours of dedicated office hours via Discord on Saturday with our engineering team

🎓 Industry & Alumni Judges - Get feedback from professionals and alumni working in tech

💰 Up to $700 in Prizes - Top 3 teams win cash prizes, plus special category awards

🏆 Real-World Impact - Build something that could genuinely become a startup

🎉 Community - Network with other students, meet mentors, and celebrate creative solutions

Complete Schedule

Friday, March 27

  • 6:30 – 7:15 PM: Check-in & Registration
    • QR code sign-in at the door
    • Get added to our Discord community
    • Grab some Redbull & snacks
  • 7:30 – 8:15 PM: Opening Ceremony
    • Welcome from organizers
    • Challenge explanation & problem walkthrough
    • Judging criteria overview
    • Submission format & requirements
    • Timeline & what to expect

Saturday, March 28

  • All Day: Hacking! 🛠️
    • Build in the LCS Room (N2085) or from home.
    • Use any tech stack that works for you.
  • 1:00 – 2:00 PM: Rezzy Workshop
    • Hands-on walkthrough of Rezzy’s API for programmatic resume generation and tailoring.
    • Live resume feedback in the second half.
    • Free Rezzy Pro for all attendees! Snacks provided.
  • 2:00 – 4:00 PM: In-Person Office Hours
    • Dedicated support from the engineering team in the LCS room (N2085).
  • All Day: Discord Office Hours
    • Virtual support from the engineering team on Discord for questions, debugging, and guidance.

Sunday, March 29

  • 1:30 PM: Submission Deadline (Devpost closes)
  • 2:00 – 4:30 PM: Judging Period
    • Team presentations (5 minutes each)
    • Live Q&A with judges
  • 5:00 – 7:00 PM: Closing Ceremony & Awards
    • Top 3 Presentation
    • Winner announcements
    • Networking & celebration

Prizes & Awards

Placement Prizes

  • 🥇 1st Place: $300 CAD
  • 🥈 2nd Place: $150 CAD
  • 🥉 3rd Place: $100 CAD

Category Awards ($50 CAD each)

  • 🎨 Best Design/UI: Most polished, user-friendly interface
  • 🎤 Best Creative Presentation: Most engaging pitch & demo
  • 🚀 Most Likely to Become a Startup: Best business potential & scalability

Total Prize Pool: $700 CAD

Requirements

Build Whatever You Want

This hackathon is open-ended. You can build and solve a problem in any form, whether it be:

  • A web or mobile app
  • A tool or utility
  • An AI/ML project
  • A creative solution to any problem
  • Anything else you're excited about!

We even have a suggested challenge if you want direction (see above), but it's totally optional.

✅ Mandatory Submissions

All submissions are due Sunday, March 29 by 1:30 PM via Devpost.

1. GitHub Repository (Required)

  • Complete link to your project code
  • Must include a clear README with:
    • What your project does
    • How to run/install it
    • Setup instructions (dependencies, environment variables, etc.)
    • Any team member names/contributions
  • All source code must be accessible to judges

2. Live Demo Presentation (Required)

  • Teams will present their project in person to judges in a 1-on-1 format
  • Be prepared to:
    • Demonstrate your system working live
    • Explain how it solves the mentorship connection problem
    • Walk through key features and user experience
    • Answer questions from judges
  • Top 3 teams will be selected to present again in a final round to all judges/audience

📝 Optional Submissions

Demo Video (Optional)
  • Maximum 5 minutes long
  • Optional supplementary video to support your live demo
  • Show your system actually working
  • Highlight key features and user experience
  • Upload to YouTube (unlisted link is fine) and paste the link on Devpost

Deployed/Live Project Link

  • If your project is live or deployed, provide a link
  • Allows judges to interact with your system directly

Project Description

  • Tell us more about your solution!
  • Include: problem statement, your approach, tech stack, inspiration, challenges faced, future improvements, or anything else you want judges to know

⚙️ Technical Details

  • Team Size: 1-4 people per team (you cannot be on multiple teams)
  • Tech Stack: Any technology is welcome - use what works best for your solution
  • Solo Participants: Yes, individuals can submit solo projects
  • Original Work: All work must be created during the hackathon (Friday 8 PM - Sunday 1:30 PM)
  • External Resources: You may use libraries, frameworks, APIs, and existing tools - just be transparent about what you built vs. what you used

📋 How to Submit on Devpost

When you submit, fill out:

  1. Project Title - Your system's name
  2. Tagline - 1-2 sentence summary
  3. Project Description (optional) - Your approach, tech stack, how it solves the problem
  4. GitHub Repository Link - Required
  5. Demo Video Link - Optional (YouTube URL)
  6. Deployed Project Link - Optional
  7. Team Members - Add all team members (max 4)

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$CAD 700 in prizes
First Place
$CAD 300 in cash
1 winner

Second Place
$CAD 150 in cash
1 winner

Third Place
$CAD 100 in cash
1 winner

Best Design
$CAD 50 in cash
1 winner

Best Creative Presentation
$CAD 50 in cash
1 winner

Most Likely to Become a Startup
$CAD 50 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Nausher Rao

Nausher Rao
Senior SWE @ Mappedin

Harri Sivakumar

Harri Sivakumar
Associate Technical Consultant @Oracle NetSuite

Umar Rasool

Umar Rasool
Senior Product Engineer @ RBC

Judging Criteria

  • Product Functionality
    How effectively the system works as a real product, including whether the main features are implemented, usable, and clearly demonstrated in the demo.
  • Design and UX
    What judges look for: User interface design. Ease of use. Overall presentation and polish. Guiding Questions: Is the product intuitive?. Is the design visually appealing? Does it provide a smooth user experience?
  • Technical Execution and Project Quality
    The overall quality of the build, including code structure, completeness, reliability, setup clarity, and how professionally the project is presented through the GitHub repository.
  • Impact and Innovation
    What judges look for: The real-world value of the solution. Who the solution helps and how. Potential societal or student impact. Guiding Questions Does the project solve a meaningful problem? Is the solution practical or useful?
  • Presentation/Pitch
    What judges look for: Clarity of explanation. Demonstration of the product. Ability to communicate the problem and solution. Guiding Questions: Did the team clearly explain their project? Was the demo effective?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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