Welcome to HooHacks, the premier hackathon at the University of Virginia! At our in-person Hackathon, you will have 24 hours (starting on March 23rd at 12 PM and ending on March 24th at 12 PM) to ideate, construct, and showcase the product you build from scratch along with other developers, engineers, and designers. We will also be providing free Perplexity Pro AI credits for one year to all participants.
This year, we will be awarding over $15,000 in prizes to winners in seven different prize tracks! Hackers are additionally considered for our best overall, best beginner, and special sponsor prizes.
Along with the hackathon, we will be putting on technical and recreational workshops that all participants can attend. Examples of some of our workshops include:
- React Crash Course
- Resume Building Skills
- Salsa Dancing
- Super Smash Bros
- Mini CTF
- Etc.
These workshops will also provide participants to network with corporate sponsors, experienced professionals, and others with similar interests!
We have a robust travel reimbursement policy for our participants as well.
For more details, please visit our website.
Learn. Build. Achieve.
Requirements
Only submit to 1 prize track category. You may submit to any number of sponsor prizes, but you must describe why you are eligible by including how you are using the specified technology in your project.
Prizes
Best Overall
Win an iPad for each member of your team and paid tickets to Pinnacle 2024 (one per team member)!
Best Beginner
The best beginner team wins a GPS Drone (one per team member)!
Best Accessibility & Empowerment
First place wins Go Pros. Second place wins Google Nest Hubs. (one per team member)
Best Art & Gaming
First place wins Nintendo Switch Lites. Second place wins Keychron keyboards. (one per team member)
Best Finance
First place wins VR/AR goggles and charging stations. Second place wins Anker speakers. (one per team member)
Best Education
First place wins Google Pixel Buds. Second place wins Fujifilm cameras. (one per team member)
Best Health
First place wins AirPods. Second place wins Amazon Fire HD Tablets. (one per team member)
Best Sustainability
First place wins Sony WH-CH 520 headphones and Anker power banks. Second place wins Roku Ultras. (one per team member)
Best Data Science (Sponsored by CoStar Group)
First place wins Apple Watches. Second place wins Echo pops and Fire TV sticks. (one per team member)
MLH – Best Domain Name from GoDaddy Registry
GoDaddy Registry is giving you everything you need to be the best hacker no matter where you are. Register your domain name with GoDaddy Registry for a chance to win a Hack from Home Kit! Each Kit contains wireless earbuds, blue light glasses, selfie ring light and a pouch for easy transport.
MLH – Best DEI Hack sponsored by Fidelity
At Fidelity, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are viewed as major keys to the success of their business, which is why they are challenging you to come up with innovative ways to create forward-thinking financial tech that promotes equality for all people! We want you to use your hacking skills to find and build solutions that put financial opportunities and resources within reach for all communities, creating accessible, sustainable, and/or inclusive solutions. The team with the best hack will win a Fidelity branded wireless charger for each team member!
MLH – Best Use of Starknet
Starknet is a general-purpose network where you can write and deploy your own smart contracts and interact with other contracts just like Ethereum. Build your application around Starknet using Rust or Python for your backend infrastructure, Starknet DSL for smart contract development, and React / JavaScript for your front end user interface. There are several SDKs available for you to choose from, making integrating Starknet into your hackathon project a breeze. Use Starknet in your project this weekend for a chance to win a Starknet care package, including a backpack, socks, water bottle, cushion pillow, and a ticket to a Starknet sponsored Web3 conference of your choice!
MLH – Best Use of Kintone
Still not sure what backend to use in your hack? Kintone is a low-code web database that lets you set up your backend in minutes. It's beginner friendly, allowing you to customize your Kintone app using nothing but JavaScript and HTML. If you're interested in IoT, your team can snag a FREE microcontroller by signing up for Kintone. If you use Kintone in your hackathon project, you'll have a chance to win a breadboard IoT kit to power up the hardware hacking for each member of your team!
MLH – Best Use of PropelAuth
PropelAuth makes it easy for hackers to add authentication and user management to their projects. If you’re looking to save time and effort on building a signup and login feature for your hack, PropelAuth is a great option for you and your team. Customize your login’s User Interface, from the color scheme and logo, to the login options you present to your users! PropelAuth provides a ton of options for configuration. PropelAuth is also supported across more than a dozen popular frameworks and languages including React, Node.js, Python, Django, Go, Rust, and Flask among others. Get started today and integrate PropelAuth to your hackathon project for a chance to win some awesome prizes for you and your teammates!
Intel - Best Use of Intel® Developer Cloud
1st place – $2500 Intel® Developer Cloud credits + Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon ($1500 value) for each member;
2nd place – $1000 Intel® Developer Cloud credit for each member;
3rd place - $500 Intel Developer Cloud credit for each member
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
TBD
Judging Criteria
-
UI/UX
How does your project look? Is the app intuitive for the user? Do the visuals add to or detract from the project? -
Creativity
How unique is your project? What aspects are more innovative than traditional approaches? -
Feasibility
How likely is your project to be created in the real world? What are the costs/benefits of running this project? In your opinion, is it worth it? -
Functionality
How well does your project work? Does it work outside of the local environment and does it work as intended? -
Impact
How much of a difference does your project make in the world? How efficiently does the project solve the problem it poses? -
Scoring
These criteria will each be scored out of 5 points to give participants a cumulative score out of 25.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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