Name: LeedsHack 2025
Start: 2025-02-08T07:30:00.000-05:00
End: 2025-02-09T07:00:00.000-05:00
Location: LeedsHack 2025

About the hackathon

LeedsHack 2025 is the first student-led hackathon held at the University of Leeds. We were lucky to have so much interest and so many incredible sponsors for our first year. It's an incredible opportunity for all students, from beginners to experienced hackathon-goers, to learn new skills, work on an exciting project, meet new people and network.

Our theme for this year is 'plant new seeds', as this is the first iteration of LeedsHack, and we hope to get a new batch of students from Leeds and surrounding universities exploring programming and hackathons! We are encouraging you to challenge yourself to explore new areas and applications of computer science, develop your skills and interests, and further your career aspirations through sponsor workshops.

Schedule for the day

Time	Event	Location
10:00am-11:00am	Registration	Atrium
11:00am-12:00pm	Opening talks	Lecture theatre 2.37
12:00pm	Hacking begins	GR.18 and GR.25
12:00pm-12:30pm	Team building	Atrium
12:30pm-1:30pm	Lunch	Atrium
2:00pm-3:00pm	Workshop with Rebuildingsociety.com	Lecture theatre 2.37
3:00pm-4:00pm	Sponsor and judges careers panel	Lecture theatre 2.37
4:30pm-6:30pm	Branch out challenge with IMDb	Lecture theatre 2.37
6:30pm-7:30pm	Dinner	Atrium
8:00pm-9:00pm	Mario Kart games	Lecture theatre 2.37
10:00pm-11:00pm	Quiz	Lecture theatre 2.37
12:00am-1:00am	Midnight pizza	Atrium
8:00am-9:00am	Breakfast	Atrium
12:00pm	Hacking ends	GR.18 and GR.25
12:00pm-1:00pm	Lunch	Atrium
1:00pm-2:00pm	Judging	GR.18 and GR.25
2:00pm-3:00pm	Closing talks	Lecture theatre 2.37

Venue map

The number at the start of a room name indicates the floor - GR means ground floor, 1 means first floor, 2 means second floor.

Room	Description
Atrium	This is where you will register, sponsors will set up their tables with merchandise, and we'll have a table staffed with a volunteer. It's also where we'll give out food at mealtimes, as well as snacks and drinks in between meals.
GR.18	This is where hacking will take place - you'll have a table with your team.
GR.25	This is where hacking will take place - you'll have a table with your team.
2.37	This is where opening and closing talks, workshops, the branch out challenge with IMDb, and the activities (quiz, Mario Kart) will take place.
2.08	This is the mixed-gender quiet area - anyone of any gender identity is welcome to spend some time here if they want a break.
2.12	This is the women and non-binary quiet area - anyone identifying as female or non-binary is welcome to spend some time here if they want a break.
2.13	This is the prayer space - please only use this for prayer, and please be respectful and mindful of people of all faiths sharing this space.

Please use the lifts and stairs located at the back of the atrium behind the TV screen.

Male, female, gender-neutral and accessible toilets are all located on the ground floor. Please look for signs or ask a volunteer if you need help finding them.

Water refill stations are located at:
Second floor, on the wall outside 2.11, left hand side of building.
Second floor, on all outside 2.25, right hand side of main stairs.

Unfortunately there are not any on the ground floor, but please ask a volunteer if you have any problems getting to them. All other snacks and drinks will be on tables in the atrium, including a kettle, coffee, and tea to make hot drinks.

For more information on access visit the AccessAble website or speak to a volunteer.

Getting started

Teams are of up to 4 participants, and each team can submit to as many sponsor challenges as you wish as well as the overall challenge. Team building will happen at the start of hacking time. Once you have formed a team, start thinking about what you would like to build - check out the 'resources' section at the top if you are unsure.

Once you have decided on the challenge you want to submit to, get thinking about a project idea. We recommend you spend a bit of time brainstorming ideas - think about the different skills of your team members, what you want to learn, and what is feasible with the 24 hours. We will have experienced mentors on-hand to help talk through your ideas, and feel free to ask our sponsors any questions!

Requirements

What to build

We are challenging you to build the best interpretation of our theme 'plant new seeds'. This is deliberately broad to allow for creativity and originality, so interpret it however you wish! If you want some ideas, you could think about applying existing tools to new areas, inspiring others through education, or creating something with a focus on sustainability. We would love to see everyone developing their skills and trying something new, whether this is your first hackathon or your 20th. Just remember that your submitted must have been produced by your team within the 24h hacking period. Scroll down for our full judging criteria, and please refer to the 'rules' section at the top for the full list of rules.

What to submit

Provide a link to access your working project if you have deployed it. You may also want to submit photos of videos of your working project, and a text description that outlines the features and functionality of your project, your motivations for choosing it, and how it solves the chosen challenge(s). It would also be good to provide a link to your code repository if possible.

Sponsors and judges will come round and talk to you during judging, so pleas be prepared to to give a live demo and pitch then.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

6 non-cash prizes

Mighty Oak: 1st Prize Overall

1 winner

First place prize for the best implementation of the theme 'plant new seeds'.

Prize: Programmable retro pixel art speaker.

Blossoming Maple: 2nd Prize Overall

1 winner

Second place prize for the best implementation of the theme 'plant new seeds'.

Prize: Reusable film camera.

Glean Sponsor Challenge: Inspired by "Short Circuit"

1 winner

First place prize for Glean's favourite submission to their brief to create something inspired by the phrase 'short circuit'.

Prize: £20 Amazon voucher

Rebuildingsociety.com Sponsor Challenge: Insurance DAOs

1 winner

First place prize for Rebuildingsociety.com's favourite submission to their brief to make a dApp supporting the creation of an insurance DAO.

Prize: £100 cash

Pexip Sponsor Challenge: Video Where it's Never Been Used Before

1 winner

First place prize for Pexip's favourite submission to their brief to use their VPaaS platform to do something creative and original.

Prize: £60 PiHut voucher

The Data City Challenge: Streamlining Public Transport with Tech

1 winner

First place prize for The Data City's favourite submission to their brief to apply technology in making public transport better and easier.

Prize: TBC

Judges

Glean

Pexip

Rebuidingsociety.com

The Data City

Leeds Computing Society

Kathrin Lorenz
Software Engineer

Hussain Zahid
Software Engineer

Judging Criteria

Innovation
We're looking for projects that use ideas and technologies in new and creative ways, by applying them to new problems or areas of computer science and related fields.
Problem solving
We're looking for projects that aim to address problems that you think need solving - whether that's social good, education, healthcare, or just creating something that helps with a hobby or interest you have!
Creative thinking
We're looking for projects that think outside the box and interpret the brief in exciting ways.
Collaboration
We're looking for projects that combine the skills and interests of team members, so that the team can work collaboratively, with each member making meaningful contributions and being involved in decision making.
Development of new skills
We're looking for projects that have allowed the team to develop their interests and skills.
Solid technical implementation
We're looking for projects that have been implemented following good programming practice and with a codebase that is scalable to add new features in the future.
Use of relevant tools
We're looking for projects that make effective use of available resources such as APIs, while building on their functionality and applying them to new problems.