Pretty straightforward! We’re a big fan of AWS (in case you missed it, they’re our title sponsor!) and this is their category. The winner of this prize will be the team that best uses the AWS Cloud for their hack!

The past few years have highlighted a lot of struggles many of us may not have noticed in the past. If we want to fight poverty, social injustice, climate change, or another big problem facing the world right now, we’re all going to have to work to make it happen. Whether solving a global societal issue or a problem much more close to home, if you spend your time at CUhackit making a project dedicated to helping others, this is your category. Winner will also receive an MLH Winner Pin.

Does your hack use a piece of hardware creatively and effectively? Then this is the category for you! We are looking for a hack with an effective use of hardware that is integral to the success of the project!

Any team that uses an API or a dataset is eligible for this category! If you can make us astounded, confounded, or dumbfounded, you’ve got a great shot. The team that wins us this award will have used an API in their project and shown us the wow-factor they were able to achieve with it.

The "Best Executed Hack" award recognizes the team with the most polished and well-constructed solution. This category focuses on the technical excellence and attention to detail demonstrated in the development and implementation of the hack. This award will also examine your teamwork ability, creativity, and use of various technologies. Winner will also receive an MLH Winner Pin.

The "Wild Card" award celebrates the team with an exceptional and noteworthy hack that defies categorization. This award is designed to recognize the creativity, originality and impact of a hack that stands out in its own unique way.

The "Most Creative Hack" award honors the team with the most unique and imaginative solution, combined with a compelling presentation. This category celebrates bold thinking and recognizes those who not only come up with innovative ideas, but also effectively communicate them to others. Winner will also receive an MLH Winner Pin.

M5GO IoT Starter Kit
MongoDB Atlas takes the leading modern database and makes it accessible in the cloud! Get started with a $50 credit for students or sign up for the Atlas free forever tier (no credit card required). Along with a suite of services and functionalities, you'll have everything you need to manage all of your data, and you can get a headstart with free resources from MongoDB University! Build a hack using MongoDB Atlas for a chance to win a M5GO IoT Starter Kit for you and each member of your team.

Fidelity Branded Wireless Charger
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!

Blue Snowball Microphone & a Free .Tech Domain Name for Life!
Make your Team's Achievements timeless: Win a .Tech Domain Name for Life to Showcase and Expand Your Project, Plus 4 Blue Snowball Mics for Effortless Collaboration on Zoom, empowering you to build even more cool things together!

TickTime Pomodoro Timer
Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, such as large language models (LLMs), are transforming how we interact with computers. During this weekend's hackathon, we want you to apply AI towards improving education to produce tools that support the quality, accessibility, and equitability of learning in today's classrooms. You can use AI to address any challenge teachers and students face, such as curriculum planning, question selection, teacher training, content generation, personalized feedback, automated grading and more.

For this challenge, we encourage you to draw on your own educational experiences and propose technical solutions to problems you've regularly encountered as students — after all, you are the best to know where our education system needs improvement. Design impactful and effective AI tools for education for a chance to win a TickTime Pomodoro Timer!