WELCOME TO THE TWENTY-SIXTH BIANNUAL HACKRU, HOSTED AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY.
You must submit your hack to be considered for one track (Social Good, Education, Maverick, Neurotech, Transit) only. Submitting to more than one track will lead to an automatic disqualification.
Each team is allowed to submit their project for as many superlative prizes as their hack applies to.
Transportation Track presented by NJ TRANSIT : Eligible projects for this track sponsored by NJ Transit must either be related to transportation or use NJ Transit data. Three winners will be chosen.
Neurotech Track presented by NTICe: Eligible projects for this track sponsored by NTICe must be one of the following things:
1. A game that intellectually stimulate dementia patients. The game should use machine learning to customize itself based on user performance and to monitor cognitive decline/improvement.
2. A memory assistant app for Alzheimer patients to better recognize their loved ones.
3. A project analyzing/utilizing a data set provided by NTICe (More info on this during the hackathon)
4. Any other project related to advancing NeuroTechnology.
A winner and a runner-up will be chosen for this track.
Education Track: Eligible projects for this track must focus on building a more educated community. A winner and a runner-up will be chosen for this track.
Social Good Track: Eligible projects for this track must focus on bettering the community in some way. A winner and a runner-up will be chosen.
Maverick Track: Eligible projects for this track constitute any other hack! A winner and a runner-up will be chosen.
Visit https://hackru.org/ for more information.
Requirements
- You must be a registered HackRU participant to submit a project through Devpost, provide a link to the shared repository you used, and the names of the team members for your submission.
- The max team size is 4 people. Each team member must have a Devpost account and be listed as a contributor on the project submission.
- During the judging period, the team must be available in person to answer any questions.
- All projects must be submitted in Devpost by 10:00 am on Sunday, October 27th. Submitting on Devpost does not mean hacking is over! You can still hack from the beginning of the hackathon, 12:00 pm on Saturday, October 26th, until judges arrive at your table at 12:30 pm on Sunday, October 27th. You are not allowed to submit a project that has been built before the start of hacking or a project built at/submitted for another hackathon. Any hack found to have been made before the start of hacking or for another hackathon will lead to automatic disqualification.
- When submitting your project, make sure to submit all project info and answer the questions on the submission page.
- You are allowed to submit your hack to be considered for one track (Social Good, Education, Maverick, Neurotech or Transit). Submitting to more than one track will lead to automatic disqualification.
- Each team is allowed to submit their project for as many superlatives as their hack applies to.
- Each team is only allowed to submit a single project.
- All members of your team MUST BE present for judging beginning at 12:30 PM EST on Sunday, October 27th.
- All prize winners must be present to sign for their prize when prizes are given out. No exceptions will be made.
Any hack that fails to meet any of the above requirements or the eligibility requirements will be disqualified and not be considered for any prize.
Be sure to specify the track you want to be considered for otherwise you will not be considered for a track prize.
Prizes
Social Good Track
The members of the winning team for the Social Good Track will receive a Nuphy Air75 V2 Mechanical Keyboard and MLH Winner Pins. Each team member of the runner-up team will receive a LARQ Bottle PureVis 17 oz self-cleaning bottle.
Education Track
The members of the winning team for the Education Track will receive a Kobo Clara BW e-reader and MLH Winner Pins. Each team member of the runner-up team will receive Nothing Ear(a) earbuds.
Maverick Track
The members of the winning team for the Maverick Track will receive a Pioneer - 43" Class LED 4K UHD Smart Xumo TV and MLH Winner Pins. Each team member of the runner-up team will receive a Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera.
NeuroTech Track
Each team member of the winning team will receive a Nintendo Switch Lite. Each member of the runner-up team will receive a JBL Charge 4 Wireless Speaker.
Transit Track
Prize: $800 cash split between three teams. The members of three winning teams for the Transit track will receive a cash prize out of an $800 total. NJ TRANSIT will determine the exact amount each team receives.
Best Newbie Hack
Superlative Prize: For first-time hackers, each team member will receive a Glorious Model-O Gaming Mouse.
Best UI/UX Design
Prize: Squishmallow plush. For hacks with the most aesthetically pleasing and intuitive UI/UX, each team member will receive a Squishmallow plush.
Best Failure To Launch
Prize: JBL Go 4 Bluetooth Speaker. For hacks that fail at the last minute but still see the light of day, each team member will receive a JBL Go 4 Bluetooth Speaker.
Best Solo
Prize: Owala FreeSip. For hacks made by a single person, the winner will receive an Owala FreeSip insulated water bottle.
Best Use of MongoDB Atlas
Prize: 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 (https://mlh.link/mongodb) or sign up for the Atlas free forever tier, no credit card required (https://mlh.link/mongodb-free). 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 (https://mlh.link/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.
Best DEI Hack sponsored by Fidelity
Prize: 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!
Best AI Application Built with Cloudflare
Prize: Arduino Kit.
Cloudflare is one of the world’s largest networks enabling hackers like you to build, deploy, and deliver trusted applications, no matter where you are! With Cloudflare, you’ll have all the building blocks to create a full-stack application; from C3 (create Cloudflare command line) instance deployment to object storage. You can even run GenAI (LLMs, text to image, Voice to text etc.) in the cloud and leverage your AI functionality via API requests using Cloudlfare’s Workers AI! Enjoy Cloudflare’’s generous free tier to get started at no cost! This weekend, we want you to build an AI Application utilizing Cloudflare’s numerous services for a chance to win Arduino Kits for you and your team!
Best AI Project with Databricks Open Source
Prize: Assorted Lego Sets
Databricks is an open analytics platform that helps you build, deploy, and maintain large scale data & AI solutions! Whether you’re working with large language models using Mosaic AI (https://mlh.link/databricks-mosaicai), storing data with Databricks Data Lakes (https://mlh.link/databricks-datalakes), or deploying GenAI powered applications using MLflow (https://mlh.link/databricks-mlflow), Databricks Open Source software has the tools you need to make your hackathon project state of the art.
Build an AI powered project utilizing Databricks Open Source projects like the ones mentioned, or Databricks friendly Open Source projects like LanceDB and Llama Index, for a chance to win some amazing prizes for you and your teammates! Check out the following link to see all qualifying Databricks' Open Source technologies (https://mlh.link/databricks).
Best Use of Midnight
Prize: JBL Tune 510BT Wireless Headphones.
Midnight is a data protection blockchain that offers programmable data protection capabilities powered by zero-knowledge technology to address the delicate balance between data protection, ownership, and utilization. This ensures that developers can leverage blockchain technology without exposing confidential information or losing control over their data.
To build on Midnight, all you need is familiarity with TypeScript or a similar JavaScript based library. The service is free to use and their developer documentation has all the information you need to get started. Build a DApp using Midnight this weekend for a chance to win wireless headphones for you and each of your team mates!
Sauce Labs Hot Sauce Raffle
Prize: Sauce Labs Swag Bag.
Sauce Labs (https://mlh.link/saucelabs-docs) empowers you to develop, test, and deliver top-tier web and mobile apps quickly and efficiently. Their unified platform makes automated testing and error monitoring easy to do, enabling you to save time building your hackathon project! Let Sauce Labs help resolve any issues with your code so you can get back to building an award winning hack. Make sure your project is hackathon-tested by signing up for a Sauce Labs account!
To spice things up even more, we're running the Sauce Labs Hot Sauce naming raffle and selecting up to 4 individual winners at this event. To qualify come up with a cool hot sauce name and submit it to the Sauce Labs raffle form (https://hackp.ac/saucelabs-rafflesubmission-form) for a chance to win some awesome swag including a backpack, beanie, and a bottle of Sauce Labs hot sauce!
Best Productivity Hack sponsored by GodSpeed
Prize: 2 years free of GodSpeed. GodSpeed (https://godspeedapp.com) is a todo manager built for speed. Any project that reduces the amount of time it takes to do or make something is eligible to win a 2 year free subscription to GodSpeed.
Best App Focusing on Mental Health sponsored by NTICe
Prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card. NTICe (https://tinyurl.com/ypya4ktr) is looking for hacks that best support mental health and mental wellbeing. Build an app/website that fosters positive mental health and be eligible to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!
Best NTICE Logo/Website Mockup
Prize: Custom NTICe t-shirts. NTICe (Neurotechology Innovation Center) is looking to kickstart their mission to restore brain function in people with debilitating neurological and psychiatric diseases with a beautiful logo or website. Hackers who create either will be eligible to win custom NTICe t-shirts! For more information, visit NTICe's table or the following link: https://tinyurl.com/ypya4ktr.
Best Security Hack sponsored by Nord Security
Prize: 1GB of free data and 1 year free of Nord products (NordVPN, NordPass, Incogni, Saily) for online privacy and eSIM data for international travel. Any project that relates to digital privacy or cybersecurity is eligible to win these products.
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Professor Menendez
CS Professor @ Rutgers University
Professor Pham
Math Professor @ Rutgers University
Professor Goel
CS Professor @ Rutgers University
Professor Hamidi
CS Professor @ Rutgers University
Deep Parekh
Software Engineer @ ADP
Archi Parekh
Software Engineer @ Deloitte
Judging Criteria
-
Functionality and Execution
Does the Hack work as intended? -
Creativity and Innovation
Is the idea unique? Has significant thought been put into the idea? -
Technical Difficulty
Was the project technically challenging to execute? Does it require a high level of understanding/skill?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
Tell your friends
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.