About PennApps XXV

Welcome to PennApps XXV: Ocean Edition! As our 25th anniversery event, this fall's hackathon encourages you to dive into innovation and explore the depths of the fields you are passionate about. From September 20-22nd at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering, 400+ high school and college hackers from across the globe will come together. In teams of 2-4, they'll work to build out an idea in 36 hours for a chance to win big in one of various tracks or prizes. 

Get started

  • Make sure you've joined our Slack, where you can introduce yourself and find other team members. 
  • Check out our weekend calendar to prepare for workshops, fun side events, and sponsor networking opportunities, as well as important hacking deadlines. 
  • Review our tracks and prizes here on Devpost to begin brainstorming project ideas. 

Requirements

What to Submit

  • Your project code in the form of a Github with detailed ReadMe 
  • Demo video / pitch slides (in the form of a Google Drive, Canva, Figma, or PowerPoint link) 
  • Team member information on your ReadMe (full name, email address) 

Projects will be submitted using the project submission form that will be sent on Slack. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$20,645 in prizes
Best Overall 1st
1 winner

Winning team members will each receive a Nintendo Switch.

Best Overall 2nd
1 winner

Winning team members will each receive a Go Pro Hero.

Best Overall 3rd
1 winner

Winning team members will each receive Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.

Track: Best Healthcare Hack (Sponsored by Patient Safety Technology Challenge)
2 winners

We are looking for the best tech-enabled​ patient safety solution​. Projects can relate to any of five categories:
1. Medication
2. Patient care
3. Procedure or surgery
4. Infection
5. Diagnostic errors

1st Place: FUJIFILM instax instant camera for each member of the team
2nd Place: Mini projector for each member of the team

Track: Best Sustainability Hack (Sponsored by Bloomberg)
1 winner

Bloomberg is committed to building a better world by delivering data and insights that drive action on climate change, reducing carbon emissions, promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and giving back to our communities. Best Sustainability Hack will be awarded to the project that best promotes these values.

Prize will be a Larq bottle for each team member.

Track: Best Community Impact Hack (Sponsored by Perpay)
1 winner

Perpay's track challenges hackers to create the Best Community Impact Hack. Participants will use their skills to design innovative solutions that empower communities and drive positive change, making a real difference in people's lives. Prize will be a Logitec Bluetooth Speaker for each member of the winning team.

Track: Best Privacy/Security Hack
1 winner

Prize will be a Blue Yeti Snowball for each member of the winning team.

Track: Best Entertainment Hack
1 winner

Each member of winning team will receive $50 Amazon gift card.

Track: Best Financial Hack (Sponsored by Capital One)
1 winner

How will you reimagine banking? Visit our API link for more info: api.nessieisreal.com.

Winning team members will each receive a $250 amazon gift card for their best financial hack challenge.

Best Use of Computer Vision (Sponsored by Roboflow)
1 winner

Sponsored by Roboflow

Best Use of AI
1 winner

Each member of the winning team will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card and Power Bank.

Best Use of Statistics
1 winner

Sponsored by SIG

At Susquehanna, massive amounts of data drive our trading systems and other technologies every day. For this project track, we’re looking for creative ways you can use statistics and data.

Each member of winning team will receive a North Face backpack with a water bottle and deck of playing cards as prizes for our track winners.

Super Fast AI
3 winners

Sponsored by Cerebras

Build a project with Cerebras Inference that leverages the speed of our API

Each member of top 3 winning teams will get keychron keyboards and swag boxes!

Best Next-Gen LLM-Powered Application (Sponsored by Tune)
2 winners

Sponsored by Tune

Create an innovative, practical, and impactful application that leverages the power of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Tune Studio’s advanced features

1st Place: $1000 + $500 worth of Tune Studio credits for free
2nd Place: $500 worth of Tune Studio credits for free

Cash prizes split evenly amongst team members.

Best Blockchain Hack
1 winner

Each member of winning team will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card and Tile Bluetooth Tracking Tags.

Most Creative Hack
1 winner

Each member of winning team will receive an Amazon Echo Pop.

Most Useless Hack
1 winner

Each member of the winning team will receive an LED Desklamp with wireless charging.

Best AR/VR Hack
1 winner

Each member of winning team will receive a mini projector.

Best Design
1 winner

Each member of winning team will receive a drawing tablet.

Best Beginner Hack
1 winner

Sponsored by Penn Labs
Half or more of team members should be first time hackers.

Each member of winning team will receive JBL Clip 3, as well as support from Penn Labs to develop their product!

Best Hardware Hack
1 winner

Each member of the winning team will receive a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B.

Most Technically Complex Hack
1 winner

Each member of the winning team will receive a Logitech mechanical keyboard.

The Wolfram Award
3 winners

Top 3 teams overall at PennApps XXV will receive a year of Wolfram|One Professional Edition access.

Best Use of MongoDB Atlas
1 winner

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. See more: https://hack.mlh.io/pennapps-c8/prizes

Best DEI Hack sponsored by Fidelity
1 winner

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! See more: https://hack.mlh.io/pennapps-c8/prizes

Best Use of Defang
1 winner

Defang is a radically simpler way to Develop, Deploy, and Debug hackathon projects, letting you go from idea to a cloud-deployed application in less than 5 minutes! Build your project in any language, deploy to the cloud with a single command and iterate seamlessly. The Defang CLI is compatible with Linux, MacOS, and Windows, making it a great solution regardless of your operating system. See more: https://hack.mlh.io/pennapps-c8/prizes

Download it today for free and save countless stress-filled hours of trying to get your application up and running on the cloud. Use Defang in your project this weekend and you’ll also qualify to win a Touch Screen IoT Sensor for you and each of your team members!

Best Use of Terraform
1 winner

HashiCorp Terraform is a source available infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that makes building, deploying, and managing your projects even easier! Whether you’re working in the cloud or using local resources, Terraform can make managing and configuring your application simple and organized. From deploying Machine Learning models to spinning up virtual containers for your web applications, Terraform supports a wide array of cloud providers and services, taking the guesswork out of your next hackathon project. Dive into the documentation and discover all the ways Terraform can take the way you hack to the next level!

Terraform’s community edition is free to use with no credit card required! Utilize Terraform in your hackathon project this weekend for a chance to win some awesome Hashicorp swag for you and each of your teammates! See more: https://hack.mlh.io/pennapps-c8/prizes

Best Use of PropelAuth
1 winner

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! Prize: Wacom Tablets See more: https://hack.mlh.io/pennapps-c8/prizes

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Anupam Mehta

Anupam Mehta
Salesforce

Judging Criteria

  • Released on Slack

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Tell your friends

Hackathon sponsors

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.