What should I bring with me?
- Your Laptop: The most important equipment. SotonHack will sadly not be able to provide computer access to non-Southampton students on the day.
- Overnight Gear: The building will be open all night, so you are welcome to stay and hack all night! Just a heads-up that we are not providing a dedicated sleeping area or beds. If you play on catching a quick nap, make sure to bring whatever you need to get comfortable.
- Toiletries: A toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. A quick refresh goes a long way during a weekend hackathon.
- Hardware: Feel free to bring any electronics or equipment you need to make the most exciting project possible.
What time will we start and expect to finish?
Try and get to the event by 9:00am to get registered and checked in before the opening ceremony at 10:30 am. This is also a great opportunity to say hello to fellow hackers (and potential teammates) We expect to round off the closing ceremony by 4:00 pm on Sunday, though you are free to stick around a little while after the event.Any tips?
While we can't give away the tracks (yet!), here are some words of advice collected from the organisers and others:
- Ideate! Plan first! Ideation should take an hour or more and is definitely the most crucial part of your project.
- Talk to the judges! Sponsors and organisers are there to support you. Ask for feedback as you go along. They won't be there for the overnight shift, so reach out to them early.
- Teamwork! Get to know your teammates, find out what they are good at, and find tasks that are independent and cleanly divided between you.
- Get (some) sleep! Caffeine is great, but if you feel an energy crash, doubling down doesn't always help. A couple of hours of sleep can go a long way.
- Time! You have 24 hours, and it goes by very fast. make sure your project is defined and manageable. Overreaching is never the best strategy in a time-limited event. There'll be plenty of snacks, side quests, and other opportunities to get you sidetracked, so get the most important features finished first!
- Have fun! You're not at a hackathon every day, so be sure to keep an eye out for announcements over the day on tech talks, fun events, and side challenges to make the most out of the event.
Where is the hackathon?
You can find the venue at:- The Gower Building, 112 Burgess Road, Southampton, SO17 1TW
- Or on Google Maps here
- Note: The entrance will be at the west entrance of the building.
Prizes
Unconventional connections
Build something that connects two seemingly entirely unrelated things in a creative or absurd way.
[Jebrains] Best use of Kotlin
Create something exciting using the Kotlin programming language.
Get started here!
[Hackathons UK] Best Use of AI Agents on Arm
Develop an innovative AI agent running on Arm hardware—from mobile devices to cloud servers! This challenge encourages leveraging LLMs, either on-device or via API, to create practical solutions. Show us the best use of AI agents on Arm and win a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W kit! Learn more at https://hackuk.org/arm
[Hackathons UK] Hackiest Hack
Build something over-the-top over engineered and held together with string. Use your imagination. Our favourite project will win Shark Plushes for each team member.
Best Use of MongoDB Atlas
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.
Best Use of ElevenLabs
Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI.
Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win wireless earbuds!
Best Use of Gemini API
It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?
Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice
Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers
Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more
Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?
Best Use of Vultr Cloud
Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck!
Sign up for a Vultr account today with your exclusive MLH promo code and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome prizes!
Best Use of Solana
The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.
Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.
Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.
Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).
Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.
Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Holly Everett
Hackathons UK
Alina Momin
MLH
Kai Patel
ECSS
Emma Brown
SUSU
tbd.
WTF is Indie
Judging Criteria
-
Creativity
We love to see creative ideas, something unconventional while sticking to the theme! -
Visuals
Make something that looks cool, whether it be a slick user interface, a surreal simulation or both! -
Technicality
We greatly value technicality - whether it be an interesting algorithm behind the scenes, huge data pipelines, raw low-level programming or something crazier! -
Impact
We appreciate projects that can help tackle real problems or solve a specific pain point!
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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