About the challenge

Hack Nights is a semester-long ‘hackathon’ focused on getting students together to work on long-term projects together. We’ll be checking in with participants bi-weekly to facilitate progress for students. $1000 worth of prizes to be awarded at the end with judging done by faculty and industry!

Get started

To get started, form a team of 2 to 5 members. Brainstorm original project ideas together, leveraging your diverse skills and perspectives. Utilize our resources, e-board, and workshops for guidance and assistance. Finally, submit your innovative project for judging within the specified timeframe. Let's create something amazing together!

Requirements

What to Build

You have the creative freedom to build anything you can imagine, as long as it's original and initiated during the Hack Nights. Whether it's a groundbreaking app, a disruptive piece of hardware, or an innovative service, let your imagination soar. Just remember, projects not started on the Hack Nights start date will be ineligible for prizes.

What to Submit

All projects will be submitted through the GitHub Classroom assignment provided upon team registration. You'll receive a README.md template outlining the required sections for your submission. It's important to populate this template accurately, as it will serve as your project's entry for prizes. Ensure timely completion and submission through the provided platform to be eligible for consideration.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$1,000 in prizes
First Place Team
1 winner

$500 worth of prizes

Second Place Team
1 winner

$300 worth of prizes

Third Place Team
1 winner

$200 worth of prices

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

UB ACM Organizers

UB ACM Organizers

Judging Criteria

  • Pitch
    How well did they sell you on their project? Keep in mind, that many of these students are pitching for the first time.
  • Freshness
    How technically difficult was this project while still being able to achieve the goals they set? A bit more nuanced than the other categories. You could have the most complex hackathon project, but they weren’t able to do any of it.
  • Effort
    How much effort was put into the project.
  • Technicality
    How technically difficult was this project while still being able to achieve the goals they set? A bit more nuanced than the other categories. You could have the most complex hackathon project, but they weren’t able to do any of it.
  • Usefulness
    Is this project useful to anyone?
  • Works
    Is the project functional?
  • X-Factor
    The project doesn’t stack up well with our grading system but should be in the conversation for prizes. It gets an all-or-nothing score. Most projects will NOT get the X-Factor.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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