HackPSU is Penn State's student-run hackathon and the largest technology event at Penn State. Join us and hundreds of other students from across the world for 24 hours of innovation, creation, and fun! From seasoned coding veterans to first-time hackers in any major or field, students of all skill levels will find technologically engaging challenges, professional networking, educational resources, and plenty of entertainment throughout our event!
At HackPSU, participants can discover their ability to create change by developing technology to solve real-world problems through collaboration with your peers and industry professionals. They gain new technical skills by attending workshops and taking on challenges. Our games and performances scheduled throughout the event give participants an opportunity to take a break and will be sure to keep them entertained. The whole event is a great way to meet new peers, network with our sponsor companies, and have a total blast!
Requirements
All projects must be submitted by 12:00PM (noon) on Sunday October 22nd. Participants will have until the end of hacking time at 1:45PM on Sunday to continue editing their submissions, but they must be in place by noon to allow time to assigning tables at the judging exposition.
All code written for your submission must be attached to this submission (preferably by linking to a public Github repository).
All team members must be listed on the submission so that prizes can be awarded accordingly.
In order to be eligible for prizes, at least one member of your team must present your project at the judging exposition, but the expo is not the only criteria for judging. The quality of the Devpost submission also plays a large part in our judges' deliberation, so make sure not to neglect it!
Prizes
$3,475 in prizes
HackPSU 1st Place
Awarded to the best overall hack at the event as determined by the five-point judging criteria. A total of $300 will be paid out via Amazon gift cards split evenly among the winning team members. Team also gets MLH winner pins.
HackPSU 2nd Place
Awarded to the second-place overall hack at the event as determined by the five-point judging criteria. A total of $150 will be paid out via Amazon gift cards split evenly among the winning team members. Team also gets MLH winner pins.
HackPSU 3rd Place
Awarded to the third-place overall hack at the event as determined by the five-point judging criteria. A total of $100 will be paid out via Amazon gift cards split evenly among the winning team members. Team also gets MLH winner pins.
HackPSU Social Impact
Awarded to the hack with the best use of technology to address social issues and make a positive worldly impact. A total of $150 will be paid out via Amazon gift cards split evenly among the winning team members.
HackPSU Entrepreneurship
Awarded to the hack with the most sustainable business model, including considerations of monetization, target audience, and future growth. A total of $150 will be paid out via Amazon gift cards split evenly among the winning team members.
HackPSU Generative AI
Awarded to the hack with the best use of generative artificial intelligence. A total of $150 will be paid out via Amazon gift cards split evenly among the winning team members.
NittanyAI
(3)
What if your idea changes everything?
Use the power of artificial intelligence to address a problem in the fields of health, humanitarianism, education, and/or the environment.
1st place will win a $99 Amazon gift card for each team member.
2nd place will win a $50 Amazon gift card for each team member.
3rd place will win a $25 Amazon gift card for each team member.
Best Use of Google Cloud
Google Cloud Backpack
Build your hackathon project with a suite of secure storage, powerful compute, and integrated data analytics products provided by Google Cloud. See full list of products here: g.co/cloud. Learn more about the tools and opportunities with Google Cloud by joining the Google Cloud Student Innovators program - goo.gle/student-innovators. Winners will receive a Google Cloud branded backpack!
Be sure to redeem your Google Cloud Credits as soon as possible through the Google Cloud Credit Form. Use the promo code in your pre-event email to access the form!
Limit 4 prizes per team
Best Use of MongoDB Atlas
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.
Limit 4 prizes per team
Most Creative Use of GitHub
GitHub Swag
GitHub is one of the best ways to collaborate, push code, get feedback, and show the world what you’ve built during a hackathon. To take it a step further, GitHub is now offering you access to industry tools, events & learning resources through something called GitHub Global Campus. Win this weekend’s Most Creative Use of GitHub prize category, first by signing up for GitHub Global Campus and second by using a GitHub repository to host your hackathon project’s code! Make sure your use of GitHub stands out with a detailed ReadMe page, meaningful pull requests and collaboration history, and even a GitHub pages deployment!
Limit 4 prizes per team
Best Use of Hedera
Compact Mechanical Keyboard
Hedera is a next generation blockchain technology that’s accessible from familiar programming languages like Java and JavaScript. Their goal? To make Web3 development even more accessible to hackers like you! Build a project on Hedera's test network for a chance to win amazing Compact Mechanical Keyboards for you and your team!
Build a decentralized application on Hedera using our JavaScript SDK.
Build applications that never sleep using EVM compatible smart contract service.
Say goodbye to cumbersome databases and hello to seamless scalability of Hedera Consensus Service. With no need for writing your own APIs your data is securely stored and easily retrieved.
Limit 4 prizes per team
Best Use of Circle
Circle Branded Hardware Wallet
With Circle, you can embed secure wallets into your app in just minutes. Circle Web3 wallets are compatible with multiple blockchains and are supported by over a dozen programming language SDKs. Circle’s programmable wallets will enable you to add secure transactions to your hackathon project using RESTful APIs, with options for both user and developer controlled transactions. If your hackathon idea involves in-app purchases, user to user payments, app to user payments, or all of the above, integrating Circle programmable wallets to your Web2 or Web3 tech-stack may be the perfect solution.
Sign up for a developer account and start using Circle’s APIs today, for a chance to win a Circle Branded Hardware Wallet for you and each of your teammates!
Limit 4 prizes per team
Best Use of Taipy
Wireless Headphones
Taipy is a powerful yet easy to use open-source Python library for creating full stack web applications! If you’re a Python developer, this library enables you to build interactive and dynamic graphical user interfaces and support them with data-driven backends. All of these functionalities are just a pip install taipy away and can cut your development time in half! Use Taipy in your hackathon project for a chance to win a set of Wireless Headphones for you and each of your team members, as well as a chance to have your project featured on the Taipy website!
Limit 4 prizes per team
Best .Tech Domain Name
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!
Limit 4 prizes per team
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
HackPSU Organizers
HackPSU
Judging Criteria
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Creativity and Originality
Is the project novel, original and not-obvious? Does it approach a problem from an unusual or different perspective? -
Technical Skills
Is the project technically challenging relative to the team size? How intricate is the solution? Did developing this solution properly challenge the group? -
Implementation
Is the project functional and easy to operate for the target demographic? Is the solution viable and effective in addressing the problem statement? Does it reflect the quality of the outcome? -
Clarity
Did the team convey their ideas in a way that is understandable to the audience? Is their problem and proposed solution well-stated? How effectively does the team demonstrate the capabilities of their solution? -
Knowledge and Growth
Did the team learn something new? Did they use unfamiliar software or dive into an unfamiliar subject area? Does the team demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter gained during the hackathon?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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