Hackathon: Coding for a Better Community

Do you love to design?

Are you passionate about technology?

Do you want to use technology to build a better community?

If so, we want you to join us to design and develop applications that help building a better community. Specific topics will be presented by community members the day of the event. You will be working in a team to implement your own app. Teamwork is a great way to meet other students who are passionate about technology. Professional mentors will be onsite to help you. The day will close with an exhibit where all teams showcase their work.

The Hackathon has two tracks:

• The Novice Track is open to every student of age 13-17. If you are older but still in High School, that is okay as well. You don’t have to have any coding experience to participate. 
• The Advanced Track is open to college students and high school students age 18 and above. You should have basic web development skills (e.g. HTML & CSS) and experience with a general purpose programming language (e.g. Java, JavaScript, C#). We strongly recommend that you have passed a web development course, like UWG's CS2100 Introduction to Web Development, and a CS1 course, like AP CS A or UWG's CS1301 Computer Science I. 

Bring a laptop, an open mindset, creativity, and a lot of enthusiasm! We provide the rest.

Location & Schedule

The Hackathon will take place at the Biology Building on the UWG Campus in Carrollton, GA (1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118).

• The Novice Track takes place Saturday, February 1, 2020, 9am-5:30pm.
• The Advanced Track takes place Friday, January 31, 2020, 5:30pm-8:30pm and Saturday, February 1, 2020, 8:30am-5:30pm.

Check the tabs for more details about each track.

Location and Schedule

Location: Biology Building on the UWG Campus in Carrollton, GA (1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118).

Below is the tentative schedule for February 1:

9:00am - Registration
9:30am - Opening talks & forming teams
10:30am - Code start
12:30pm - Lunch
3:00pm - Code stop
3:15pm - Presentations by teams of novice track
4:15pm - Presentations by teams of advanced track
5:00pm - Recognition of teams

What you need to bring

You need to bring a laptop. We also recommend that you bring a mouse and a power cord for your laptop.

FAQ

• What is a Hackathon?

  A Hackathon is a marathon where teams of students design and implement software within a very short time-frame. The participants do not need to have already any technical skills, like programming experience, before the hackathon. Instead, they learn from each other and from mentors at the event.

• Who can participate?

  Everybody age 13 to 17 can participate. If you are older but still in High School, that is okay as well.

• Do I need to be part of a team?

  If you know other students, you can team up already before the Hackathon. But you can also join a team onsite. A team should consist of 2-3 students. Working on your own is strongly discouraged.

• What if I can’t code?

  That is not a problem. We will get you started. Throughout the entire event, there will be professional mentors to help you code. We will use a programming platform that has been designed for novice programmers. Note that every team needs not only programmers, but also members that design, implement, and promote your team’s app.

• Can I implement any application?

  At the beginning of the Hackathon, a community leader will introduce an issue in our community that can be tackled through the development of an application. You will have to stick with one of the introduced application options and with the required programming platform. Everything else is decided by your team.

• How much does it cost to participate?

  The early registration fee is $7 per participant and the late registration fee is $10 per participant. If you would like to participate, but you are not able to pay the registration fee, contact the Fusion Center (fusioncenter@westga.edu, 678-839-6057).

• How do I register?

  Your parents have to register you online. Check out the Registration tab for details.

• Other questions?

  Please contact Anja Remshagen (anja@westga.edu).

Tentative Schedule

Friday, January 31:

5:30pm - Registration
6pm - Opening talks  
6:45pm - Forming teams and dinner
7:15pm - Project work in teams
8:30pm - Closing for the day

Saturday, February 1:

8:30am - Project discussion & breakfast
9:30am - Project work in teams
12:30pm - Lunch
3:00pm - Code stop
3:15pm - Presentations by teams of novice track
4:15pm - Presentations by teams of advanced track
5:00pm - Recognition of teams

What you need to bring

You need to bring a laptop. Don't forget a power cord for your laptop and possibly a mouse.

FAQ

• What is a Hackathon?

  A Hackathon is a marathon where teams of students design and implement software within a very short time-frame. The participants do not need to be computing professionals, but typically they have some technical skills, like programming experience, before the Hackathon. Participants learn also from each other and from mentors at the event.

• Who can participate?

  Any college student with web development skills (e.g. HTML & CSS) and experience with a general purpose programming language (e.g. Java, JavaScript, C#) can participate. If you are still in high school and at least 18 years old, you can participate in the advanced track as well. You do not have to be a computer science major, but we strongly recommend that you have passed a web development course, like UWG's CS2100 Introduction to Web Development, and a CS1 course, like AP CS A or UWG's CS1301 Computer Science I. 

• Do I need to be part of a team?

  If you know other students, you can team up already before the Hackathon. But you can also join a team onsite. A team should consist of 4 students. You cannot work on your own.

• Can I implement any application?

  At the beginning of the Hackathon, a community leader will introduce issues in our community that can be tackled through the development of an app. You will have to stick with one of the introduced app options. Everything else is decided by your team. We hope you will bring your creativity to bear by finding novel solutions to these community issues.

• How much does it cost to participate?

  The early registration fee is $7 per participant and late registration fee is $10 per participant. If you would like to participate, but you are not able to pay the registration fee, contact the Fusion Center (fusioncenter@westga.edu, 678-839-6057).

• How do I register?

  Check out the Registration tab for details.

• Other questions?

  Please contact Jonathan Corley (jcorley@westga.edu).

Registration

Please use the registration form to register for the Hackathon. To complete the registration, you will need to send in
the payment as described below.

Payment

What is the cost?
Early registration: $7 per individual if paid by December 15, 2019
Late registration: $10 per individual if paid after December 15, 2019

How do I pay?
You can pay by credit card using the payment portal, or you can write a check payable to the University of West Georgia. The check needs to be mailed to:

University of West Georgia
Fusion Center
Attn. Stephanie Puckett
1601 Maple Street
Carrollton, GA 30118

If you pay by check, please, reference all registered persons in the memo line or include a piece of paper with this information so we know whose registrations it pertains to.

Contact

Please contact us by email (fusioncenter@westga.edu) or phone (678-839-6057).

Past Hackathons

• 2017 Hackathon
• 2018 Hackathon
• 2019 Hackathon