DivHacks, founded in 2017, is Columbia University's premier student-led annual diversity hackathon. Over the past four years, DivHacks has welcomed attendees from all over the tri-state area. We strive to create an empowering and inspirational space for students who are historically underrepresented in the tech industry.
Our goal is an experience that not only reimagines what diversity should look like in the tech industry but gives students the tools to use technology to implement change.
Requirements
1. Projects must be submitted by 12:00 pm, September 24th on DevPost
2. Submission Requirements:
Submissions to DevPost must be made by 12:00pm EST Sunday, September 24th
Teams submit only one hack to one of the 5 tracks
Along with 1 of the 5 main tracks, teams can submit to the beginner track to be eligible for the beginner track prize. They must satisfy all requirements to be eligible:
a. More than half of the team has never participated in a hackathon before
b. More than half of the team has less than 1 year of coding experience
Projects must include source code and/or product graphics (prototype)
Project presentations are 2-3 minutes long and must include an explanation of the hack along with a demo, product graphics, or prototype
Projects must be no more than 30% starter code
Projects must be started and completed during the event
Prizes
MLH – Best Blockchain Project Using 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.
MLH – Best Accessibility Hack sponsored by Fidelity
Fidelity Branded Wireless Charger
At Fidelity, accessibility is viewed as a major key to the success of their business, which is why they are challenging you to come up with innovative ways to make tech more accessible! We want you to use your hacking skills to find and build solutions that put opportunities and resources within reach for all communities. The team with the best accessibility hack will win a Fidelity branded wireless charger for each team member!
MLH – 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!
MLH – Most Creative Use of Redis Cloud
Libre Mini Computer with Redis Stack Server Pre-Installed
Redis Cloud is the easiest way to build and scale real-time applications - Period! It includes Redis Stack, adding indexing, querying, full-text search, JSON, time-series, and probabilistic data structures to the already-rich set of features of Redis.
Redis Stack works with all of your favorite programming languages and can be added to any existing application. It’s the easiest way to build real-time applications that scale and perform.
Show us how you’ve used Redis Cloud in a way that showcases your unique and specific data structure needs and each member of your team could win a personal, portable Redis Stack server IOT hardware unit to keep developing on the go. Find out why Stack Overflow Developers have voted Redis their “most loved and admired” noSQL database for years-running by rolling Redis into your MLH Hackathon project.
Sign up for your free Redis Cloud account, and head over to the MLH jump off page on Redis University for more info and docs links. Enter coupon code MLHFall2023 to claim your Redis Cloud credits and get started for free!
MLH – 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!
Popularity Award
Beginner's Award
Wolfram|One Personal Edition, one-year subscription to Wolfram|Alpha Pro
Most Innovative Use of Verbwire API
Up to $400 total cash across two teams (up to $200 per team). Each team member will be given a $50 Amazon gift card, max of 4 people ($200) per team.
Most Creative Use of Verbwire API
Creative Use Of Verbwire API- $5,000 in Premium API Credits, across up to 20 teams
Cyborg Award - Hosted by Sublayer
YETI Rambler 20 oz
Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
Sponsored by Marshall Wace, Ipads and Company jackets!
Augmented / Virtual Reality
Dezin Electric Cooking Pot
Web Development
Mini Projector
Mobile Development
Apple Air Tag
Web 3
TMKB Mechanical Keyboard
Education
Kodak Film Camera
Diversity
Phillips Sunrise Wake-up Alarm Clock
Patient Safety
Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Camera (Light Blue)
Green Tech / Environment
Japanese Zen Garden
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Thomas Heymann
PRHI
Dr. Benjamin Ranard
PRHI
Rajyashri Battula
Microsoft
Namaswi Chandarana
Gamechanger
Ankur Gupta
Uber
Sahib Singh
Microsoft
Arjun Lalwani
Youtube
Konstantin Glumov
Ankit Sinha
Google
Siddhant Jain
Jouncer
Mayank Jindal
Amazon
Ridhima Gupta (Virtual)
Databricks
Alok Tibrewala
Judging Criteria
-
Growth
Demonstrates that the team explored new technical skills and harnessed problem-solving skills in the face of challenges. -
Creativity
Is the idea unique compared to other hacks and real-world solutions? Does it provide any new perspectives or approaches to the solution? -
Functionality
The extent to which the project has been completed. Is the project technically sound and actually work? -
Presentation
Was the presentation clearly explained and well-organized? Is the presentation also compelling and persuasive? Did the presentation stick to the 2-5 minute limit? -
Concept
Identifies a problem and solution that is relevant to the track and theme of DivHacks.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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