Since 2016, SwampHacks has been organizing hackathons at the University of Florida for students to develop their technical and professional skills in a community that fosters innovation and creativity.

We are excited to invite you to the tenth iteration of SwampHacks! SwampHacks X will occur over 24 hours from January 25th to January 26th, 2025. This year's venue will be Newell Hall and the 3rd floor of Marston Science Library.

Note: the SwampHacks team holds the right to make changes to this DevPost page leading up to the event in January 2025. Important changes will be communicated to hackers and other parties involved. By confirming your participation and registering for SwampHacks X, you accept that this page is a work in progress.

Requirements

Submission requirements will be posted when hacking begins!

Note: Projects submitted to SwampHacks X must be new! You cannot modify existing projects or submit projects that were started before hacking began. Projects that violate these rules will be disqualified.

What to Submit

Projects must be original ideas that are coded during the 24 hour period. Projects cannot be legacy applications that are built upon, expanding, or slightly altering already submitted projects to other hackathons, projects used in class, open-source projects available online, and or your own project that was built prior to the start of the hackathon.

Submit your public github repository with a detailed ReadMe where your code is hosted with your teammates as collaborators on the repository.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$5,000 in prizes
1st Overall
1 winner

MLH Winner Pins

2nd Overall
1 winner

MLH Winner Pins

3rd Overall
1 winner

MLH Winner Pins

1st - AI Track
1 winner

Leverage Artificial Intelligence to connect the past with the future by creating innovative solutions inspired by historical data, legacy systems, or earlier technologies.
Prize: koorui monitor (24”)

1st - Environmental and Sustainability Track
1 winner

Build on past lessons and milestones in conservation and sustainability to craft innovative environmental and energy solutions for the future.
Prize: lego japanese zen garden

1st - Health Track
1 winner

Use historical healthcare data or trends to inspire future-focused healthcare solutions.
Prize: Fitbit charge 6

1st - Education Track
1 winner

Transform student learning, empower teachers, and streamline educational management for institutions with your solution.
Prize: beats solo 4

1st - Social Good and Human Experience Track
1 winner

Develop a solution that address current social issues or enhances everyday human experiences in a modern, globalized world.
Prize: royal kludge s98 mechanical keyboard

Best Beginner Hack
1 winner

Physical prize equivalent to $250.
To be eligible, at least half of the team must be in freshmen standing.

Best Use of Auth0
1 winner

Auth0 wants your applications to be secure! Why spend hours building features like social sign-in, Multi-Factor Authentication, and passwordless log-in when you can enable them through Auth0 straight out of the box? Auth0 is free to try, doesn’t require a credit card, and allows for up to 7,000 free active users and unlimited log-ins. Make your new account today and use any of the Auth0 APIs for a chance to win a pair of wireless headphones for you and each member of your team!

Best AI Application Built with Cloudflare
1 winner

Cloudflare is one of the world’s largest networks enabling hackers like you to build, deploy, and deliver trusted applications, no matter where you are! With Cloudflare, you’ll have all the building blocks to create a full-stack application; from C3 (create Cloudflare command line) instance deployment to object storage. You can even run GenAI (LLMs, text to image, Voice to text etc..) in the cloud and leverage your AI functionality via API requests using Cloudlfare’s Workers AI! Enjoy Cloudflare’s generous free tier to get started at no cost! This weekend, we want you to build an AI Application utilizing Cloudflare’s numerous services for a chance to win Arduino Kits for you and your team!

Best Use of Terraform
1 winner

HashiCorp Terraform is a source available infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that makes building, deploying, and managing your projects even easier! Whether you’re working in the cloud or using local resources, Terraform can make managing and configuring your application simple and organized. From deploying Machine Learning models to spinning up virtual containers for your web applications, Terraform supports a wide array of cloud providers and services, taking the guesswork out of your next hackathon project. Dive into the documentation and discover all the ways Terraform can take the way you hack to the next level!

Terraform’s community edition is free to use with no credit card required! Utilize Terraform in your hackathon project this weekend for a chance to win some Keychron K8 Wireless Keyboards for your team!

Best Domain Name from GoDaddy Registry
1 winner

GoDaddy Registry is giving you everything you need to be the best hacker no matter where you are. Register your domain name with GoDaddy Registry for a chance to win a Hack from Home kit!

Best Use of Gen AI
1 winner

Generative AI is rapidly changing the landscape of software development. This category challenges you to build novel applications that leverage the power of Generative AI APIs. Think outside the box and integrate cutting-edge AI models to create innovative solutions with real-world impact.

To participate, utilize publicly available Generative AI APIs (like those from OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face, Llama, IBM Watson, or Google Gemini) to develop a unique and functional application. This could include:
AI-powered creative tools: Design an app that allows users to generate unique marketing copy, translate languages in real-time, or create personalized learning experiences.
Intelligent assistants and automation: Build a chatbot that can provide insightful customer support, or a system that automates complex tasks using natural language processing.
Next-generation content creation platforms: Develop a platform that empowers users to generate high-quality images, write different kinds of creative text formats, or compose original music with AI assistance.
This is your chance to get hands on with cutting edge tech, put your skills on display, and of course, win a Mechanical Keyboard & Fitbit!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Andrea Pound

Andrea Pound
Staff Software Engineer at Schlumberger

Anup Suggula

Anup Suggula
Chief Engineer at AMD

Anusha Narapureddy

Anusha Narapureddy
Orlando Site Leader at Apple

David Atlas

David Atlas
Co-Founder of Twisted Whisker Entertainment

Debbi Price

Debbi Price
Cybersecurity IT Technology Leader at NextEra

Dhavalkumar Patel

Dhavalkumar Patel
Senior Financial Cloud Analyst at Oracle

Dilip Mandadi

Dilip Mandadi
Senior Product Manager at Salesforce

Eli Newman

Eli Newman
CEO of New Destiny LLC

Josh Gary

Josh Gary
Senior Director at NextEra

Kai Priester

Kai Priester
Software Engineer at Bue Origin

Kashyab Ambarani

Kashyab Ambarani
Founder of Verbiflow

Kishor Yadav Kommanaboina

Kishor Yadav Kommanaboina
Software Engineer at Snap

Kyle Price

Kyle Price
NextEra

Neha Narwal

Neha Narwal
ML Engineering Lead at Amazon

Neha Rani

Neha Rani
Faculty at University of Florida

Pamela Dickrell

Pamela Dickrell
Associate Dean for Student Affairs at University of Florida

Paul Adunola

Paul Adunola
PostDoc Candidate at University of Florida

Premsankar Alwarsamy

Premsankar Alwarsamy
Engineering Manager at Docusign

Rishi Mahadevan

Rishi Mahadevan
Founder of Verbiflow

Rong Zhang

Rong Zhang
Faculty at University of Florida

Sai Sandeep Ogety

Sai Sandeep Ogety
Technical Lead, Cloud & Platform Engineering at Fidelity Investments

Sierra Pollard

Sierra Pollard
Director of Innovation at University of Florida

Sonia Chakraborty

Sonia Chakraborty
Nuclear Data Scientist at NextEra

Sriram Ramanathan

Sriram Ramanathan
Director - Web Services, Cloud and Accessibility Innovation at Vispero

Sumit Sinha

Sumit Sinha
Senior Director, Software Engineering at DirecTV

Vivian Garcia

Vivian Garcia
Data Scientist at NextEra

Judging Criteria

  • Submit by the deadline
  • Create your own unique and innovative project implementations aligned with one of our focus tracks. Each track addresses critical challenges and themes of today, and we can't wait to see the creative solutions everyone brings to life.
  • Health Track
    Use historical healthcare data or trends to inspire future-focused healthcare solutions.
  • Education Track
    Transform student learning, empower teachers, and streamline educational management for institutions with your solution.
  • Social Good & Human Experience Track
    Develop a solution that address current social issues or enhances everyday human experiences in a modern, globalized world.
  • AI Track
    Leverage Artificial Intelligence to connect the past with the future by creating innovative solutions inspired by historical data, legacy systems, or earlier technologies.
  • Environmental / Sustainability Track
    Build on past lessons and milestones in conservation and sustainability to craft innovative environmental and energy solutions for the future.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

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