MakeUC is the University of Cincinnati's fall hackathon hosted by IEEE@UC. This 24-hour hackathon allows you to connect with other students, network with industry partners, and gain access to lots of free resources to help you create a great project. We focus on both software and/or hardware projects and are open to all majors and experience levels.

To officially participate in MakeUC and be eligible for prizes you must be officially registered by visiting https://makeuc.io/registration!

We cannot wait to see what you create at MakeUC!

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

16 non-cash prizes
First Place
1 winner

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: Nintendo Switch 1, Sony Sound bar, Meta Quest 3s, TCL Q65 55-inch TV, Apple Watch SE Gen 2, AirPods Pro 2, 4-in-1 tablet oscilloscope.

Second Place
1 winner

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: Raycons Pro Headphones, Editifer powered bookshelf speakers, Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, and a bundle includingta DeWalt Cordless Drill, DeWalt Drill Bit Set, and 50-in-1 Electric Precision Screwdriver Sey

Third Place
1 winner

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: Homall Gaming Chair, Samsung Galaxy Earbuds FE, JBL Flip 5 Speakers, and a bundle with Keychron K10 100% Brown Switch and an Anker Ergonomic Mouse

Best Social Issues Hack
1 winner

Social issue projects aim to address problems such as discrimination through innovative and technological solutions.

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: Arduino Sensor Kit, Official Arduino Plug and Make Kit, Pandemic Board Game, Lockpicking Kit

Best Education Hack
1 winner

Education Projects aim to improve the learning process for students and/or the accessibility of information

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools First Edition; Make: Electronics Kits (3rd Ed) - Electronic Component Packs Designed to Follow Experiments in Charles Platt's latest Third Edition; and a bundle with a Soldering Workstation Mat and Soldering Iron Station Kit

Best Green Tech Hack
1 winner

Green Tech projects aim to help the environment while being eco-friendly

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: iFixit screwdriver set, Raspberry Pi 5, Ozone Generator, Solar Panels, Solar Powered Generator

Best Security Hack
1 winner

Security projects aim to protect digital assets from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction through safeguarding sensitive data, maintaining operational continuity, and ensuring user trust

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: eero router, TP-Link 16 Port Gigabit Switch, Microcontroller Board STM32F446RE, CH341A SPI Flash dumper

Best Hardware Hack
1 winner

Hardware projects aim to use electronic hardware to solve problems and build interesting physical projects.

Each team member will be able to choose one of the following prizes: iFixit screwdriver set, Make: Electronics Kits (3rd Ed) - Electronic Component Packs Designed to Follow Experiments in Charles Platt's latest Third Edition, Soldering Workstation Mat and Soldering Iron Station Kit

Kinetic Vision Most Innovative Use of IoT Data
1 winner

A collection of IoT sensors and smart home devices, or a $50 Microcenter gift card for each team member.

MLH Best Use of Gemini API
1 winner

Google Swag Kits
It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?

Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice

Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers

Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more

Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?

MLH Best .Tech Domain Name
1 winner

HyperX Microphone & a Free .Tech Domain Name for up to 10 years!
Make your Team's Achievements timeless: Win a .Tech Domain Name for up to 10 years to Showcase and Expand Your Project, Plus Blue Snowball Mics for Effortless Collaboration on Zoom, empowering you to build even more cool things together!

MLH Best Use of Auth0
1 winner

Wireless Headphones
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? You can also secure your AI applications with Auth0 for AI Agents.

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!

MLH Best Use of ElevenLabs
1 winner

ElevenLabs Airpods
Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI. Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win exclusive ElevenLabs branded airpods!

MLH Best Use of Arm
1 winner

Handheld Game Console
Building with ARM allows you to create highly efficient, performant, and scalable applications & software! From IoT and Smart Devices, to AI and Machine Learning, ARM’s high performance computing and extreme energy efficiency will power whatever hackathon project you’re creating into the next level.

With hundreds of sample projects and tutorials, you’ll find everything you need to get started and then some, at ARM’s developer hub. With ARM powering the vast majority of the world’s smartphones, tablets, laptops, servers, and IoT devices, now is your chance to get hands on with the most popular processor architecture around!

Assemble your team and build your hack using one of Arm's learning paths today for a chance to win some awesome prizes!

MLH Best Use of Solana
1 winner

SenseCAP Card Tracker
The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.

Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.

Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.

Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).

Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.

Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!

MLH Best Use of Vultr
1 winner

Portable Screens
Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck!

Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Josh Hale

Josh Hale

Arnav Komaragiri

Arnav Komaragiri

Jaran Chao

Jaran Chao

Jacob Donovan

Jacob Donovan

Ashwini Joshi

Ashwini Joshi

Akul Santhosh

Akul Santhosh

Praneetha Kotla

Praneetha Kotla

Sevinthi Kali Sankar Nagarajan

Sevinthi Kali Sankar Nagarajan

Akash Suluru

Akash Suluru

Sravani Lingam

Sravani Lingam

Artem Tikhonov

Artem Tikhonov

Roopesh Kumar Reddy Ramalinga Reddy

Roopesh Kumar Reddy Ramalinga Reddy

Deepak Kaul

Deepak Kaul

Ishan Shah

Ishan Shah

Srinivas Reddy Kosna

Srinivas Reddy Kosna

Yashwanth Jetti

Yashwanth Jetti

Nial Viall

Nial Viall

Judging Criteria

  • Concept
    How unique, relevant, or impactful is the concept/theme of the project?
  • Technical Execution
    How effectively, creatively, and/or completely was the project idea developed and prototyped?
  • Technical Demonstration
    How well did the team demonstrate the success, failures, and/or limitations of their project? How well does the project solve an explained problem or accomplish a desired goal?
  • Presentation
    How well does the project submission follow directions (correct video length, provides all required information, etc)? How well did the team present their project (grammar, manners, organization, etc)?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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