Welcome to the tenth iteration of WHACK, the Wellesley College hackathon! Students from colleges throughout the world will come together for 24 hours to turn their ideas into reality.

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or designer, or just starting out as a beginner, there’s something at WHACK for you. We’re absolutely beginner friendly!

You’ll enjoy a weekend of awesome tech, swag, workshops, and mini-events while learning from distinguished speakers, inspiring mentors, and peers. We consider WHACK a success if you make new connections and gain skills that will stay with you long after WHACK is over.

 

SCHEDULE

Saturday 11/12

10:30-11:00am Check-In Begins
11:00-11:30am Opening Ceremony
11:30am-12:00pm Team Formation | Brainstorming
12:00pm HACKING BEGINS
1:00-2:30pm Lunch
3:00-3:30pm Sponsor Meet & Greet
3:00-4:00pm Yelp Workshop: What They Don't Tell You About Technical Interviews
4:00-5:00pm WIP Workshop: Intro to UI/UX with Figma
5:00-7:00pm Dinner
6:00-7:00pm Intro to Game Dev Workshop
7:00-8:00pm MLH Mini-Event: Capture the Flag (Cybersecurity Challenge!)
8:00-9:00pm GDSC Workshop: Intro to Github Workshop
9:00-10:00pm Among Us
10:00-11:00pm Among Us
11:00pm Midnight Snack

 

Sunday 11/13

9:30-11:00am Breakfast
12:00pm HACKING ENDS
12:30-2:30pm Judging begins
2:30-3:30pm Judging ends / deliberations begin
3:30pm Closing ceremony / Awards

 

Requirements

Video Length

For your video demo submission we require videos be no longer than 3 minutes. Our judges will stop watching after 3 minutes.

International Submission Policy

Any prize awarded to teams will be in US specific (and potentially Canada depending on prize). This includes shipping only to the US and any gift cards in USD.

Cross Event Submission Policy

We will only accept projects completed during WHACK. Any project found to have been completed previous to Nov 6-7 or cross submitted to another hackathon will result in disqualification.

 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$210 in prizes

Most Readily Employable Hack

Prizes: Logitech Mouse!

Best Wellness Hack

Prizes: Stress Balls and Wellness Basket!

Best Community Hack

Prizes: Mini Projector!

Best Beginner Hack

Prizes: Amazon Gift Card!

Most Ambitious Hack

Prizes: Amazon Gift Card!

Best UI Hack

Prizes: Amazon Gift Card!

Best Use of DeSo

$100 worth of $DESO coin, an exclusive DeSo Tumbler, and a YubiKey!

DeSo is the official Web3 sponsor of the MLH Hackathon League and the first Layer 1 blockchain custom-built for decentralized social media applications. While a blockchain like Avalanche costs $0.50+ to store just a 200-character post, the DeSo blockchain is built with custom indexing and storage optimizations which make it 10,000X cheaper to store social content on-chain! In order to qualify for the contest, build a hack that uses the DeSo API. While social media apps are a great fit for DeSo, you can also build financial apps, marketplaces, and more on the DeSo blockchain. To get started, sign up for a DiamondApp account

Most Creative Use of Twilio

Twilio Swag Box & GameGo Console

Twilio allows you to incorporate mobile messaging, phone calls and a ton of other awesome communication features right into your hackathon project using a web service API. Are you building an e-commerce website and want to send text notifications or email confirmations once an order is completed? Or maybe you'd like to verify users based on their mobile numbers? Twilio makes all this possible and more. Build a hack that simplifies your life using any Twilio API for a chance to win some awesome prizes! Get started with $50 in free credit!

Best Domain Name from Domain.com

Domain.com Branded Backpack

Register a .Tech domain name using Domain.com during the weekend for your chance to win a Domain.com branded backpack for you and each member of your team! Each team may submit one entry per person on the team. The more creative the domain the better!

Best Use of CockroachDB

3D Printing Pen

Build your hackathon project on CockroachDB's open source and indestructible SQL database. Utilize CockroachDB in your hack for a chance to win a 3D printing pen for you and each of your team members. What's more, if you submit a verified project and are a US resident, we'll be sending you a free CockroachDB T-shirt while supplies last!

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 to all communities. The team with the best accessibility hack will win a Fidelity branded wireless charger for each team member!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Jordan Tynes

Jordan Tynes
Lecturer in CS, Co-Director of MAS / Wellesley College

Bob Oakes

Bob Oakes
Principal Software Engineer / CloudZero, Inc.

Fawziyah

Fawziyah
MLH Representative

Olivia Giandrea

Olivia Giandrea
Student / Wellesley College

Judging Criteria

  • Most Readily Employable
  • Best Wellness Hack
  • Best Community Hack
  • Best Beginner Hack
  • Most Ambitious Hack
  • Best UI Hack

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Tell your friends

Hackathon sponsors

Gold Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors

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