HackKU is the annual 36-hour hackathon hosted by ACM organization at University of Kansas, where students can have the opportunity to innovate new ideas, discover different paths, and push the boundaries of technology. Work with teams up to 4 people to create unique solutions to real-world problems! Students with all levels of coding experience are encouraged to join us and explore their interests. We are excited to host HackKU 2022 in-person this year, and look forward to a weekend with mentorship, technical workshops, and networking opportunities. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$3,765 in prizes
Cryptocurrency logo Prizes paid in cryptocurrency

No Theme Track - 1st Place

Oculus Quest 2

No Theme Track - 2nd Place

Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Themed Track - 1st Place

Nintendo Switch Lite

Themed Track - 2nd Place

Sony ZX110NC Noise Cancelling Headphones

Blockchain Prize

Amazon Echo 4th Gen

Hacker's Choice Award

Portable Laptop Charger

Trivia Prize

Logitech Mouse

Most Promising Startup (3)

The best project to provide the greatest opportunity to be transformed into a start-up.

1517 will give a $1000 cash grant to any project they deem worthy!

Best Use of Google Cloud

Build your hackathon project with a suite of secure storage, powerful compute, and integrated data analytics products provided by Google Cloud. See full list of products here: g.co/cloud. Each winning team member located in the US will receive a Google Cloud Swag Bag complete with a beanie, pillow, journal, socks and lanyards. International winners will receive a Google branded backpack.

Best Domain Name from Domain.com

Register a .tech domain name using Domain.com during the weekend. Each team may submit one entry per person on the team. Each winning team member will receive a PowerSquare Qi wireless phone charger.

Best Use of DeSo
Cryptocurrency logo

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 blockchains like Avalanche or Solana cost $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, you must launch an app that writes to the DeSo blockchain and/or implements DeSo identity. While social media apps are a great fit for DeSo, you can also build financial apps, marketplaces, and more on the DeSo blockchain. For inspiration on project ideas, you can check out some of the existing 200+ apps already live on DeSo at Bithunt.com as well as our DeSo APIs. The Best Use of DeSo gets $100 worth of $DESO coin & an exclusive DeSo branded tumbler!

Most Creative Use of Twilio

Twilio allows you to incorporate mobile messaging, phone calls and a ton of other awesome communication features right into your hackathon project using web service APIs. Are you building an e-commerce website and want to send text notifications or email confirmations once an order is completed? Or maybe your application needs to verify users based on their mobile numbers? Twilio makes all this possible and more. Build a hack that simplifies your life using any one of Twilio’s APIs for a chance to win a Twilio Swag Box and GameGo Console for you and each of your teammates!

Dream Big and Create More Cheers with AB InBev

AB InBev is all about bringing people together and creating more cheers for a better world! Using whatever tools, hardware and/or software at your disposal, build a hack that leads us into a brighter future for a chance to win some amazing prizes for you and your team.

Remember, AB inBev is looking for innovative projects that can possibly change the world in a positive way! We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Most Creative Use of GitHub

GitHub is one of the best ways to collaborate, push code, get feedback, and show the world what you’ve built during a hackathon. To take it a step further, GitHub is now offering you access to industry tools, events & learning resources through something called GitHub Global Campus. Win this weekend’s Best Use of GitHub prize category, first by signing up for GitHub Global Campus and second by using a GitHub repository to host your hackathon project’s code! Make sure your use of GitHub stands out with a detailed ReadMe page, meaningful pull requests and collaboration history, and even a GitHub pages deployment!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Drew Davidson

Drew Davidson

Arvin Agah

Arvin Agah

Gary Minden

Gary Minden

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

Judging Criteria

  • Theme
    Your project should follow the theme if you're competing in the specific surprise track we will reveal in our opening ceremony. This doesn't apply if you're competing for the general track.
  • Technology
    Considering your prior knowledge, the judges should be impressed by what you accomplished. It shouldn’t feel as though the project was easy for you.
  • Completeness
    Your project should be reasonably usable, keeping in mind that you only had 36 hours to build it.
  • Presentation
    You should explain the project and how you developed it in a clear manner.
  • Learning
    Did you and your team learn something new?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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