A year of participating in hackathons across Canada-US, with 6 wins!

Tl:dr; Hackathons are one of the best places to transform ideas into reality. Usually within a 24 to 36 hour timeframe with designated themes, it is a great space to create innovative projects.

My sticker collection from a year of hackathons and experiences.

In One Year

I am a computer science and technology enthusiast with a passion for hackathons. In just one year, I've attended eleven hackathons in cities like Atlanta, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, collaborating with 16 talented hackers from diverse backgrounds. Through these events, I've honed my programming skills, learned about new technologies, and been inspired by the creativity and innovation at these 36-hour coding marathons.

I'll talk about my favourite three experiences. Other hackathons I enjoyed uOttaHacks, MakeUofT, UofT Hacks, and the list goes on.

My First Full Hackathon Experience

Hack Georgia Tech was an unforgettable introduction to the world of hackathons. It was incredibly rewarding to collaborate with a talented team, whom I met online, to build a unique hardware project: a guitar-activated candy dispenser. The experience of working on a different campus and connecting with Georgia Tech's vibrant computer science community was truly inspiring. Access to their "Hive" Maker Space allowed me to expand my laser cutting skills, and despite the inevitable challenges, we successfully created a functional and visually appealing device. The immersive nature of the event, including an all-nighter, fueled our focus and drive, solidifying my passion for collaborative creation. This project remains a significant source of pride, demonstrating the power of teamwork and perseverance.

It made a huge difference to sleep at the hackathon venue to work on the project and go a far, which made me focus on wanting to create the best project possible. It was also my first all nighter and last.

Highlight: Building a project!

McHacks

My first API-driven hackathon was a whirlwind of discovery.

Working with my partner, Mike, I dove headfirst into the world of API calls, specifically to build a Chrome extension. We spent a productive few hours learning the ropes, and then quickly pivoted to our core idea: retrieving ingredient data from Radish, a sponsor grocery store. From there, we integrated Cohere's NLP API to generate recipes, and then pushed the boundaries further by adding DALL-E generated dish images. Finally, at 1 AM, we capped it off with a Twilio SMS integration, allowing users to receive recipes directly on their phones. It was an exhilarating experience, and we were thrilled to place in the Top 5.

Highlight: Used three APIs for the first time creating an exciting project!

MHacks

LumiGUI, my first hackathon overall win. Presentation is king! We spent a few hours (starting around 2 am on the Sunday) filming and taking photos of the final product.

Lessons learned eleven hackathons later:

• Always do something new at a hackathon! It makes it exciting and adds freshness and value every time
• Appreciate and meet the hackathon community. It is like-minded people all in one venue at a time. It is a great place to work collaboratively to create a wonderful project
• Work in a team! You are able to do projects at a larger scale and have fresh eyes
• The people who tend to win a lot of hackathons are the ones who go to a lot. There's a power-law phenomenon once you understand what it takes to win and optimize towards that

Despite doing eight in a span of two months (every weekend), it was great to experience the learning process and meet the community. Participating in hackathons were the highlight of my 2022-2023 year!