REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. Thank you everyone for your interest but capacity has been reached! Only preapproved hackers will be able to participate. 

yuHacks is York University’s 24-hour virtual hackathon by students, for students. We spent months interviewing fellow students to understand how we could best serve them through our hackathon. The predominant theme was that students wanted a focus on Professional Development as they prepare to enter a highly competitive modern workforce. Through yuHacks, we hope to present attendees with the opportunity to better their professional selves while engaging in all the fun you’d expect from a hackathon.

Main Challenges:

1. Education Challenge

Tired of Zoom University? This challenge is open to teams who want to rethink education. Whether tackling the struggles of online education or developing an app that enhances traditional education, teams will have their work cut out for them with this track!

2. Environment Challenge

Have an idea for a hack that looks to solve pressing environmental issues? This challenge is open to teams who want to tackle big problems like climate change, food waste, and biodiversity loss (just to name a few). 

3. Media Challenge

Looking to solve the spread of misinformation? Interested in tackling the issues highlighted by the Social Dilemma? This challenge is open to teams who would like to take on modern media. Problems such as social media dependency, fake news, and body shaming need solving!

4. Economy Challenge

Economic challenges such as poverty, rise of powers, and pandemics have the potential to destabilize entire continents. This challenge is open to teams who would like to explore solutions to some of the biggest problems available. 

5. Open Challenge

Have an idea that doesn’t quite fit the bill of our other challenges? This challenge is open to teams who would like to put their creativity to the test and submit a project that does not meet the theme of the other yuHacks challenges.

Bonus Challenges:

1. New Hacker Challenge

New to hackathons? This challenge is open to teams where a majority of the members are attending their first hackathon. 

2. Non-Technical Challenge

Not much of a developer? Still want to tackle challenges and explore ideas? This challenge is open to teams who are submitting a project in which they did not write any code. Examples: business proposals, powerpoint presentations, or merely a pitch.

MLH Challenges:

1. Best Use of Google Cloud

Build your hackathon project with a suite of secure storage, powerful compute, & integrated data analytics products proided by Google Cloud.

2. Best Domain Name from Domain.com

Register a .tech, .space, or .online 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 and Domain.com Backpack.

3. Best Hardware Hack Sponsored by Digi-Key

Using your preferred hardware or hardware emulator, build a hack for your chance to win a Grove Beginner Kit, with embedded Arduino Uno compatible board and 10 pre-wired modules. We select two winning teams for this category and each winning team member will receive a prize!

Sponsored Challenges:

1. YuRide Challenge

Devise a method/algorithm for predicting the number of students coming to York University Keele campus based on published timetables by York (assuming all classes are in person). Calculate the environmental impact (per month) taking peak seasons such as midterms and final exams into account.

2. Best use of echoAR

Build the best AR/VR application using the echoAR platform.

• Practicality
  How practical is the contestant’s project to real life situations? Would it be used by people to help complete tasks by real people?
• Delivery
  Were the ways that the contestants presented their project appealing to the eye? How well did the project convey its purpose?
• Appropriateness
  Is the project in line with the contestant’s chosen theme? How well does the project align with the theme?
• Completeness
  How well does the project perform? Does it perform the way the contestants claim it to be? How usable is the project? How creatively designed is the underlying mechanic?
• Innovation
  Does the project take on a new idea or approach an old problem differently or creatively? How imaginative is the project’s approach?