The Open-Source Club hosted its first ever hackathon in March. Named, “Apply, Model, Optimize: Nurturing Gator Unity and Synergy,” we welcomed over 160 registered students to compete in the 24-hour mini-hack.

Teams were challenged to create something for teachers, a student organization, any niche group on campus, or for the event’s sponsor Dino Luzzi Energy Drinks that can help or improve some functionality. The goal was to make a product or application that executes this within 24 hours. More than 70 students finished the challenge for a total of 25 project submissions.

During the hackathon, we hosted a series of workshops to help participants use the latest tools and technologies. A huge thank you to tech leads Robert Conde, Phoenix Gutierrez and Alexander Wang for hosting workshops about React Native, ​​Vercel, NextJS and Prisma. We also want to thank one of our collaborating student organizations, Gator User Design, for introducing all of us to prototyping in Figma!

With over $2,000 in prizes, the judges had a hard task ahead of them given the volume and quality of the project submissions we received after 24 hours of coding. The judging panel consisted of UF faculty members, Sanethia Thomas and Catia Silva, an industry professional from JACOBS Engineering Kristen McDonald and Lenny Piskorz, a representative from the sponsor. We want to thank the judges for their dedication and support. Their quick turnaround and thoughtful deliberations were crucial in recognizing the efforts of the students who competed.

To view the entire gallery of submissions, click here!

A big thanks to all of the student organizations that collaborated with us to make this competition a success! And to the volunteers who dedicated their time and energy into making the event what it was. We look forward to hopefully making the open-source mini-hack an annual competition for UF students.

THE WINNERS!

• 1st Place ($1,000 prize) -- UF Club Info Hub
• 2nd Place ($500 prize) -- Dino Detect
• 3rd Place ($250 prize) -- Access for All
• Dino Luzzi Energy Challenge ($250 prize) -- Dino Luzzi Website
• Best AI Hack presented by the G[AI]TOR club ($200 prize) -- Dino Detect

Highlights

A photo of a participant’s workspace in a classroom in Little Hall during the OSC Mini-Hack. Yes, a lot of energy drinks were consumed by all.

OSC Vice President Anton Salvador stayed awake all night with those competing to supply them with energy drinks and some motivation. Once the classroom closed, the Marston basement turned into the unofficial late night location for participants still working.

Pictured from left to right: Grayson Kornberg (OSC Treasurer), Jonathan Mesa (OSC President), Anton Salvador (OSC Vice President), Daniel Wildsmith (OSC Historian), Sofia Alfonso (OSC Social Chair), Lenny Piskorz (Dino Luzzi Energy Drink representative), Phoenix Gutierrez (OSC Tech Lead), Maximilian Meiler (UF Software Engineering Club President), Justin Ho (G[AI]TOR President) posing in the event’s merch and holding Dino Luzzi Energy Drinks.