Competition
Registration & Teams
Get ready for the hackathon! Whether you prefer to compete solo or team up with a group of up to 4 people, the choice is yours. Everyone must register individually before the event starts. Teams will be formed on the day of the event, but feel free to plan who will be on your team before the event if you already know who you want to work with.
Prizes
Compete alongside your team at HackUSU for a chance to win from our $12,000 of prizes. Push your creativity and coding skills to the limit!
Categories
For sponsored categories, extra points will be awarded for projects that follow the prompt!
Cybersecurity
Flex your cybersecurity skills by finding and fixing vulnerabilities, creating solid defense plans, or crafting nifty security solutions to protect and strengthen critical infrastructure!
Game Dev
Unleash your creativity and build a unique, playable game during the hackathon. Impress the judges with innovative gameplay, captivating design, and an unforgettable player experience!
Sponsored by:
Hardware
Create cutting-edge projects using physical components like sensors, microcontrollers, and robotics. Bring your ideas to life and showcase how hardware can solve real-world problems or deliver exciting new experiences!
Sponsored by:
AI & Machine Learning
Harness the power of data and intelligence to build innovative solutions. Develop projects that showcase smart algorithms, predictive models, or creative applications of AI to solve complex challenges!
Datathon
Dive into the world of data analysis, uncover patterns, and deliver insights using datasets to solve complex problems or create compelling narratives.
Hack the Planet
Tackle social challenges by creatively using technology to foster positive change, improve communities, or address global issues through innovative solutions.
Sponsored by:
Sports Analytics
USU Athletics will be sponsoring a new competition category- Sports Analytics! Here you will practice your skills in data analytics when it comes to sports.
Sponsored by:
Rules
- You must be current university, community college, or high school student; or have graduated less than one year ago.
- Each team may have 1-4 participants.
- Each team may only submit one project.
- When presenting your project for judging, you must disclose any code not written during the event including any major 3rd party packages/libraries that were used.
- You must be physically present at the event to participate in the competition and win prizes.
- You must follow the USU student code and the HackUSU code of conduct. See the safety page for more details.
Judging
During the judging phase, you will have 10 minutes to present your project and seek feedback from judges. Judges will determine beginner and advanced winners in each category.
Judging Criteria
Technology: How technically impressive was the project? Was the problem difficult? Did the team use a clever technique?
Design: How well designed is the user interface/experience? Are the graphics impressive?
Completion: Does the project work? Did the team achieve what they wanted?
Learning: Did team members try to learn something new? Did they attempt something different than they had worked on before? This is especially important for the beginner prize.
