UB Hacking is University at Buffalo's student-run hackathon. Students from different backgrounds with any-level of experience are welcome to join us as they build fun, innovative projects over 24 hours.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

Best General Hack

Best Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Hack

Best Usability/UI/UX Hack

Best Hardware Hack

Best Freshman Hack

Spirit of the Hackathon

Failure to Launch

Best Pitch

Best Blockchain/Crypto Hack

Best Use of Google Cloud (Google Cloud Backpack)

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. Learn more about the tools and opportunities with Google Cloud by joining the Google Cloud Student Innovators program - goo.gle/student-innovators. Winners will receive a Google Cloud branded backpack!

Be sure to redeem your Google Cloud Credits as soon as possible through the Google Cloud Credit Form. Use the promo code in your pre-event email to access the form!

Best Use of MongoDB Atlas (M5GO IoT Starter Kit)

MongoDB Atlas takes the leading modern database and makes it accessible in the cloud! Get started with a $50 credit for students or sign up for the Atlas free forever tier (no credit card required). Along with a suite of services and functionalities, you'll have everything you need to manage all of your data, and you can get a headstart with free resources from MongoDB University! Build a hack using MongoDB Atlas for a chance to win a M5GO IoT Starter Kit for you and each member of your team.

Most Creative Use of GitHub (GitHub Swag)

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 Most Creative 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!

Best Use of MATLAB (Wireless YoYo Speaker)

MATLAB and Simulink are computational tools used at over 100,000 businesses, government and university sites in over 190 countries. Use MATLAB and/or Simulink exclusively or integrate them into another tool for your next hack to win an exclusive MathWorks branded Wireless YoYo Speaker! You can also claim a free MATLAB software license to get started.

Best Accessibility Hack sponsored by Fidelity (Fidelity Branded Wireless Charger)

At Fidelity, accessibility is viewed as a major key to the success of their business, which is why they are challenging you to come up with innovative ways to make tech more accessible! We want you to use your hacking skills to find and build solutions that put opportunities and resources within reach for all communities. The team with the best accessibility hack will win a Fidelity branded wireless charger for each team member!

Best Use of Circle (Circle Branded Hardware Wallet)

With Circle, you can embed secure wallets into your app in just minutes. Circle Web3 wallets are compatible with multiple blockchains and are supported by over a dozen programming language SDKs. Circle’s programmable wallets will enable you to add secure transactions to your hackathon project using RESTful APIs, with options for both user and developer controlled transactions. If your hackathon idea involves in-app purchases, user to user payments, app to user payments, or all of the above, integrating Circle programmable wallets to your Web2 or Web3 tech-stack may be the perfect solution.

Best .Tech Domain Name (Blue Snowball Microphone & a Free .Tech Domain Name for Life!)

Make your Team's Achievements timeless: Win a .Tech Domain Name for Life to Showcase and Expand Your Project, Plus 4 Blue Snowball Mics for Effortless Collaboration on Zoom, empowering you to build even more cool things together!

Best Use of Kintone (Breadboard IoT Kit)

Still not sure what backend to use in your hack? Kintone is a low-code web database that lets you set up your backend in minutes. It's beginner friendly, allowing you to customize your Kintone app using nothing but JavaScript and HTML. If you're interested in IoT, your team can snag a FREE microcontroller by signing up for Kintone and visiting the MLH table. If you use Kintone in your hackathon project, you'll have a chance to win a breadboard IoT kit to power up the hardware hacking for each member of your team!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

UB Hacking Organizers

UB Hacking Organizers

Judging Criteria

  • Pitch
    How well did they sell you on their project? Keep in mind, many of these students are pitching for the first time ever.
  • Freshness
    How new/fresh of an idea is this? This more-so relates to how common their project is for hackathons, but be conscious of the types of projects seen online.
  • Effort
    How much effort was put into the project.
  • Technicality
    How technically difficult was this project while still being able to achieve the goals they set? A bit more nuanced than the other categories. You could have the most complex hackathon project, but they weren’t able to do any of it.
  • Usefulness
    Is this project useful to anyone?
  • Works
    Is the project functional?
  • X-Factor
    The project doesn’t stack up well to our grading system, but should be in the conversation for prizes. It gets an all-or-nothing score. Most projects will NOT get the X-Factor.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

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