WildHacks is Chicago's largest intercollegiate hackathon that runs for 36 hours.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$5,000 in prizes

WildHacks 2016 1st Place Prize

WildHacks 2016 2nd Place Prize

WildHacks 2016 3rd Place Prize

Trustwave - Best alternative multi-factor authentication mechanism (2)

(4x) Sonos Play-1 Compact Wireless Smart Speakers for Streaming Music

Come up with a new and unique way to help authenticate users. Avoid variations on common techniques like TOTP, tokens, or certificates.

Tanvas - Most innovative use of Tanvas Touch in a digital experience

Remote drone with HD camera and early access to Tanvas developer kit

JP Morgan Chase & Co - Best Social Good Hack

4x Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones

Twilio - Best use of Twilio API

(4x) Amazon Echo Dots

IMC Financial Markets - Best use of Data Visualisation

Prize - (4x) Apple watches

Clarifai - Best Use of Clarifai API

The hack that makes the best use of the Clarifai API will be awarded a DSLR Camera and a skateboard for each team member from Clarifai!

Amazon Web Services - Best Use of AWS

1 TB Hard Drives

Best Domain Name from Domain.com

Domain.com Swag Bags

Watch Dogs® 2 Best Device Privacy Hack

Everything is part of the internet of things now - from your phone to your fitness band to your thermostat. Build a hack that utilizes private data being collected from your devices, and show how you can turn potential vulnerabilities into something constructive. Prize: Collector's Edition of Watch Dogs 2

#HackHarassment

Use your tech skills for good and hack online harassment. Build a software solution that can help reduce the frequency and/or severity of online harassment. Win a HackHarassment Swag Bag.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Garrett Meier

Garrett Meier
Coach, MLH

Michael Marasco

Michael Marasco
Director, Farley Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Neal Sales-Griffin

Neal Sales-Griffin
CEO, Starter League

Mert Iseri

Mert Iseri
CEO, SwipeSense

Jake Albaugh

Jake Albaugh
Engineer, Codepen

Trevor Austin

Trevor Austin
Senior Technical Lead, Civis Analytics

Saurabh Gupta

Saurabh Gupta
Principal, Jump Capital

Zack Johnson

Zack Johnson
CEO, Syndio

Tom Schenk

Tom Schenk
Chief Data Officer, City of Chicago

Judging Criteria

  • Originality
    The hack should be unique and interesting. This can range from a new spin on a known idea to completely outlandish ideas. The hack should be something damn cool you’ve never seen before.
  • Usefulness/Utility
    Doesn't have to be business-ready, but should have the potential to be a useful in everyday life. Should also be intuitive and easy to use.
  • Technical Complexity
    The hack should be technically impressive for 36 hour project. They should have code and a functioning prototype. Anything from frameworks, apis, algorithms to interesting languages can add to the technical difficulty of the project.
  • Polish/Design
    Should look or work beautifully. The closer it looks and feels to a professional-grade application, the better.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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