Hackathon postponed to next spring

This weekend, Clemens Library was set to transform into a creativity lab as Hackathon: Solutions for Good to give students a unique chance to create, innovate and win prizes.

However, this event has been postponed until next semester in order to provide more time to encourage participation from students in a diverse variety of disciplines, said librarian Kelly Butorac.

Despite the name, hackathons don’t involve breaking into computers.

Instead, they are collaborative brainstorming marathons aimed at creating a unique solution to a problem, often presented by a bigger company.

Next semester’s Hackathon challenge is presented by one of the event’s sponsors, Stearns Bank.

“[Stearns Bank] has been really nice with us in terms of providing us with some exclusive data that they have from their branches, and they’ve got a particular problem that they’re looking to solve,” said Bardia Bijani, visiting assistant professor of entrepreneurship and executive in residence for the McNeely Center.

Students can expect free pizza and directions for the event.

From there, students will have two days to develop their best pitch.

While first introduced to campus in spring 2019, the CSB+SJU Hackathon is being revamped this year to extend its reach to students of all majors and interests and not
solely data science.

“This is our first crack at inviting a broader audience into this hackathon context,” Bijani said.

This event was made possible through the partnerships among the CSB+SJU Libraries, Computer Science Department, the McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship and Math Department, along with its two sponsors: Stearns Bank and Bolt, an AI app-builder.

“I would argue that the entrepreneurial mindset is useful regardless of which career you’re going into,” Bijani said. “It’s about creating a growth mindset in the context of creative problem solving. And I don’t think I can name a single scenario in which that wouldn’t be useful.”

Kara Schleck, the new Sciences & Data Literacy Librarian, helped plan to bring the Hackathon to Clemens for the first time.

Previously held in the Main Building, organizers thought Clemens would create more exposure and be a neutral and safe space for students of all disciplinaries to feel comfortable trying something new and getting outside of their comfort zone.

“Even if you think it’s not at all relevant to your studies… just come and try,” Schleck said. “There’s a good chance that you have some insight that is relevant and could be helpful to your team.”

She also hopes to see more Bennies participate this year.

“We wanted to bring it to Clemens to try to get more women involved,” Schleck said.

Schleck added that the event teaches and utilizes skills to help students comprehend data and apply it to their future careers, hoping to make data seem approachable to all.

“Data isn’t [something] scary that you need specialized skills to work on,” Schleck said. “I want students to know that they already have … all the skills they need to come up with their idea, and they might just need help getting to that end goal.”

Throughout the weekend, teams will work together to create and design their solutions, supported by a lineup of mini sessions designed to spark creativity and collaboration.

Professors will also help students spark ideas and introduce students to using Bolt — the AI tool that can help turn ideas into apps, one of many ways students can bring this
weekend’s problem solving to life.

Students are encouraged to watch their inboxes and social media for a rescheduled date for the event in the spring, and sign up regardless of major or career interest when the
time comes.

“At the end of the day, this is a weekend for you to have a lot of fun and lean into your creativity,” Bijani said. “And I think everyone would benefit from that.”