QWER Hacks @ UCLA is Major League Hacking's first collegiate LGBTQIA+ hackathon that celebrates the queer and trans community in STEM. We bring together queer individuals and allies through tech talks, technical and community-building workshops, and development of innovative projects to help underrepresented groups!
Presenting our theme for this year: embracing identity through self empowerment. Through our four tracks listed below, you’ll find ways to meld your unique perspective and experiences into technologies that highlight your individuality and improve the world around you.
Track 1: Community and Connection
Create a hack to promote healthy communities and connection!
Track 2: Health and Wellness
Create a hack that encourages mental, physical, and/or emotional wellbeing!
Track 3: Learning and Growth
Create a hack to promote growth and motivate others!
Track 4: Art and Expression
Create a hack to express yourself and showcase your artistry!
Requirements
Remember that hackathons are like marathons. Some people go to compete but most people take part to learn new skills and have fun! All submissions must be done by groups of 2 to 4 people. You must have applied and been accepted to participate in QWER Hacks for your project to be judged.
*IMPORTANT*
By submitting, there is a chance that your demo video could be shared in the closing speech and prizes section of the hackathon on livestream. Your submission allows us to share the video.
Submission
Submission will be open from 9:00PM PST January 22nd, 2022 to 9:00AM PST, January 23rd, 2022
Demos
After hacking finishes, teams will record a video that demos what they have built. It is totally okay (and even expected) that your hack is incomplete and contains bugs. Demoing is a chance to share with others what you have learned, what you tried to build, and your motivation—that's what hacking's truly about!
This year, to better accommodate those with internet issues or who will have difficulties presenting projects live, hackers will be submitting 2-minute prerecorded videos that judges will then view and discuss together. Your face does not need to be shown in the video, if you feel uncomfortable doing so. To be fair to all hackers, only the first 2 minutes of longer videos will be watched by judges. In other words, there will NOT be any live Q&A time between the judges and the teams. This may cause some hackers to worry that they have not incorporated all the relevant, or evaluated, components of their hack in their video. Have no fear! Below we have included a checklist of questions you may want to incorporate answers to.
Checklist:
- Did the hack address a clearly defined problem space that benefited from this development? Did your team explore a new application domain (e.g. art, health, etc.) with which you weren’t previously familiar?
- How relevant and creative was your project in solving an issue within the track you chose to follow?
- What technologies did your team leverage? Did your team try to learn a new technology?
- Was your team methodical and collaborative in your hacking process? Did your team overcome any obstacles or major goal changes during hacking?
- Did your team put thought into the user experience? What accessibility considerations did you make?
Prizes
Please only opt-in to ONE track prize (don't worry, you can opt-in to multiple technology specific prizes!). The technology specific prizes will have their own separate criteria which can be seen under the prize names.
Good: Selecting Health and Wellness Track, Best Use of Google Cloud, Best Domain Name From Domain.com
Bad: Selecting Health and Wellness Track, Community and Connection Track
Prizes
Track 1: Community and Connection
JBL Speaker (1st Place)
Projector (2nd Place)
Light-up Keyboard (3rd Place)
Track 2: Health and Wellness
Headspace Subscription (1st Place)
Hydroflask (32 oz) (2nd Place)
Yoga Mat (3rd Place)
Track 3: Learning and Growth
Audible 6 Month Subscription (1st Place)
Coursera Plus for 1 Month (2nd Place)
Udemy (2 Courses) (3rd Place)
Track 4: Art and Self Expression
Wacom Drawing Tablet (1st Place)
Polaroid Camera (2nd Place)
Mini Synthesizer (3rd Place)
Most Innovative Project
CIA Notebook and Pen
Best Domain Name from Domain.com
PowerSquare Qi Wireless Phone Charger
Register a .tech domain name using Domain.com during the weekend. Each team may submit one entry per person on the team. Each winning team member will receive a PowerSquare Qi wireless phone charger.
Best Use of Google Cloud
Google Cloud Swag Bag or 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. Each winning team member located in the US will receive a Google Cloud Swag Bag complete with a beanie, pillow, journal, socks and lanyards. International winners will receive a Google branded backpack.
Best Hardware Hack Sponsored by Digi-Key
Grove Beginner Kit
Using your preferred hardware or hardware emulator, build a hack for your chance to win a Grove Beginner Kit, with embedded Arduino Uno compatible board. Each winning team member will receive a prize!
Best use of CockroachDB
3D Printing Pen
Build your hackathon project on CockroachDB's open source and indestructible SQL database. Utilize CockroachDB in your hack for a chance to win a 3D printing pen for each team member. What's more, All US residents that submit CockroachDB enabled projects will receive a free t-shirt while supplies last!
Most Creative Use of Twilio
Twilio Swag Box
GameGo Console
Twilio allows you to incorporate mobile messaging, phone calls and a ton of other awesome communication features right into your hackathon project using web service APIs. Are you building an e-commerce website and want to send text notifications or email confirmations once an order is completed? Or maybe your application needs to verify users based on their mobile numbers? Twilio makes all this possible and more. Build a hack that simplifies your life using any one of Twilio’s APIs for a chance to win a Twilio Swag Box and GameGo Console for you and each of your teammates!
Best Space App powered by Space Force
Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
The sky is not the limit! Try your hand at making a space-themed application for a chance to win a wireless Bluetooth speaker for you and your team from the U.S. Space Force! We’re looking for amazing solutions to any space-related problems you can imagine. For any sci-fi enthusiast, this is the perfect opportunity to push the limits of your creativity by building the technology of tomorrow, today. We can’t wait to see the solutions you build!
Please note: the majority of your team members must be located in the United States to qualify.
Best Use of MATLAB
MathWorks Swag Bag
MATLAB and Simulink are computation tools used at more than 5,000 institutions worldwide. Use their software in your next hack to win some exclusive MathWorks swag including a MathWorks branded cinch bag, pair of socks, baseball cap, stylus pen & deck of cards! You can also claim a free MATLAB software license to get started.
Best Use of AssemblyAI API
Amazon Gift Card ($50)
The most creative project built using the AssemblyAI API
For more info on the AssemblyAI API, visit this website: https://assemblyai.notion.site/AssemblyAI-Hackathon-Quickstart-76cf5c07aeff4f06ba9ac193899c0a4b
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Placeholder
Judging Criteria
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General Rules
Judges will refer to the following six categories. Keep these in mind when creating your pitch videos, and remember that some categories (such as completion) aren’t weighed as heavily as others! -
Categories
Technology, Design, Completion, Learning, Track-Specific Criteria (Community + Connection, Health + Wellness, Learning + Growth, Art + Expression), Communication and Presentation -
Reminders
It's important to note that these criteria do NOT evaluate how good your code is. It doesn't matter if your code is messy, not well commented, or uses inefficient algorithms. Hacking is about playing around, making mistakes, and learning new things.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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