Hackathon
ABOUT THE HACKATHON
The Hackathon - a staple event of every ESF Computing Conference, challenging students to collaborate, innovate, and build exciting programming projects bearing real-world relevance. This year’s hackathon is oriented around a particular global issue, in which we will annouce, providing participants with the opportunity to design, implement, and showcase a programming project with serious real-world applications. Whether you're a coding professional or just dipping your toes into the world of technology, there's a place for you here.
NOVICE
First Place
Jessica Kei
Alexa Santos
Raina Liu
Reka Szentes
Ziao Chen
Second Place
Adhrit Naik
Eric Ma
Kairvi Kataria
Third Place
Aston Tsang
Urial Na
Brian Lam
VETERAN
First Place
Suan Lee
Andy Pan
Nicholas Lee
Feifan Zhang
Andrew Wang
Second Place
William Choi
Goi Sun Lam
Neo Lung
Third Place
Rufus Chi Yu Lee
Linus Tin Lam Choi
Bob Hung Pok Lam
Nathaniel Yat Tsong Lam
EVENT FORMAT
& RULES
& RULES
This year's hackathon will be hosted online, with the award ceremony being in-person on November 30th, the day of the event. Students will have a week to collaborate on a project pertaining to one of several themes and prompts which the Hackathon Team will release. This activity provides students with the opportunity to design, implement, and showcase a programming project with real-world applications. Performance will be evaluated on use and optimization of code, presentation, and feasibility. AI will be allowed in this year's hackathon.
DIVISIONS
VETERAN DIVISION
Our veteran division, available to all years, prioritises the actual programming element (the demo) of the project rather than a focus on the idea itself.
We are looking to celebrate advanced technical skills from advanced programmers
Please note that for the Veteran Division, block-based programming languages are strictly forbidden.
NOVICE DIVISION
Our novice division, limited to only Years 7-11, allows for those new to programming to have a fair chance by putting less of a weighting on the actual demo/code itself and more stress on the ideas and innovation. Whilst the rubric remains the same, the weightings for each section of the rubric will vary.
Note that the Novice Division is allowed to submit code made with block-based programming languages (i.e Scratch)
SCORING SYSTEM
After completing the Hackathon, each team will be awarded up to 100 points according to multiple criteria from two different categories- presentation quality and programming quality. The weightage of these categories will vary differently between the two divisions, with a greater emphasis on presentation in the novice division and a deeper focus on programming in the veteran division.
To ensure competitive fairness, all Y12-13 students will be automatically allocated into the Veteran division. Y7-Y11 students can freely choose the division they enter.
TEAMS
Students can work either individually or in teams of up to 5, as long as all of them are in an ESF School (doesn’t necessarily have to be in the same school) and fit the requirement for the division they choose to participate in. Each team can join either the Novice or Veteran division, depending on their year group and interest.
Feel free to visit our Hackathon Outline document for an official and thorough outline of our hackathon!
PRIZES
Prizes from our sponsors will be available and the specific prizes being offered will be revealed on our website at a later date.
OTHER DETAILS
Other details, such as the marking rubric and the Hackathon prompt, will be revealed closer to the day of the event.
SCHEDULE
Online Launch:
Monday, Nov 18 - Titles, rubrics, and prompts are released on an online debriefing meeting. Groups can begin working on their projects.
Submission:
Friday, Nov 27 - All groups are required to submit relevant project files and slideshows. Submission is open at any time, but must be completed by this date.
Finalists:
Thursday, Nov 28 - Finalists are announced via email and are invited to the main event to present their project.
Presentations & Award Ceremony:
Saturday, Nov 30 - Each team runs a 10-minute face-to-face presentation and answer questions from Hackathon judges. Awards are given to Hackathon winners on the day as well.