DandyHacks is the University of Rochester’s annual 42-hour long hackathon. This year will be our 10th anniversary, and we’re so excited to hold this amazing milestone in-person! As a fully student-led organization at a tier 1 research university, we embody our school’s values, encouraging participants to question the world and learn more.
DandyHacks is very beginner-friendly, and we welcome students from all backgrounds and majors. Participating in DandyHacks is not just about winning; it is about collaborating with peers, learning from mentors, and gaining valuable experiences. This year, DandyHacks will take place on Oct 14-16 in the Feldman Ballroom. We hope to see you there!
Choose one track to submit your project into. Each track will have three top winners, and each project may only win in one track. Each track will have different prizes, so pick and choose your track depending on which prize you want to win!
Create a project that can help people or processes be more productive. This can relate to education, project management, motivation, and much more.
Create your own video game or create an enhancement to an existing video game.
Create a project that makes communities stronger and better connected. Ideas of issues to tackle include but are not limited to: diversity, equity, inclusion, and community service.
All projects will also be eligible to win a side challenge, even if the project is already a top three winner in a track.
Your project will automatically be considered to win a side challenge. Each side challenge will have one winner. All projects will be eligible to win a side challenge, whether or not they have placed in a track.
Echo3d is a cloud platform for 3D/AR/VR that provides tools and network infrastructure to help developers quickly build and deploy 3D apps, games, and content. Instructions for how to use this will be provided soon! The winning team will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.
User experience (UX) is how effective your project is, how efficiently someone can use it, and how satisfying the overall experience is. A good UX has a good user interface (UI), making it easy for someone to navigate the screen. The winning team will receive cute mugs that ironically do not have the best UX, but they’re very cute nonetheless!
The project that wins Most Dandy Hack will exhibit the values of creativity and innovation.The winning team will receive a cute squishy lamp.
A hackathon is an event in which people meet to collaboratively build their ideas using technology.
Any graduate or undergraduate student over the age of 18 enrolled in a North American institution is eligible. All hackers must be vaccinated and are encouraged to mask while indoors.
Hackers do not have to pay to participate. Hackers just need to register and check-in upon arrival. Registration will open up in early September, but you may pre-register and follow us on Instagram @dandyhacks to stay up to date on all things DandyHacks!
The hackathon will be fully in-person with a couple online workshops.
University of Rochester COVID-19 protocols.
You can work individually or with a team. Each team can have a maximum of 4 people, and don’t worry if you don’t have a team yet! We will make time and communication channels for you to find a team.
You may not start hacking before the event, but you can start planning and gathering resources.
Reach out to us at greetings@dandyhacks.net or reach out to us on Instagram @dandyhacks!
Sponsors enable us to keep the entire event free for all of our attendees! Sponsors can send us mentors and workshop leaders and gain recognition from our hackers.
As a sponsor, you will be able to: