University students to converge on McMaster for 24-hour hackathon for change

Hundreds of university students will be gathering at McMaster University for the third annual DeltaHacks hackathon for change on Jan. 27-28.

Organized for students by students, the event encourages participants from all fields of study to come together for an intensive 24-hour marathon event to tackle real-world problems by building applications that create positive change. More than 400 students from several universities are expected to attend this year’s event at the McMaster University Engineering Technology Building (ETB).

During the competition, teams of three to four students are formed to tackle a problem within our world, including healthcare, the environment, or any issue they feel strong about. The difference between DeltaHacks and other hackathons is that it embraces elements of design thinking to make “hacks” that solve real world problems. Last year’s winners included an augmented reality (AR) app that helped educate children on the human body, to a headset for drivers that prevented them from falling asleep at the wheel.

Hardware and the latest technical gadgets and equipment are provided by Major League Hacking (MLH), a non-profit agency that supports hackathons across North America and the globe. McMaster’s Deltahacks has been consistently ranked by MLH  in the top 20 for university hackathons. Mentors and free workshops will be available throughout the day and night to help attendees learn whatever technical skills their project requires.

DeltaHacks is organized by PhaseOne, which is a club for students interested in learning, building and experimenting with different computer and coding languages.