Hackathon 2023
Students from across all disciplines at Minneapolis College will come together on campus on April 13 and 14, 2023, for the U.S. Bank sponsored Hackathon, a competition centered around building a finance-related application that helps students manage their money in a fast-paced, competitive learning environment. Teams of up to five people will connect over two days to design, write code, and ultimately produce a working application that exemplifies their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
“There’s nothing better to fuel learning than hands-on experience,” said Brian Huilman, Minneapolis College School of Information Technology department chair and faculty, who has been part of Hackathon since it debuted in 2019. “Participants in this event will gain valuable team building, communication, and interpersonal skills in a competition based on real-world experiences.” Huilman encourages every student at the College to participate, regardless of their area of study so they can build new skills, a stronger resume, and strengthen their ability to differentiate themselves in the competitive job market.
More than 50 students are expected to compete in the two-day event which will be held on the Minneapolis College downtown campus. Starting at 9 a.m. and concluding at 8:30 p.m. On day one, students will discuss the challenges, rules, and judging criteria, break into teams, conceptualize their idea, create a workflow and user experience, and start writing the software that will bring their application to life.
Things heat up during day two, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., when students finalize their projects, develop their sales pitch, and present their application to a panel of judges who will select the top three teams based on look, design, interface, the amount of properly functioning code, and the overall potential impact or usefulness of the application. Winners will be announced at 3:30 p.m. on April 14.
In addition to sponsoring the Hackathon, U.S. Bank is a critical partner to the Minneapolis College Foundation, funding scholarships for students that enable and support emerging technical talent in the community.
“U.S. Bank is proud to partner with Minneapolis College, supporting the annual Hackathon which exemplifies how a hands-on learning experience encourages students to explore and create technology solutions that solve real life challenges,” said Stephanie Hammes-Betti, Senior Vice President of Innovation Design at U.S. Bank and Minneapolis College Foundation Board Chair. “U.S. Bank views the Hackathon as a way to strengthen and complement its support for IT and Cyber scholarships at the College. It also serves as a compelling way to engage our employees in sharing their technical expertise with the students.”
If you are a current Minneapolis College student in any area of study, and would like to participate, visit the Hackathon webpage to find out how.
Learn more about Minneapolis College Foundation scholarships.