A social impact hackathon addressing HEALTH and ACCESSIBILITY. 

We are focusing on health & accessibility because these are extremely relevant topics in our world today. Technology can be leveraged to improve healthcare quality and benefit people of diverse backgrounds.
Health: Creating technical applications for the field of healthcare

• Example projects:
  
  • Creating a database of patients for healthcare workers to use
    
  • Making an app that provides mental wellness tips and guidelines
    
• Possible questions:
  
  • How can we use technology to assist in preventing the spread of coronavirus?
    
  • What technologies would help healthcare workers during a season where there is a high influx of patients?
    
  • What are ways to support access to healthcare to especially targeted populations?​
    
    

Accessibility: Creating technology that meets the needs of diverse users

• Example projects:
  
  • Developing a sensor that can authenticate tapped rhythm-based passwords
    
  • Create a map app that gives customized accessible sidewalk and footpath routes for a user’s ability profile
    
• Possible Questions:
  
  • How do we create educational technologies to help students with disabilities, especially with remote learning?
    
  • How do we change remote calling platforms, like Zoom, to meet the needs of deaf users?
    
  • What entertainment technologies could be created that are more accessible to users of all ability profiles?
    

Schedule: January 19th to February 12th, 2021

We envision this hackathon as less-stressful environment where students are encouraged to work at their own pace and allocate their time according to their schedules. Below is a schedule of the competition's events and deadlines, specific workshops and events will be continuously announced as the Hackathon progresses!

• Week 1: January 18th - 22nd
  • Tuesday, 4 - 5PM: Opening Ceremony
    • Zoom Recording
  • Wednesday, 2 - 3PM: How to Plan for An Impactful Project
    • Speaker: Rachel Wells from DataKind
    • Zoom Recording
  • Wednesday, 4 - 5PM: Team Building Event hosted by Impact++
  • Thursday, 2 - 3PM: Language around Disabilities
    • Speaker: Dr. Sarah Coppola from UW
    • Zoom Recording
  • Thursday, 7 - 8PM: Jackbox Game Night hosted by Impact++
  • Friday, 2 - 3PM: The Use of Technology in the Space of Accessibility
    • Speaker: Jack Nguyen from UW
    • Zoom Recording
• Week 2: January 25th - 29th
  • Monday 4-5 PM: Research around Gender and Biotechnology
    • Speaker: Dr. Sarah Coppola from UW
    • Zoom Recording
  • Tuesday, Time TBD: Netflix Watch Party via Teleparty
  • Thursday, 2-3 PM: Cook-Along led by Impact++
  • Friday, 3-4 PM: Interdisciplinary Nature between Health and CS
    • Speaker: Chris Thachuk from UW
• Week 3: February 1st - 7th
  • February 3rd, Time TBD: Among Us Game Night
  • By February 7th by 11 AM: Final project submission via DevPost
• Week 4: February 8th - 12th
  • Asynchronous judging process to last until February 11th
  • February 12th, 2-3 PM: Closing Ceremony
    • Zoom Recording

Judging

Because the problems we are tackling are complex and require diverse perspectives and skillsets, project judging will be centered around three equally-weighted categories:

• ‍Idea: The solution to the problem and its relevance to chosen track of health or accessibility.
  
• Impact Plan: Research, reach and practicality of solution and potential for impact. You can think of this like a business plan to maximize impact rather than profit.
  
• Prototype: A rough technical implementation of your solution, judged on technical complexity, use of tools and open data sources available, and thoroughness of implementation.

2021 Sponsor