Presented By
March 27-29, 2015
London, Canada
Join 300 other students for a weekend of learning new skills, meeting new friends, and bringing your ideas to reality. We'll provide delicious food, tons of swag, and everything else you need to create your awesome idea.
Hack Western is a hackathon: a weekend-long event where students come together to work on technical projects, from websites and mobile apps to custom hardware hacks. At Hack Western, more than 300 students from technical and non-technical backgrounds will spend a weekend working on a product that others find useful, or take the weekend to learn a new skill or language.
High-school and post-secondary students from Canada and the United States of all skill levels are invited. Whether you are passionate about writing code, design, products, or just have an awesome idea, be sure to apply.
Due to limited space, we will use an application process to determine who will be able to participate in the event.
Hack Western will be taking place at Western University, London, Canada between March 27 and 29, 2015. We will be updating our schedule below with location details closer to the event.
The hackathon follows a 36-hour schedule.
A laptop, cables, chargers, and your student card are essential. If you’re making something hardware-related, be sure to bring the needed components. It’s also probably a good idea to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, and toiletries.
What you don’t need is a pre-determined team, food, drink, or swag. We’ve got you covered!
Hardware 101: Hardware Cortex (37)
Git With The Program: Workshop Cortex (59)
Microsoft Intro To the Cloud: Workshop Cortex (59)
From Canada To Africa And Back: Everything Cortex (146)
CDK Making an Impact on Legacy Systems: Everything Cortex (146)
Facebook - Making yourself hirable: Web Cortex (56)
Hacking with Kobo: Mobile Cortex (41)
Linux Shell Hacks: Everything Cortex (146)
Yahoo - Hacking with Node and Tumblr: Web Cortex (56)
Epic - UX for Patient Safety: Mobile Cortex (41)
Personal Branding: Who doesn't want to be a rock star developer?: Everything Cortex (146)
Info-Tech - Rapid Prototyping: Workshop Cortex (59)
Yahoo - Hacking Your Pitch: Everything Cortex (146)
Networking 101: Workshop Cortex (59)
Creating a Shipping Culture, Removing Barriers to Success: Web Cortex (56)
Without your support, there would be no Hack Western. Interested in sponsoring? E-mail [email protected]
Thank you for your help in making our event happen
The superheroes behind the scenes. Get in touch or say hello via [email protected]
Chair
Sponsorships and Partnerships
External Promo
Western Promo
Tech
Logistics and Volunteering
Marketing
Creative
The full rundown of everything you need to know
Hack Western is an all-inclusive 36-hour event where students of all backgrounds from across Canada and the U.S. gather at Western University to create and innovate. The event is entirely student run in partnership with amazing sponsors and speakers. Hack Western provides a welcoming atmosphere for students to create anything from a mobile app, fancy hardware application, to the next big thing!
Hack Western is completely free to attend with transportation available from many universities. In fact, we’ll also provide food, snacks, swag, and an amazing experience.
Students at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, and high school) are welcome! Hack Western is a hackathon where individuals in all disciplines from all majors, backgrounds, and expertise are encouraged to come out and participate.
To ensure an environment which is as diverse, constructive, and exciting as possible, we require hackers to submit applications to attend. The application will let us get to know you a little bit better, give us an idea of what you’re thinking of doing, and help us provide the best experience for you. We want to ensure Hack Western is a good fit for you and that you are going to have an awesome time once you are accepted to attend.
Not to worry! Hack Western is for people of all skill levels. Innovation comes from a diverse combination of talents and we’re equally interested in seeing demonstrations of expertise as we are to see people learning and doing things for the first time. Developer skills are an asset, but definitely not a requirement. We’re all here to learn and have fun, so we highly encourage you to apply – no matter what skill level or background!
We're going to provide you with all of the resources you need to pick up a certain technology. We'll also have a pitching session before the hackathon starts to help you form your team. Lastly, mentors will be at the event to help you with whatever you need!
Hack Western will take place on campus at Western University. Further details about the specific location will be revealed closer to the event.
We are currently arranging bus transportation from select universities (please be sure to check if your school is on the list).
If the university you are coming from is not provided a bus, you will need to arrange your own method of transportation. Travel reimbursements will be provided on a case by case basis.
A valid student ID, laptop, chargers, pillows, and anything you need to have an enjoyable 36 hours. Of course, don’t forget to bring your excitement and passion!
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and beverages will be provided throughout the event. Please indicate any dietary restrictions you may have on our application form. We’ll be making sure that there is a wide variety of food at the event. If you have any dietary concerns while you are here, please speak to an organizer.
Yup! We’ll have hardware of all sorts to lend for everyone to try out and use. We will have a comprehensive hardware lab with a soldering and 3D printing station, as well as gadgets from Major League Hacking like the Oculus Rift, Leap Motion, Pebble, Myo armband, Spark Core and Tessel (see the full list here).
No worries! There will be plenty of opportunities to connect with other attendees at the event in a situation similar to yours. We will organize a meetup at the beginning of the event where you can share your idea and form a team, or join another team. You may also pitch an idea or search for teammates through our Facebook group.
A team of up to four people is eligible to compete. Teams do not have to be formed from the same high school, college, or university. Teams greater than four people are not eligible for prizes.
You can go solo, but we encourage you to join a team as we find teams have the most fun and the best experience!
To be fair to everyone, all projects must start at the same time to provide equal grounds for judging. With 36 hours and mentorship from sponsor representatives and fellow students, you’ll have plenty of time to design and implement an idea!
Feel free to make wireframes, blueprints, or otherwise plan out your project, but all other code must be written at the hackathon and all hardware submitted for a hack must be made during the hackathon building period. The exception is that you are free to use any open source or otherwise publicly available material.
Working on projects in advance is not cool and will not be tolerated at the event.
A panel of industry and technology experts will review and select the top projects based on the creativity, technical difficulty, polish, and usefulness of the project. Projects may also be eligible for sponsor prizes based on criteria set by the sponsor.
Prizes will be announced closer to the event. Stay tuned!
We are always open to questions! Feel free to email us at: [email protected] or reach us on Facebook or Twitter.