QWER Hacks @ UCLA is Major League Hacking's first collegiate LGBTQIA+ hackathon that celebrates the queer and trans community in STEM. We bring together queer individuals and allies through tech talks, technical and community-building workshops, and development of innovative projects to help underrepresented groups!
Presenting our theme for this year: serving the underserved. Through our three tracks listed below, you’ll find ways to meld your unique perspective and experiences into technologies that highlight your individuality and improve the world around you.
Track 1: Food Security
Create a hack that promotes food accessibility to the underserved!
Track 2: Housing Access
Create a hack to promote housing access that serves stakeholders such as students, community organizations, or more!
Track 3: Healthcare Equity
Create a hack to increase accessibility of healthcare, its quality, and its services!
Here are some track-specific resources you might find useful as you begin your projects!
Requirements
Remember that hackathons are like marathons. Some people go to compete but most people take part to learn new skills and have fun! All submissions must be done by groups of 2 to 4 people. You must have applied and been accepted to participate in QWER Hacks for your project to be judged.
*IMPORTANT*
Submission
Submission will be open from 11:00 AM PST January 28th, 2023 to 11:00 AM PST, January 29th, 2023. Judging will occur 11AM on Jan 29 according to the judging criteria and awards will be announced at the ceremony at 1PM.
Demos
After hacking finishes, teams will present live demos what they have built. It is totally okay (and even expected) that your hack is incomplete and contains bugs. Demoing is a chance to share with others what you have learned, what you tried to build, and your motivation—that's what hacking's truly about! Please submit your github repository link.
This year, to better accommodate those with internet issues or who will have difficulties presenting projects live, hackers will be presenting live. There will be live Q&A time between the judges and the teams. Demos will be 3-4 mins long. Q&A will be 1 minute.
Checklist:
- Did the hack address a clearly defined problem space that benefited from this development? Did your team explore a new application domain (e.g. art, health, etc.) with which you weren’t previously familiar?
- How relevant and creative was your project in solving an issue within the track you chose to follow?
- What technologies did your team leverage? Did your team try to learn a new technology?
- Was your team methodical and collaborative in your hacking process? Did your team overcome any obstacles or major goal changes during hacking?
- Did your team put thought into the user experience? What accessibility considerations did you make?
Prizes
Please only opt-in to ONE track prize (don't worry, you can opt-in to multiple technology specific prizes!). The technology specific prizes will have their own separate criteria which can be seen under the prize names.
Good: Selecting Food Security Track, Best Use of Google Cloud, Best Domain Name From Domain.com
Bad: Selecting Food Security Track, Healthcare Equity Track
Prizes
Track 1: Food Security
Luna Cotton Weighted Blanket in Tie Dye, ThisWorks Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, Pillowfort Character Weighted Plush Throw Pillow, Kitsch Weighted Satin Eye Mask, Kitsch Satin Pillowcase Aura 2-Pack
OR
5 Books (On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Time is a Mother, The Song of Achilles, In the Dream House, The Color Purple), Baby Nessie Tea Diffuser, SisGotTea & Kikos Tea, MiiR Insulated Tumber 12oz
OR
JadeYoga Voyager Mat, Gymshark Gym Bag, Charcoal Detox Towel, BlenderBottle Shaker, Charcoal Deordorizer
Track 2: Housing Access
Belkin Portable Charger, Hydroflash 32 oz Wide Mouth, Alaska Bear Silk Sleep Mask, Kikkerland Bear Head Rest, Patagonia Refugio 26L Pack
OR
Frog Face Wash Headband, Brooklinen Super Plush Robe, TONYMOLY Sheet Max x5, Bliss Holographic Eye Masks, Casaluna Essential Oil Diffuse, Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Esarora Ice Roller
OR
Fujifax Instax Mini 9, Scuddles Picnic Blanket, Unstable Unicorns, Instax Film 20 Sheets
Track 3: Healthcare Equity
Patagonia Black Hole Pack 25L, good Circle Gs Sunglasses, Darn Tough Wool Crew Socks, REI Nalgene Wide Mouth 32oz
OR
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens, PuniLabo Stand Pen Case - Frog, Zebra Pen Midliner 15-Pack, Passion Planner Black 2023, Kanken Totepack
OR
Wobbles Frog Crochet Kit, Casio Personal Keyboard, Ebbo Frog Waffle Maker
Most QWER Project
Ash + Chess Queer Tarot Deck
Best Impact Project
Inclusive Wavy Pride Throw Blanket
Best Machine Learning
JBL Go 3 Portable Speaker
Best Technical Project
KLIM Chroma Wireless Keyboard
Best Mobile App
Tile Starter Pack
Best Web App
Patagonia Fanny Pack
Most Innovative Project
Yoga Mat
Most Accessible
Patagonia Beanie
Most Likely to Unicorn
iSteam Travel Streamer for Clothes
Comeback Baby
Hershel Wallet
Best Idea
Frog Bath Mat
Most Slayful User-interface
Frog Waffle Maker
Biggest Fail
Lavender Microwavable Manatee
Best URL
Toad Glow Light
Most Basic
Winsor & Newton Paint Compact
Best Domain Name from Domain.com
Register a .Tech domain name using Domain.com during the weekend for your chance to win a Domain.com branded backpack for you and each member of your team! Each team may submit one entry per person on the team. The more creative the domain the better! Win a Domain.com Branded Backpack.
Most Creative Use of Twilio
Twilio allows you to incorporate mobile messaging, phone calls and a ton of other awesome communication features right into your hackathon project using a web service API. Are you building an e-commerce website and want to send text notifications or email confirmations once an order is completed? Or maybe you'd like to verify users based on their mobile numbers? Twilio makes all this possible and more. Build a hack that simplifies your life using any Twilio API for a chance to win Twilio Swag Box & GameGo Console for you and each of your teammates!
Best Use of Auth0
Auth0 wants your applications to be secure! Use any of the Auth0 APIs for a chance to win some exclusive swag, including a 12oz tumbler, Rubik's Cube, and sticker! Why spend hours building features like social sign-in, Multi-Factor Authentication, and passwordless log-in when you can enable them through Auth0 straight out of the box? Save some time on your hack and set yourself up for a big win. It doesn't take much to get started. Auth0 is free to try, no credit card required, with up to 7,000 free active users and unlimited log-ins. Make your new account today!
Best Use of Velo by Wix
We know how difficult it can be to create a phenomenal website in a short period of time, especially when it comes to hackathons. Velo by Wix cuts down your development without sacrificing on functionality! With a built-in database and fully customizable JavaScript front-end and back-end, you can develop a full-stack application directly in your browser. With Velo, all the tools you need are conveniently located in one platform! Build your hackathon project with Velo by Wix for a chance to win Wacom Drawing Tablets for you and each of your teammates.
Best Accessibility Hack sponsored by Fidelity
At Fidelity, accessibility is viewed as a major key to the success of their business, which is why they are challenging you to come up with innovative ways to make tech more accessible! We want you to use your hacking skills to find and build solutions that put opportunities and resources within reach to all communities. The team with the best accessibility hack will win a Fidelity branded wireless charger for each team member!
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
N/A
Judging Criteria
-
General Rules
Judges will refer to the following six categories. Keep these in mind when creating your pitch videos, and remember that some categories (such as completion) aren’t weighed as heavily as others! -
Categories
Technology, Design, Completion, Learning, Track-Specific Criteria (Food Security, Housing Access, Healthcare Equity), Communication and Presentation -
Reminders
It's important to note that these criteria do NOT evaluate how good your code is. It doesn't matter if your code is messy, not well commented, or uses inefficient algorithms. Hacking is about playing around, making mistakes, and learning new things.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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