We are Sydney's premier student hackathon - run for students, by students from Sydney Uni IT Society (SUITS).

Teams have 24 hours to design and build something awesome. It can be anything - a website, a mobile application, a video game, or even something hardware. The important thing is that it needs to work when it is presented to the judges.

Whether you are an avid programmer or a first-time hacker, UNIHACK welcomes everyone, regardless of skill level. You will have the opportunity to build, collaborate and learn from your fellow hackers and mentors at the event. The event will also have a number of tech talks throughout to help participants learn new or extend their existing skills.

UNIHACK is organised by SUITS, the IT student society at The University of Sydney.

View full rules

Eligibility

  1. Teams can have up to six people.
  2. Each member of a team must be a student studying at an undergraduate, honours, or postgraduate course at an accredited university or TAFE college in Australia or New Zealand.
  3. Teams cannot have remote participants.

Requirements

In addition to details about your project and how you built it, you must also provide the following:

  1. A list of all third-party material and APIs, including anything that was purchased.
  2. A link to your repository (as per Section 2.3 of the rules)
  3. Images and/or screenshots of your project

If you have created a web app, you are free to submit a link to a live working copy of your project with your submission. However, this is optional and not required.

You must also fill in the required fields with your DevPost submission to help us speed up the judging process. The information you provide will be used to create summary cards for the judges, allowing you to focus on the more important things during your pitch.

Video

You are encouraged to produce a video demonstration of your project. However, this is optional and not required.

This video must be a no-frills video - that is, no fancy graphics and animations - and does not exceed two minutes. We highly encourage you use your iPhone or Android smartphone to record the video.

We also strongly encourage you keep the video up after the event. This will help us for marketing and promotion of future UNIHACK competitions.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$6,000 in prizes

UNIHACK First Prize

$3000 in cash value.

Main prizes are assessed in four categories

Originality: Is the hack more than just another generic app? Does it do something novel or take a fresh approach compared to existing solution?

Usefulness: Does the project tackle an important issue? Does it fulfil a real need?

Technical difficulty: Did the project solve a technically interesting and challenging technical problem?

Well designed: Is the project an elegant solution for user, from a usability, experience and visual perspective?

UNIHACK Third Prize

$1000 in cash value.

Main prizes are assessed in four categories

Originality: Is the hack more than just another generic app? Does it do something novel or take a fresh approach compared to existing solution?

Usefulness: Does the project tackle an important issue? Does it fulfil a real need?

Technical difficulty: Did the project solve a technically interesting and challenging technical problem?

Well designed: Is the project an elegant solution for user, from a usability, experience and visual perspective?

UNIHACK Second Prize

$2000 in cash value.

Main prizes are assessed in four categories

Originality: Is the hack more than just another generic app? Does it do something novel or take a fresh approach compared to existing solution?

Usefulness: Does the project tackle an important issue? Does it fulfil a real need?

Technical difficulty: Did the project solve a technically interesting and challenging technical problem?

Well designed: Is the project an elegant solution for user, from a usability, experience and visual perspective?

Best algorithm

4 x Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.

We're looking for a project that demonstrates a solution to a complex problem that is simple, elegant and effective. We're looking for great speed, low cost, highly reliable and highly scalable technical solutions.

Best emerging tech project

$150 JB Hifi voucher.

We look for a project that employs Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Biological or Chemical components or Blockchain technology in a useful way.

Is the project original, useful, technically impressive and well-designed for the intended problem and user?

Best university project sponsored by Jetbrains

Jetbrains licenses for each team member.
2 x Bluetooth Speakers.

We look for a project that solves a problem within the university environment. Is the project original, useful, technically impressive and well-designed for the intended problem and user?

Best interactive work

Adobe CC annual memberships for each team member (6 max).

Sometimes a great project doesn't have to solve a pressing problem but instead explore an important domain, provoke with a new viewpoint and convey new ideas. We're looking for interactive works that entertain, inform or educate the audience on an important issue.

Some of projects we'd like to see include, but are not limited to, games and interactive artworks.

Best product design

Adobe CC annual memberships for each team member (6 max).

We're looking for the project that exhibits the best product design. Does the project and the team consider the problem space, the user, the experience, usability considerations and the full spectrum of accessibility?

Best user interface

Sketch annual licence for each team member (4 max). We're looking for the project that exhibits the best User Interface design. We're looking for the most appealing, most clear, and best visual choices for the interactions implemented by the team.

Best data correlation prize sponsored by SwipeJobs

4 x Google Home, Drone and Bluetooth speaker pack.
We look for a project that solves a problem that employs data techniques. Is the project original, useful, technically impressive and well-designed for the intended problem and user?

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

Please make sure your team creates a submission by 2pm on Sunday 5 August to be eligible for any prizes. All you will need at that stage is a team name, your members added and a oneliner about what your project is.

Judges

Niranjan Murthy

Niranjan Murthy
Senior Industry Principal - Infosys

Oren Nachman

Oren Nachman
Software Development Manager - Amazon

Sharon Lu

Sharon Lu
General Manager - Tyro Fintech Hub

Anthony Quinn

Anthony Quinn
Head of Digital User Experience - Telstra

Guy Wallace

Guy Wallace
Investment Analyst - Reinventure

Judging Criteria

  • See prizes for judging criteria

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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