HackUConn
We are HackUConn.
HackUConn is a 20-hour marathon event that aims to bring together UConn undergraduate innovators across all majors and industry experts for a non-stop, fast-paced innovation competition. Students form groups at the start of the event and combine their technical skills and competencies with the resources we provide such as hacking supplies, 3D printers, laser cutters, and mentorship. The event is 100% free for all participants and funded by our generous sponsors. Throughout the competition mini events will take place such as talks by guest speakers, workshops, and chances to interact with industry professionals. Of course, food and snacks are provided and always free!
HackUConn 2024 Information Will Be Coming Soon, Stay Tuned!
Featured Event
Sample Program Event
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00:00 PM - 080:00 PM
Location Name
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Alumni Panel 2020
Tuesday, October 13th, 2020
07:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Zoom | Virtual Conference
Meet with a panel of alumni who have benefited from UConn's entrepreneurial programs, learn about opportunities and ways to get involved on campus, and connect with other students interested in entrepreneurship & innovation.
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Another Sample Program Event
Weekday, Month dd, yyyy
00:00 PM - 080:00 PM
Zoom | Virtual Conference
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HackUConn 2023 Event Details
Theme: Art Meets Technology
In Partnership With: OPIM Innovate & The Krenicki Arts and Engineering Institute
Sponsors:
Gold level - Global Affairs
Silver Level - Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute & The Department of Philosophy
Bronze Level - Department of Journalism, InCHIP, Division of Student Affairs, & Synchrony,
Fueled by Coca-Cola
By The Numbers:
Number of Attendees: 165+
Student Participants: 101
Teams Formed: 20
















HackUConn 2023 Winners
First Place:
Team Name: Werth Innovators
Team Innovation: Amplify, an application/service that connects musicians to venues and studio owners to expand networks and make live music booking and the recording process easier.
Team Members: Adama Modi and Kenny Pineda
Team Prize: $2,000
Second Place:
Team Name: Giant Steps
Team Innovation: Comic Bot, an AI powered "choose your own story" comic creator with AI generated illustrations.
Team Members: Antonio James Butler, Nikhil Ghosh, Reiner Reichenberger, and Colin Acerbi
Team Prize: $1,000
Third Place:
Team Name: Proof by Induction
Team Innovation: Doodle Diagnostics, a website application that de-stresses users through art while collecting important health data.
Team Members: Ryan Lagasse, Clare Inyang, Karina Jadia, Kellynn Hill, and Mubarak Oshomah
Team Prize: $500
Crowd Favorite:
Team Name: Doomfist
Team Innovation: ContraBriefs, a contraceptive for men in the form of boxers that utilizes constant heat and electrostatic potentials to induce azoospermia.
Team Members: Adam Florkiewicz,Logan Lee, Aarya Vasantlal, and Edward Malakh
Team Prize: Grab bags from Focus Brands
HackUConn 2022 Event Details
Theme: Innovate Well-Being
Participants: 53
Teams: 13
Sponsors: Travelers, The Hartford, Cigna, Synchrony, Wellspark, Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI), Sociology Department, Philosophy Department, Global Affairs, InCHIP, Asian American Cultural Center, Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs,and Student Health and Wellness
Winners
First Place:
Team Name: Free Spirits
Team Innovation: "Real Life Situations Without Real Life Consequences." - Utilizing virtual reality to simulate real life situations that will improve the mental health of students, tailored to them.
Team Members: Adira Behmlander, Michael Galan, Justin Leung, Ian Givens, and Ibrahima Capo-Chichi
Team Prize: $1,000
Second Place:
Team Name: D-Block
Team Innovation: SurroundSound, an anonymous platform for sharing songs based on a person's current emotion that helps relieve stress and to release negative emotion.
Team Members: Rashmi Pai, Peter Alonzo, Ross Relator, and Bryan Lojano
Team Prize: $500
Third Place:
Team Name: Thrive
Team Innovation: Thrive, a service that develops community focused care to foster the emotional and physical well-being of students on campus.
Team Members: Aditya Dubey, Amisha Paul, and Mansi Dhond
Team Prize: $250
Crowd Favorite:
Team Name: Touch Grass
Team Innovation: Agora, an application that brings people together with similar interests and skill levels through gamification.
Team Members: Kenny Pineda, Joseph Pereiro, Maxime Pindrys, Peter Redwood, Wilklein Millien
Team Prize: StarMind Journals
HackUConn 2021 Event Details
Theme: Innovating Sustainability
Participants: 77 (Undergraduate & Graduate Students)
Teams: 18
Mentors: 27
Workshops: 10
Sponsors: Gawlicki Foundation, Travelers, The Hartford, Cigna, Synchrony, Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI), Sociology Department, Philosophy Department, Global Affairs
Winners
First Place & Popular Vote:
Team Name: EcoCrib
Team Innovation: EcoCrib is a centralized dorm energy usage and carbon footprint platform for UConn residents. Using IoT and Augmented Reality, it incentivizes reducing and tracks carbon footprints in dorm rooms and campus buildings.
Team Members: Aditya Dubey, Rohan Parikh, Sunny Sarker, Sushant Raj, Akash Binoj
Team Prize: $2,500 & Friendship Lamp
Second Place:
Team Name: Atlas
Team Innovation: Thermoelectric Floor the eliminate energy loses in older buildings.
Team Members: Megan Walsh, Kiera Burns
Team Prize: $2,000
Third Place:
Team Name: HuskyPower
Team Innovation: We're capitalizing on human activity on bikes in the UConn Rec Center as an energy source and further educating students through an interactive app that tracks and rewards activity.
Team Members: Charlotte Chen, Sebastian De Los Santos, Ben Gladstone, Adelle Biondi
Team Prize: $1,500
Best Tech Hack:
Team Name: Sea Breeze
Team Innovation: A novel combination of vertical farming and seaweed farming in a two-racked system in order to create a sustainable, financially profitable negative emissions tool.
Team Members: Mansi Dhond, Amisha Paul
Team Prize: GitHub Swag & No Bounds Bluetooth Speaker
Most Creative Hack:
Team Name: ICUC Towing
Team Innovation: Worked on a machine learning model that aims to detect if a parking lot still has some space. It does this by using video feed from pre-existing surveillance cameras. The aim is to reduce the carbon footprint by avoiding unnecessary rides that one may have to take in order to find a parking spot.
Team Members: Syed Kaleem, Shariq Khan, Bilal Ahmad, Jalal Faraj
Team Prize: Solar Charging Panel
Most Sustainable Hack:
Team Name: EcoHomies
Team Innovation: Our group worked on a solution in UConn's open spaces to promote pollinator populations and biodiversity on campus. We created the idea of a "Green Ladder" that takes advantage of empty spaces like rooftops to increase pollinator populations wherever we can.
Team Members: Hailey Baranowski, Jonathan Dias, Mark Frederiksen, Alejandro Garcia-Rivera, Isaac Betts
Team Prize: LARQ Bottle
Open to all Majors!
Previous Participants Majors: ACES, Applied Resource Economics, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Business Analytics and Project Management, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Communication, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Consumer Behavior, Digital Media & Design, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Science, Finance, History, Human Development and Family Services, Illustration/Animation, Industrial Engineering, Management and Engineering for Manufacturing, Management Information System, Marketing, Materials Science and Engineering + Biological Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Molecular and Cell Biology, Natural Resources, Physics, Physiology and Neurobiology, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy, Science Education, Sociology, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Statistics, Structural Biology & Biophysics, Undecided, etc.
Program History
The UConn Entrepreneurship and Innovation Society held its first hackathon, HackUConn 2016 Smart Cities, on April 1 and 2. Hackathons are an opportunity for designers, engineers, and other interested individuals to come together and innovate hardware and software solutions to real problems. These have become regular events at institutions known for their innovative nature and this event demonstrates UConn’s support for hackathons and their relevance to learning.
Past Events
Art Meets Technology: HackUConn 2023
Innovate Well-Being: HackUConn 2022
Innovating Sustainability: HackUConn 2021
Healthcare and Technology (Innovating Wellness): HackUConn 2019