Sustainability Hackathon (Test)
Join us for the annual CU Boulder Sustainability Hackathon! Do you have ideas on how we can solve a sustainability issue? Do you lack an idea but want to be part of a team working on a solution? The sustainability hackathon will give you the opportunity to “hack” some of the sustainability issues our society is facing. Your solution to a problem could include technology or have no technology at all. The key is coming together with others who are passionate about solving problems, teaming up on a solution idea, and having fun in the process of building something to have an impact on the world. Oh, did we mention that the team that won the 2024 New Venture Challenge (and $100,000) was born at the 2023 sustainability hackathon? Thousands of dollars in prize money will be awarded!
Why join us for this year's hackathon?
Gain Experience
Work on real-world problems and deploy solutions that will be put to use in the real world
Build Skills
Work with your team and with innovators from campus and industry to learn how to rapidly deliver value
Win Prizes
Multiple cash prizes, as well as merch and street cred
No Cost
Sign up for a free Developer account for each of the platforms, getting started quickly and scaling up easily
Event Details
Judging Criteria
Teams will be judged on multiple criteria reflecting creativity, execution, design thinking, feasibility and scalability what they developed during the hackathon. Judging will be conducted by a panel of industry and academic leaders.
Registration
- Any actively enrolled CU Boulder student, staff or faculty member can register. In the spirit of collaboration, students from other Colorado universities are also invited to join. When teams are formed, there needs to be at least one CU Boulder student member on each competition team.
- Information about registering teams for the competition will be shared at the kickoff event.
- Industry partners and leaders from the technology industry and startup ecosystem will be involved throughout the event.
Hackathon Schedule Oct. 17-24
2024 Thursday, Oct. 17, CASE Auditorium
- Kickoff: 6-7 p.m.
- Introduce the hackathon rules, agenda, mentors, etc.
- Have last year’s winners present
- Introduce sponsors
- Introduce industry partners and their projects
- Idea Builder: 7-8 p.m.
- Teams form based on ideas expressed
- Mentors present to help build ideas
- Hackathon officially starts at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 18
- Lunch Hack: 11a.m.-1 p.m.
- Networking—Teams looking to connect with other people to flesh out their team
- Meep Kickoff Workshop: 4-6 p.m.
- Vision/Mission, Assumptions, Metrics, Visionary Mindset and Defining Success
Saturday, Oct. 19
- Breakfast Hack: 9-11 a.m.
- Teams come together and meet mentors to start building their ideas
- Hack Space: 1-5 p.m.
- Provide a space with a few mentors where teams and work and build
Sunday, Oct. 20
- Meep Workshop (w/dinner): 2-7 p.m.
- 2-3:30 p.m. – Customer Journey Mapping, Refining MVP Scope, UX Strategy, and Wireframing
- 4-5 p.m. – Intro to No-Code, Choosing Your Tools, Prototype Development Best Practices
- 5:30-7 p.m. – Building Your Financial Model
- 7 p.m. on... Work Time with mentors from Meep (Finance, Business & Product Strategy, UX, No-Code, etc.)
Monday, Oct. 21
- Workspace—Presentation Prep: 5-8 p.m.
- Mentors available
Tuesday, Oct. 22
- Pitch Practice and Pitch Recording: 4-8 p.m.
- Mentorship
- Provide slide deck template
- 6 p.m. on... Group MVP Testing Session, Work Time & Pitch Practice with Meep mentors
Wednesday, Oct. 23
- Hack Submissions Due: 7 p.m.
- Video Pitch
- Executive summary
Thursday, Oct. 24 (CASE Auditorium)
- Finalists Announced: Noon
- Top 5 teams will be selected to pitch live
- Final Presentations: 6-8 p.m.
- Finalists' pitches
- Judging
- Awards