Hack the Woodz is a beginner-focused hackathon & ideathon hosted by students from the Woodlands Secondary School. Hack the Woodz will be running virtually, allowing any student to join!

Participants will have 24 hours to create any project that excites them, with no restrictions on the topic.

Can't code? Not a problem!

No coding is needed for our Pitch-Only track! The Pitch-Only track is your chance to show off your ideation and presentation skills. Projects will be marked solely based on originality, social impact, business value, and execution. 

Avid coder? No worries!

We also have the traditional Coding track! Marked based on technology, learning, design, and completion; the Coding track is your opportunity to shine!

 

Join our Discord!!

https://discord.gg/p2Fa9g8U3S

Requirements

What to Build

There is no set theme. Participants have complete flexibility over what they want to build, with no limitations upon either the topic or the technologies. The only restriction is that any projects created must be entirely your team's creation, with no code or work plagiarized from an external source. See the full list of rules here.

Tracks

When you submit the project, you must select which track you are competing for.

There are three tracks:

  • Code-based track (traditional hackathon projects)
  • Pitch-based track (no coding needed)
  • Hardware track (for hardware projects)

 

What is the Pitch-based track?

The pitch-based track is like a mini ideathon!

You work in teams to come up with solutions to pressing problems within our society. This could be anything from a unique business idea, a new recycling plan, or a mockup of a potential healthcare app!

Projects will be marked based on originality, social impact, business value, and the actual execution. There is no coding in this track, check the judging criteria (below) for a better idea of what we are looking for.

 

What to Submit

Project (code) route: you will need to submit a video demo of your project (maximum of 3 minutes) as well as a link to its GitHub (or any other code-hosting service) repository.

Pitch (no-code) route: you will need to submit a video pitch (maximum of 3 minutes), along with a PDF/link of your slide deck.

Hardware route: you will need to submit a video demo of your project (maximum of 3 minutes) as well as a link to its GitHub (or any other code-hosting service) repository.


Make sure to keep the videos short, do NOT exceed 3 minutes.
When you submit your project you MUST indicate which track/category you are competing for. Projects will only be judged by the criteria from their category.

 

Teams

You can work solo. If you have a team, it may have up to 4 members. If you do not have a team but would like one, you can always look for teammates on the Devpost and Discord.

 

Schedule

June 4-5th (Saturday to Sunday)
Times are in EDT (UTC-4) Toronto time

Hacking Period: 12pm–11:30am
Devpost Submissions: 11:30am–12pm
Judging Period: 12pm–3:30pm
Winners Announced: 3:30pm

Prizes

Please keep in mind that some prizes (such as Indigo Gift Cards) are location restricted to Canada.

 

FAQ

More information here.

 

 

 

 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$CAD33,769 in prizes

Pitch Track ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

Code Track (～￣▽￣)～

Pitch: First Place Prize

4 x $50 League RP, Steam, Indigo, OR Amazon gift card
4 x $375 One-year subscription to Wolfram|Alpha Pro & Wolfram|One
4 x Taskade Lifetime upgrade to Unlimited
4 x $350 Lifetime access to Fueler playbooks

Code: First Place Prize

4 x $50 League RP, Steam, Indigo, OR Amazon gift card
4 x $375 One-year subscription to Wolfram|Alpha Pro & Wolfram|One
4 x Taskade Lifetime upgrade to Unlimited
4 x $350 Lifetime access to Fueler playbooks

Pitch: Second Place Prize

4 x Discord Nitro for 1 month
4 x $375 One-year subscription to Wolfram|Alpha Pro & Wolfram|One
4 x $350 Lifetime access to Fueler playbooks
4 x Taskade Lifetime upgrade to Unlimited

Code: Second Place Prize

4 x Discord Nitro for 1 month
$504 Axure RP (Team Annual Subscription)
4 x $350 Lifetime access to Fueler playbooks
4 x Taskade Lifetime upgrade to Unlimited

Pitch: Third Place Prize

4 x $150 3 Months of Fueler premium
4 x Taskade Lifetime upgrade to Unlimited

Code: Third Place Prize

4 x $150 3 Months of Fueler premium
4 x Taskade Lifetime upgrade to Unlimited

Hardware Track: Winner ✪ ω ✪

1 x GAR Monster Starter Kit for Arduino

The ultimate kit:
5 flagship main boards - the Arduino-compatible UNO R3, MEGA 2560, NANO V3, the ESP32 WiFi + Bluetooth Development Board and the ESP8266 NodeMCU
500+ individual components featuring the most common sensors and modules

https://automationroboticsarduino.com/products/gar-monster-starter-kit-for-arduino

One Lucky Student (*^▽^*)

1 x $15 Google Play Gift Card

Lucky winner is chosen by lottery on Discord!
You must be in our Discord server and following our Instagram (@hackthewoodz)

More details to come on the Discord server

Everyone! \^o^/ (35)

Taskade Unlimited (5-Year)
Interview Cake full course access for 1-month
Free Typedream subscription
90-day of Balsamiq Cloud extended trial
Echo3D Business Plan access for 1-month
Free .xyz domains (1 year)

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Robert Dutton (Teacher Sponsor Only)

Robert Dutton (Teacher Sponsor Only)
Computer Science Teacher at The Woodlands Secondary School

Feng Liu

Feng Liu
Head of Architecture, Lending at Finastra

Jeff Wang

Jeff Wang
Chief Enterprise Architect at Finastra

Anton Georgescu

Anton Georgescu
Principal Architect & Manager of Architecture team for Canadian Student Lending Program (CSLP)

Maksym Mostovyi

Maksym Mostovyi
Software engineer / Frontend Engineer at Rain

Anton Adashkevich

Anton Adashkevich
Senior Agile Program Manager Cloud

Judging Criteria

  • Code & Hardware Projects: Technology
    How technically impressive was the hack? Was the technical problem the team tackled difficult? Did it use a particularly clever technique or did it use many different components? Did the technology involved make you go "Wow"?
  • Code & Hardware Projects: Design
    Is the product aesthetically pleasing? Is the design intuitive and polished? Did the team put any thought into the user experience? Does the design of the product elevate its message?
  • Code & Hardware Projects: Completion
    Does the hack work? Does the project show evidence of hard work and effort? Did the team achieve everything they wanted?
  • Code & Hardware Projects: Learning
    Did the team stretch themselves? Did they try to learn something new? What kind of projects have they worked on before? Did a team explore beyond their comfort zone and take a risk?
  • Pitch Only: Originality
    Is the project unique? Is the idea something that hasn’t been done before? How innovative is the project’s approach to the problem?
  • Pitch Only: Social Impact
    Does this project solve a particular pain point? Is there potential to turn this project into something profitable?
  • Pitch Only: Business Value
    Is there business potential? Is the project realistic with its business model? Has the team outlined a route to market?
  • Pitch Only: Execution
    Does the end result demonstrate quality? Is the project easy to understand and polished?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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