{"id":138305,"date":"2024-04-09T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T17:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=138305"},"modified":"2024-04-09T10:24:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T15:24:17","slug":"inaugural-24-hour-hackathon-event-challenges-university-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/inaugural-24-hour-hackathon-event-challenges-university-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural 24-Hour Hackathon Event Challenges University Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Students used computer programming skills to solve industry challenges\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Erin Garrett <\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

University of Mississippi<\/strong> students put their programming and problem-solving skills to the test April 6\u20137 during\u00a0Hack Beta<\/strong><\/a>, the institution\u2019s first 24-hour hackathon.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organized by computer science students, the competition allowed teams of students from all majors to work together to solve real-world challenges provided by industry partners with hopes of winning cash prizes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA hackathon is typically a 24-hour event where participants work to innovate a product or solution that can be implemented in the real world,\u201d said Larson Carter<\/strong>, sophomore computer science major and chair of the student organizing committee. \u201cThe partners provide challenges that they use in their everyday work environments, and the students have 24 hours to code an outside-the-box solution utilizing technology and programming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The computer and information science department started planning for\u00a0Hack Beta\u00a0last year after seeing the success of students participating in other regional hackathons, said Yixin Chen<\/strong>, department chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have quite a few students who have participated in hackathons at other places, and our department has sponsored their trips\u2014they’ve won awards and are generally really interested in the events,\u201d Chen said. \u201cWe thought, \u2018Why not organize an event for our own students?\u2019 and the feedback from our advisory board and industry partners was very positive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hack Beta benefited from longstanding industry partnerships the CIS department has cultivated, with\u00a0Ergon<\/a>,\u00a0FedEx<\/a>,\u00a0CoreLogic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0CSpire<\/a>\u00a0helping to plan and volunteer at the event. Other partners providing real-world scenarios and support for challenges included\u00a0GitHub<\/a>,\u00a0Major League Hacking<\/a>,\u00a0and UM\u2019s\u00a0Institute for Data Science<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cErgon\u2019s information technology department is proud to continue our relationship with Ole Miss as a sponsor of the Hack Beta Event,\u201d said Jana Branham<\/strong>, executive vice president and chief information officer for Ergon. \u201cGiving students the opportunity to solve real business challenges through innovation, coding and team collaboration challenges them to develop actionable business ideas which may not emerge in a traditional working environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of hackathons to create innovative solutions is well-documented, said Carter, a Jonesboro, Arkansas, native. One example is the messaging app GroupMe, which was created during a hackathon<\/a> more than a decade ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt started as a solution for efficient messaging within a group and has since grown into a multi-billion-dollar company acquired by Microsoft,\u201d Carter said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hack Beta’s four challenges were: creating a mobile app to monitor campus network performance, developing a file-sharing project for Bluetooth or internet, working with provided hardware to build a secure data communication app, and manipulating a dataset in innovative ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the hacking challenges, the event schedule included educational sessions led by students, faculty and industry mentors on topics like securing internships, resume prep and mock interviews.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chen emphasized the importance of the problem-solving skills students will develop through the hackathon experience\u2014skills that are highly valued by employers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe crucial skill to be successful at a hackathon or in the real world is problem-solving,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s something that employers will be looking for when students start their careers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the 24-hours, the 13 teams of some 50 students submitted their final projects for judging, culminating in an awards ceremony. Prizes were awarded to the top teams in each challenge and an overall grand prize winner was selected from the top teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first-place overall award went to team \u201cSyntax Error,\u201d made up of computer science students James Kim<\/strong>, Christopher Doss<\/strong>, and Peter Van Ness<\/strong>. They developed a simple, yet effective way to send files locally to local households or school networks. The program is easy to interact with and use and does not require Bluetooth\u2014a point of pride for the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hack Beta was so successful that the department is already planning a larger event in the fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor this spring event, we wanted to keep it limited to just Ole Miss students, but the fall hackathon will be open to participants from around the world,\u201d Chen said. \u201cOur goal is to grow the event to at least 400 to 450 participants.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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