What to Build

In this Hackathon, teams will be building web applications. Your goal is to build a web application that works well and has an interesting concept. 

You have a lot of freedom to build an application of your team's choosing. You might narrow the ideas down by thinking about a problem that you, your community, or the world faces. How could a web application help with that problem? Or consider your interests or hobbies; how might software help empower you?

Consider spending some time brainstorming and throwing out ideas. But don't wait to long to get started - there is not much time!

How to Build

You will need to begin by forking the starter repository that we have provided: https://classroom.github.com/a/2TFLHL6H

You are required to use Drafter to build a web application. Your website must use Drafter, and not other alternative web frameworks (e.g., Flask, Django, React, Angular). The website must successfully deploy on Github Pages.

Note that Drafter's deployed sites do not support all third-party Python libraries: check with organizers if you are unsure about a library. Some that have limited support: Pillow, MatPlotLib, Numpy. Some that do not work: Pygame, Pandas, Tkinter.

Web APIs have limited support. Note that Gemini integration does require some additional work to create a proxy on CloudFlare. Documentation on Gemini integration is provided and will be covered during the morning workshop.

Drafter has limitations on what libraries can be used when you deploy with it. The list of libraries and Python features currently supported is given in the official Drafter documentation. 

You are free to alter any files in the starter repository that we gave you. You are not required to organize your files any particular way. We encourage you to use professional tools like VS Code, Copilot, Ruff, etc. However, since time is of the essence, you should choose whatever tooling you are most comfortable with.

What to Submit

You will need to submit the repository with all of your site's code. Provide the link to the Github repository, not the deployed site. The URL should say "github.com" not "github.io", and the URL should not end in ".git".

Make sure that your site deploys, including setting up site information (set_site_information). Please provide a full description of your website. Judges might refer to your deployed site during final determination, so you want to make sure you provide all the information needed.

Think critically about the first page of your website, and what it says. First impressions matter a lot, and it will probably be up for a lot of your presentation. 

We recommend you start your submission at 3pm so that you are not rushed!

How to Present

At 4pm, judging will begin. Teams will be positioned in Gore 102 and Gore 117 with their laptop ready to present your deployed site.

Pairs of judges will be walking around the judging rooms visiting each team. When a judge arrives at your table, you will have two minutes to present your hacks.

When not being judged, you are encouraged to browse other teams' projects, and to show others your own project. However, it is critically important that when the judges arrive at your table, you are available to present to them.

Do not stray too far after you have been judged; there are multiple pairs of judges, and another one is likely to come see your presentation.

What to Present

Since you only have two minutes, you should make the most of that time.

Begin by giving your project's name and then take 30 seconds to give an "elevator pitch", an overview of what problem or insight the web application solves and how it works. While you are talking, you are likely to have the front page of your website open, so make the most of that space.

Then, walk the judges through the most important features of your application. You will not have much time, so be sure to show the best parts as soon as possible.

Rehearse your presentations. Time yourself and make sure you are under the time limit. Consider opening up pages in advance if there are specific features you want to show. Not every team member has to present.