COVID-19 Hackathon Will Focus On Community Challenges

Teresa Schuster / Staff Writer

Hackathons aren’t just for computer science majors.

PantherHacks, a COVID-19 themed hackathon organized by Upsilon Pi Epsilon at FIU, welcomes students with no programming experience. Students will team up to learn about the latest technologies and build innovative products.

It will focus on solving community challenges due to COVID-19 and will be held virtually on July 18th and 19th. Categories include health, community, education, and productivity.

“The projects are going to be revolving around how to improve our community,” said Yasmine Abdrabo, Upsilon Pi Epsilon’s hackers director. “If you’re new to this it could be a ticket to learning more about the tech community.”

Abdrabo hopes it will bring FIU students together. “People are feeling disconnected,” Abdrabo said. “We really wanted to bring back [a sense of] community.”

There will be workshops on web development, design and project management, mobile development, and data analytics. This will be held at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. It will also feature expert talks from FIU professionals.

Student teams will decide on a project, which could be an app or website. Previous hackathon projects include an app to conserve water and a motor for fish tanks.

“A student could attend the first workshop, learn about the fundamentals of designing a website, and then go in and actually code it,” Abdrabo said.

Google Cloud, FIU’s Office of the President, and the Student Government Association are sponsoring the event.

“I got really excited because it reached out to every single student,” said Cristopher Lugo, an SGA engineering senator and UPE member. “[They] can learn and share what thing would be a great solution.”

Lugo encourages students to sign up for Pantherhacks. “It’s a great opportunity to meet other students and to learn a new skill,” he said.

The winning teams will receive prizes, which include a scholarship from the Office of the President.

Students can register for PantherHacks for free at https://pantherhacks.typeform.com/to/s5OAL0.