Featured photo by Steven Dew
Story by Lillian Chapman
Middle Tennessee State University computer science students gathered for HackMT 2024 for 36-hours of technology and programming from Jan. 26 to Jan. 28 at the Science Building on campus.
Joshua Phillips, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, organized the event.
“This is a 36-hour hackathon where all our students and industry partners and mentors come together to build different kinds of technologies,” Phillips said. “So, this could be web apps, games, different type of hardware components to make remote control cars or VR.”
He mentioned the large turnout of students, around 215, and the “laser focus” among them. The students pitched their ideas and then grouped together to create their projects over the next few days. It helped them learn to collaborate as a team, prepare for future interactions and network with future companies as many of the sponsors attend the event.
“I’m really a beginner at what we have going on here, so I’ve been having a crash course,” said Brent Yell, a double major in Computer Science and Japanese. “It’s been hard but it’s also been a lot of fun.”
Sponsors such as Bondware L3harris and Cat Finacle provide the equipment snacks, meals and anything the students might need during the hackathon.
“36 hours is not really a long time. You are working very, very quickly to try to put together this prototype that you can show off at the end of the expo,” Phillips said. “So, it is short, but that is actually part of the fun because you are picking up the skills and you are applying the skills, and you are working in an intense time together.”
At the end of the three days, the groups come together to present their final projects. Ayush K, part of group nine also known as BlueAid, won first place at HackMT 2024.
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