About the challenge

Hack the Change 2023 is a competitive in-person two-day for-charity hackathon hosted on November 11th to 12th by Code the Change YYC. Code The Change YYC is a student-driven community initiative where computer science and engineering students use their skills for social change.

This hackathon is a great opportunity for students to test themselves under pressure, build their skills in software development, and do something good for the community. Students will work in groups of 2-5 to develop a presentable project centered around a social change theme. The prize pool this year will be our biggest ever, with over $10000+ CAD of winnings split between charities and winning students.

The hackathon is in-person at the University of Calgary campus in Alberta. Throughout the two-day event, students will have the opportunity to build projects centered around a social change theme, listen to relevant talks about software development and social change, and work with qualified industry mentors to spin up their awesome hackathon projects. In the end, students will have the opportunity to showcase their project to judges live to compete for the first-place prize.

We invite students from all backgrounds to compete in this competitive and exciting challenge.

Lunch and dinner are provided by our amazing sponsors.

Get started

Please sign up for the hackathon on our EventBrite page. More details regarding location, logistics, and itinerary are to come.

Hack the Change 2023 couldn't be possible without the support of our amazing sponsors. We would like to thank ATB, Benevity, Schulich School of Engineering, Google Cloud, and Village Ice Cream for their generous support.

• Judging Criteria - Idea
  Does the product address the prompt? Does the product introduce a new/unique approach or perspective?
• Judging Criteria - Effectiveness
  Does the product function as intended? Does the product execute on its idea in a way that’s effective?
• Judging Criteria - Technical Challenge
  Does the product function as intended? Does the product execute on its idea in a way that’s effective?
• Judging Criteria - Presentation/Marketability
  Is the implementation complex? Does the product feature different parts? Does the product use interesting concepts or technologies? (If you are unable to judge this criteria accurately, please leave it blank.)
• Judging Criteria - Design
  Does the team seem organized in their presentation/demo? Does the presentation engage the judges and have real-world marketability? (If you are unable to judge this criteria accurately, please leave it blank.)