Competitors must be junior or senior computer science, computer engineering, and cybersecurity majors who form teams to develop technical solutions to solve real-world challenges. A panel of judges examines each team’s application impact, technical complexity, and user-friendliness while also rating teams on their pitch and presentation skills. A suite of prizes is offered for winners, including AAdvantage miles from American Airlines, savvy digital devices, and useful tech gear.
“I also want to take the time to applaud all of you for your unwavering commitment and partnership in our creation and expansion of platforms to showcase diverse talent and offer opportunities to future tech innovators and business leaders,” Graves said to partners and participants last fall. “I am so proud of our BE Smart Hackathon and its participants. It has met its goal of providing a showcase for HBCU students to display their technical expertise and gain exposure to the top companies in global business.”
Source: The 2024 winning Hackathon team was Protege, comprised of Spelman College seniors.
Other top winners from last year included teams from Philander Smith University in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, who won second and third places, respectively. Receiving the judges’ highest technical score was Morgan State University, which is also the only HBCU to participate in all of the past nine years of the Hackathon.
Hackathon participants are truly living up to this year’s theme: “Built Different. Built Brilliant.” Join in on year ten of elevating excellence and register by Sept. 15 at blackenterprise.com/hackathon.
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Source: Black Enterprise
