Advancing Upstate NY's technology community

Hack Upstate’s mission is to unite and facilitate collaboration among the greater Upstate New York technology community. In doing so, we aim to contribute to the growth of Upstate New York’s technology sector and to create a robust network of technologists and regional technology companies.

Hack Upstate organizes weekend hackathons twice a year (i.e., Fall & Spring) where developers, designers, engineers and innovators from across Upstate New York come to Syracuse, NY, to share ideas, form teams, build projects, and win awesome prizes in 24 hours. The event is free to attend for all participants. Join us!

View full rules

Prizes

$2,000 in prizes

Grant Prize ($1000)

First Runner Up ($500)

Best Effort Hack ($100)

Best Hardware Hack ($100)

TCGplayer API Prize ($200 amazon gift cards)

Provided by TCGplayer

Best Use of Open Data ($100)

Provided by Syracuse iSchool

Judges

Joshua Burdick

Joshua Burdick
Developer Evangelist, TCGplayer

Raj Suchak

Raj Suchak
CEO, Grit Seed

Velizar Demirev

Velizar Demirev
Hackathons

Annalena Davis

Annalena Davis
Web Developer, Syracuse University

Judging Criteria

  • 20% - Originality & Creativity & Novelty
    Is the project new and something that hasn't been attempted before? How does this approach a unique solution to a problem?
  • 20% - Wow Factor
    Subjective and buzz-wordy, huh? That's what makes it fun :) We know you have something up your sleeve that's going to knock our socks off!
  • 20% - Polish / Design / Execution
    Did your team successfully execute your project concept? Is it usable? Does it work? Is it well designed? Is the user experience smooth?
  • 20% - Demo / Presentation
    You'll have 2-3 minutes for a demo to tell the judges about your project, followed by a Q/A. We're interested in the problems you solved, API's you leveraged, technologies used, and lessons learned. We recommend a quick powerpoint.
  • 20% - Multidisciplinary project
    We encourage and applaud interdisciplinary projects fueled by eclectic teams with diverse backgrounds.