Tools and Technologies
Participants will have access to lab computers and free WiFi.
Participants are encouranged to use what skills and strengths they have, but alternative tools will be provided to make the competition as equitable as possible. A list of curated no-code tools will be made available here as the Steering Group is able to get access for participants to use them during the competition.
Inspiration
As social justice problems are curated, the Steering Group will pre-prepare inspiration for the respective problems and list them here after the event starts.
In the meantime, below are links to other similarly-themed Hackathons to get the gears turning before the day of the event!
SVC 2026 Environmental Hackathon submissions
2026 Philly Social Justice Hackathon problem tracks
Contact Us & Support Channels
Join our Slack to ask questions in the #q-and-a channel!
FAQ
Wait..what even is a hackathon?
A hackathon is a community event where people of all disciplines (students, faculty, advocates, artists, etc) come together to engage in rapid design of solutions to given challenges. This is not simply a competition, but a community event that promotes connection, collaboration, and critical problem solving. In a typical hackathon, there are teams formed at the event, and each team is given a problem to solve in the timeframe of the hackathon (ours will be around three days and will not go through the night). The "hackathon" name comes from the traditional collaboration of computer scientists to code something. However, in this hackathon, we will be calling on the skills of people from all disciplines. At the end of the hackathon, there will be prizes given out to the group or groups that are able to be the most productive/stand out!
What makes this hackathon a social justice hackathon?
This hackathon is a social justice hackathon because of our collaboration with local communities and businesses. The "problems" or challenges that you will be presented with will be actual issues facing local businesses and communities, such as not having a proper website, not having a proper way to gain traction/awareness, or a financial issue that can be solved by something coded.
I am not a computer science major, how can I benefit from this?
Because of the amount of collaboration there will be with local communities, we will need people of all different skillsets on the team to make judgement calls. For example, if the final product was to create an app that tracks food stamps, there would need to be people who understand local policy to get the correct information for the app, people who understand how to make an app a user friendly experience in terms of graphic design and marketing, people who understand how to do the actual coding, and so on! We will need creative and critical thinkers from all disciplines who want real-world experience in problem-solving and collaboration. We are focusing on the idea that in order to create something great there needs to be diverse minds working on it!
Who is this hackathon open to?
This is open to all WWU students and alumni who graduated within 2 years of this hackathon. There will be roughly 50 participants, forming teams of around five or six people.
What are some accommodations each team will have?
Each team will have meals provided, Wifi, private and public meeting rooms with computers, and possibly merch goodies!
What will the actual hackathon look like?
Our hackathon will start on a Friday night, where there will be a keynote speaker and an introductory social event where contestants can mingle and form teams. They will get their challenge and make a rough outline of their plan. Dinner will be provided. On Saturday, the teams will come back and work/hack throughout the entire day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided. This will be the least structured day, as it is up to the individual teams to collaborate and get the job done. Sunday will be the final day of the hackathon, where teams will finish up their product. They will each present their project to the judges, and while the judges decide on a winner, there will be a brief social with tabling from local communities, music, and some food. Finally, there will be the closing ceremonies where winners will be announced.
Will there be AI usage?
Yes, but the goal of this hackathon is social good, and therefore there are many aspects of modern AI tools, and the companies that offer them, that contradict the core values of this hackathon. Therefore, while we can’t possibly control how AI is used by contestants, we will be offering alternatives in place of commonly used AI models (i.e. Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.).
How much will this cost to attend?
It is free to attend!
Why is attendance capped at 50 participants?
Our funds are limited by what the sponsors have provided / donated. We want to make sure we can provide a minimum level of quality for each participant, therefore we must set a cap to ensure every participant can enjoy this event fully.