By: Tatiana Woodside
The STEM Research Center at Bergen Community College is proud to host its first Hackathon, HackBCC, sponsored by Amazon Web Services. HackBCC will take place on March 7th and last approximately twelve hours, 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM, in TEC-128, located in the school’s Technology building. The STEM Research Center at Bergen is the same center behind the STEM Student Scholar Research Program, also known as 3SP.
Hackathon combines the words “hack” and “marathon” to describe an event where students can collaborate to solve a problem over a long period of time. Although students are provided with some ideas, there will be much room for personal creativity and innovation. HackBCC will feature three categories; transportation, education, and environment. Any issue in one of those categories is free for participants to solve.
This event is open to all Bergen students, including those who are not STEM majors. Organizers Jordan Rodriguez and Angela Mae Villaroman, fellow students at Bergen, encourage non-STEM students to join. It is a common misconception that Hackathons are exclusive to Computer Science majors; however, at HackBCC, no computer science background is required. For this reason, there will be workshops and mentors to assist participants with their projects.
Participants will compete in groups of four for one of the three aforementioned categories. There will be designated times for project development, workshops, and meals throughout the twelve-hour event. At the end of HackBCC, participants will be judged by a panel of faculty across different fields, not exclusively STEM-related, although they require general knowledge of it. This diverse panel of judges also enforces the idea of ensuring this event includes all majors. First-place winners of HackBCC will receive a potential internship opportunity, and additional awards will be distributed for the best use of artificial intelligence, the most collaborative effort, and the most cost-effective idea.
Representatives from schools located in New Jersey such as; Montclair State University, Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and more will attend. This will provide students with the opportunity to discuss transfer opportunities. Alongside these representatives will be industry leaders from companies including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, BIT Media, and Maaatev Market. Many other four-year colleges and universities across the state hold hackathons as well. However, this is one of the few Hackathons held by a community college in New Jersey, making HackBCC an event that will truly be one of a kind.
