Important Info

Date: Friday Jan 31st, 2025 - Sunday Feb 2nd, 2025

Location: Peter George Center for Living and Learning (PGCLL), McMaster University

Eligibility: University/College Students from any Post-Secondary Institution

Registration: Signup form available on https://gdg.community.dev

First-years enrolled in 1P10/1P13 get a 0.5% bonus for SUBMITTING a project (not only participating)

About the challenge

IMPORTANT: To make a hackathon submission here, you must have RSVP'd using the link sent to your email after signing up at https://gdg.community.dev. 

Get pumped for the GDG on Campus: McMaster Mac-a-thon - Build with AI event! This is your chance to dive headfirst into the world of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, all alongside fellow like-minded students. This hackathon isn’t just about coding, it’s about connecting, learning, and being a part of a community that drives change. Get ready to bring your ideas to life and showcase your skills!

Build with AI

This year's hackathon will be a part of GDG's Build with AI event series, where attendees will learn more about Artificial Intelligence (AI), their many and varied applications, and how to get started with AI using Google Technologies. Artificial Intelligence has exploded in both functionality and popularity over the past couple years. Many apps, services and products use AI to enhance functionality, better convey information to customers and supercharge existing processes. By attending this event, attendees will be able to get a better understanding of how AI works from industry experts and get started with a project of your own!

Hacking

This year's hackathon is similar to the previous 'Solutions challenge hackathon', with events and workshops beginning on Friday, hacking commencing on Saturday, and wrap-up taking place on Sunday. Our hackathon aims to accommodates individuals with any skill level and background knowledge on software and artificial intelligence - no prior experience is required! Event theme, prize categories and goals will be announced during the Opening ceremony.

Social Media

Learn more about our hackathon and other events across our committee from our Discord and Instagram!

Schedule

For more details about the hackathon schedule and associated room allocations, please refer to your participant package, which should have been sent out to your email prior to the hackathon. 

Check-in Desk Hours

• Friday, January 31st, 2025: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM

• Saturday, February 1st, 2025: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Opening Ceremony

• Saturday, February 1st, 2025: 10:00 AM

Attending the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as your allotted judging time, is required. All other workshops and events are optional. Recordings may be available for some events. 

• Problem Statement
  The problem statement should be properly explained and presented to the judges, both in any visual aid and during the presentation. If needed, evidence or statistics should be used to back up the problem statement.
• Theme
  This year’s hackathon is all about ‘Build with AI’, meaning all project submissions should demonstrate a significant use of AI in the project.
• Demonstration
  Each team should demonstrate or present the functionality of the project using visual aids or prototypes.
• Next Steps
  A project in the real world doesn’t end once a demo presentation is complete - it often requires a plan for future profession and testing. Details of such a plan should be included in the submission.
• Issues/Conflicts
  Each team should explain how their team overcame issues while working on the project.
• Q&A
  Questions posed by the judges should be adequately answered by the team.
• Google Technology
  Each project should demonstrate a use case of Google Technology.
• Solution
  Each project should have a well-rounded and adequate solution to their problem statement.
• Original
  Each project should be unique and original. However, this does not mean that your project can not be an iteration over an existing or known solution.
• Documentation
  All project material submitted must contain sufficient documentation and should be organized.