About the challenge

HackedMerced X is the Tenth iteration of UC Merced's annual hackathon, hosted by HackMerced! (Yeah, our event name is the same as our group name)

 

Create, Collaborate and enjoy our Cyberpunk vibes in this 36 hour event!

 

Get started

Tracks will be revealed during our opening ceremony!

Requirements

What to Build

You have the freedom to build anything you can think of that is correlated to one of our three tracks. It can be hardware, software, mechanical, artistic, and so on!

 

What to Submit

You will be required to post any code on DevPost. Due to the flexible nature of our hackathon, builds will be judged on a case by case basis. In general, we want an explanation of your work and a demo of how it works. 

 

For any questions, please make a ticket in our Discord or talk to an Event Organiser!

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$500+ in prizes
+ other prizes
Business and Finance
3 winners

First Place Prize: Sennheiser True Wireless 2 Earbuds,

Second Place Prize: Mini Projector, and

Third Place Prize: Razer Mouse.

Health for Social Good
3 winners

First Place Prize: LOFREE Cyberpunk100 Keyboard
Cyberpunk100
Second Place Prize: Raspberry Pi Kit
Third Place Prize: Air Up Bottles

AgTech
3 winners

First Place Prize: Bone Conduction Headphones
Second Place Prize: JBL Flip Bluetooth Speaker
Third Place Prize: Polaroid Camera

Letta AI
1 winner

Letta AI Project

MLH - Gemini
1 winner

It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?

Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice

Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers

Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more

Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?

MLH - MongoDB
1 winner

MongoDB Atlas takes the leading modern database and makes it accessible in the cloud! Get started with a $50 credit for students or sign up for the Atlas free forever tier (no credit card required). Along with a suite of services and functionalities, you'll have everything you need to manage all of your data, and you can get a headstart with free resources from MongoDB University! Build a hack using MongoDB Atlas for a chance to win a M5GO IoT Starter Kit for you and each member of your team.

Auth0
1 winner

Auth0 wants your applications to be secure! Why spend hours building features like social sign-in, Multi-Factor Authentication, and passwordless log-in when you can enable them through Auth0 straight out of the box? Auth0 is free to try, doesn’t require a credit card, and allows for up to 7,000 free active users and unlimited log-ins. Make your new account today and use any of the Auth0 APIs for a chance to win a pair of wireless headphones for you and each member of your team!

MLH - Cloudflare
1 winner

Cloudflare is one of the world’s largest networks enabling hackers like you to build, deploy, and deliver trusted applications, no matter where you are! With Cloudflare, you’ll have all the building blocks to create a full-stack application; from C3 (create Cloudflare command line) instance deployment to object storage. You can even run GenAI (LLMs, text to image, Voice to text etc..) in the cloud and leverage your AI functionality via API requests using Cloudlfare’s Workers AI! Enjoy Cloudflare’s generous free tier to get started at no cost! This weekend, we want you to build an AI Application utilizing Cloudflare’s numerous services for a chance to win Arduino Kits for you and your team!

MLH - Streamlit
1 winner

Want to take your Python skills to the next level? Streamlit is an open-source Python library that makes it easy to share and build custom web apps for machine learning, data science, and more. Instead of writing Python scripts without a UI, you can create a beautiful web app, complete with widgets and data visualizations, and deploy it for free to the Streamlit Community Cloud. You can even build a fully functional LLM-powered app with just 25 lines of code! Hack with Streamlit this weekend for your chance to win an Arduino Tiny ML Kit for you and each member of your team.

Alumni Prize
$250 in cash
1 winner

Best Game
$250 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Qihang Zhang

Qihang Zhang
Senior Product Designer

Vineet Bhatkoti

Vineet Bhatkoti
Engineering Manager

Lokesh Kank

Lokesh Kank
AI/ML Data Scientist

Ajitesh Jain

Ajitesh Jain
Senior Software Engineer

Artem Tikhonov

Artem Tikhonov
AI/ML Researcher

Anish Hiranandani

Anish Hiranandani
Automation Anywhere

Subasree Venkatsubhramaniyen

Subasree Venkatsubhramaniyen
Staff Software Engineer, Video and Reels Ranking

Judging Criteria

  • Innovation
    Assess the uniqueness of the project's approach, considering how it differs from existing ideas.
  • Technical Complexity
    How ambitious was the project. How did the team challenge themselves?
  • Execution
    Evaluate the effectiveness of the project's performance including code quality and functionality.
  • User Experience (UX)
    Evaluate the project's user experience design making it ease of use.
  • Impact
    Evaluate the project's potential to address community needs, considering its positive impact on individuals.
  • Adaptability
    Assess the project's ability to adapt to circumstances during development, considering its flexbility to any obstacles
  • Pitch
    Assess the effectiveness of the team's technical presentation, including their ability to communicate complex ideas and demonstrate the project's technical aspects.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Tell your friends

Hackathon sponsors

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