Hundreds Across Region Turn Out for Fourth Annual HackOHI/O

On November 19-20 The Ohio State University hosted HackOHI/O, its premier student technology event.

More than 750 students from 26 schools from around the Midwest traveled to Columbus for the fourth annual 24-hour hackathon. Also in attendance were 100+ mentors from the region and Ohio State alumni from as far as Alaska.

The weekend-long hackathon works to support and grow tech culture on campus and in surrounding communities by prioviding students with an informal and effective learning platform to develop skills outside the classroom setting.

More than 120 judges evaluated 100+ projects created by teams of 2-5 students.

Among the many unique projects created was the event’s video recap of the event, done by electrical and computer engineering student, David Ross.

Some of HackOHI/O’s 24 sponsors also got in on the hack projects, providing students problems to solve if they chose to do so. Some of those challenges were:

• Amazon Web Services: Analyze traffic patterns and build smart-city transportation solutions
• Capital One: Best use of Capital One’s hackathon API
• JobsOhio: Connecting people to in-demand jobs in Ohio
• JPMorgan Chase: Social Good Challenge--accessibility of information
• Wexner Medical Center: Technology for better health--Use technology to encourage young adults to track their health

HackOHI/O 2016 additional sponsors included by Aver, Battelle, Harris, Paxata, Esri, CAS, GitHub, Namecheap, Accenture, rev1 ventures, Nationwide, TEKSystems, Hyland, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Translation Data Analytics, CoverMyMeds, Exact, Cisco, and Pillar.

Overall feedback was positive, according to the Twittersphere.

Megan Fogel, an instructional aid assistant for the Office of Distance Education and eLearning (ODEE), participated as one of the judges. “It was more inspiring things I’ve seen. Ohio State and Columbus are hubs for innovation and are great places to be in the tech field,” said Fogel of HackOHI/O. “To see students who are starting to make their mark in this industry was refreshing.”

2016 marked the first year that the ODEE has provided planning, logistical and marketing support for HackOHI/O. ODEE and the Office of the Chief Information Officer also coordinated upgrades to wireless connectivity in the Ohio Union as another contribution to this hackathon.

Top Ten HackOHI/O Winning Teams

For more information about the winning teams and their projects, click HackOHIO 2016 Winners, Project Descriptions.