UPDATE: After careful consideration, Booz Allen Hamilton will be postponing the Charleston Digital Hub Hackathon 2020 scheduled for this Saturday, March 7th, due to concerns about the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. This was a difficult decision, as we were all looking forward to this event and to see the exciting solutions participants would produce to address climate change. Our number one priority continues to be the well-being of our guests, partners, clients and employees as we move through this challenging time.

Thank you for your understanding, and please stayed tuned for future opportunities.

Booz Allen's Charleston Digital Hub is happy to be hosting another Hackathon on Saturday, March 7th, 2020. Doors will open for check-in starting at 8:00am with the event officially kicking off at 9:00am and ending at 9:00pm.

This year’s Hub Hackathon will be focused on climate change. By 2030, the world must tackle hard issues resulting from climate change, including rising temperatures, sea level rise, air pollution, increased hurricane intensity, and the necessity of migrating to alternative energy sources. If these critical issues are not addressed, the world will face widespread resource depletion, natural disasters, and disease. Each of these problems are global, and their effects are seen and felt nearly every day in the Charleston area. As our city is only 8 feet above sea level, coastal flooding occurs regularly, causing us to face a grim reality that our workplaces, our homes, and our communities may be lost if drastic action is not taken. The goal for this year's Hub Hackathon is to directly tackle these issues by kicking off the new decade with new solutions for climate change.

This event will be a full-day challenge in which you and your team (3-6 people) will work together to make a better tomorrow. This year, the event will be split into three competition tracks, with prizes awarded to the top two teams within each track.

Professional and Graduate Track

This track is intended for participants with professional industry experience or full-time graduate-level students. Participants will be expected to produce technical solutions with working code that demonstrate a real-life solution that could help produce positive change around climate action. Potential solutions could include web dashboards, mobile apps, data analysis and visualizations, or machine learning algorithms.

Undergraduate and Bootcamp Track

This track is intended for participants who are current full-time undergraduate students or are enrolled in a coding bootcamp. Participants will be expected to produce technical solutions with working code that demonstrate a real-life solution that could help produce positive change around climate action. Potential solutions could include web dashboards, mobile apps, data analysis and visualizations, or machine learning algorithms.

Free-Style Track

This track is open to all creatives and activists who have great ideas and strive for social good. In this track, we expect to see fresh, innovative ideas turned into business models and action plans complete with prototypes or interactive presentations demonstrating how the solution could come to life. Public datasets that highlight climate change issues will be available to teams as inspiration for a potential starting point, but you will not be evaluated on or required to utilize the data when building your solutions to produce positive climate action.

During registration, you will be asked to select the competition track that aligns with your skill level and interests. We’ll provide you with a track-specific rubric our judges will use to score the projects the morning of the event. Each track will compete against other teams within the same track, with a winner and runner-up being crowned for each of the three tracks. In addition to the prizes for winning teams, we are happy to announce that we will also be contributing a charitable grant to a climate-action focused nonprofit chosen by the team who takes home the "best in show" crown.

The event will be fully catered, providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as snacks and drinks offered throughout the day. All we need for you to bring is a government-issued form of identification, a WiFi-capable laptop (including chargers/peripherals), and your excitement!

REGISTER BY 2/8/20 TO GUARANTEE YOUR T-SHIRT SIZE

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FAQs

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?

This event is strictly 18+. All we require is that you bring a valid form of government identification that matches the name used to register. If you have extenuating circumstances preventing this, please contact the event organizers.

Is this event free to attend?

Yes. This event is completely free to attend.

Are there any travel reimbursements or sponsorships available?

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer any form of travel reimbursement or sponsorship. You are responsible for your own travel to the Hackathon.

What are my parking options at the Hackathon?

There is an abundance of free parking available at our office.

What can I bring into the event?

Please bring a laptop, any charging cables you may need (don't forget your laptop and phone chargers!), comfortable clothes, as well as any additional snacks/drinks you'd like to have.

What items are prohibited at the event?

The following items are prohibited from this event: alcohol, weapons, and offensive/political clothing. Additionally, smoking and use of tobacco products within the building is prohibited, but there are designated areas outside. While drones are cool, please do not fly them around our building. Also - bad attitudes not allowed!

Can I prepare anything in advance for the event?

We encourage you and your team members to brainstorm your idea before the event, by for example making mockups or exploring and cleaning your data. However, no coding or development work can begin until the event officially kicks off.

How will teams be judged on their entries?

Teams will be given 3 minutes to present a working demo of their solution and will be judged on a variety of criteria specific to your project track. Although we will be providing datasets, you will not be required to use them in your solution.

Do teams have to use any particular language or framework to compete in the Hackathon?

No. Teams are encouraged to use whatever set of technology they are most comfortable with, or if they want a challenge, something that they may have not worked with before. The goal is to have fun and build a better tomorrow.

Who retains the rights to the code, intellectual capital or implementations that my team develops?

Any code, intellectual capital or implementations developed during the Hackathon will be released Open Source. We plan to utilize the MIT license (https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).

What size can teams be?

Teams will have a minimum size of 3, and a maximum size of 6. If you do not have team members planned ahead of time, we will match you with other participants that complement your skillsets as best we can.

I don't know how to code! Can I still compete?

Yes! This year, our Hackathon is offering a "Free-style" competition track, open to anyone who has great ideas around tackling climate change solutions.

How can I contact the organizer with any further questions?

Please contact hubhackathon@bah.com for any questions related to the event.