Hackathon 2017

Please note that this event took place in 2017. Visit the most recent Hackathon event webpage.

With over 3,500 students and active projects in cutting-edge areas of computing, the College of Computing and Software Engineering (CCSE) focuses on engaging our students with local companies to develop a strong pipeline for talent, fill workforce needs, and provide unique, out-of-the-classroom experiences.

The CCSE Hackathon is the College's premier event in showcasing student talent and connecting companies to our students. Through dedicated "threads" (aka themes) within the event, companies can raise awareness of opportunities for students to work with them, increase brand awareness, and locate top talent for computing workforce. Students can hone their skills, apply the knowledge they gain inside the classroom in authentic, real-world problems, and connect with internship and job opportunities.

While CCSE offers events throughout the year including our capstone days, internship networking nights, alumni and student career fairs, and industry advisory board meetings, the CCSE Hackathon is an event like no other.

Sponsors connect with students in a series of presentations within the month leading up to the Hackathon to:

  • Pitch videos showcase the options/threads to all students
  • Participating students select their top choices, identifying their dedicated interest in the sponsors
  • Kick-off event on site for all participants builds excitement and awareness of all sponsors
  • Content experts from each company provide guidance and connect with teams throughout the event (online or on-site)
  • End-of-event award ceremony brings everyone together for publicity and celebration of successes
  • Follow-up lunches let sponsor companies connect with top talent student teams
  • Ongoing publicity through KSU/CCSE social media apps and web sites

The hackathon will have industry-sponsored themes in health informatics, hospitality/travel, e-commerce, big data analytics, and others by a host of sponsors. You can indicate your preference when you register, and teams will form in each of these themes, so there is flexibility in working on projects in different areas.

This is a great way for our students to connect with industry partners and peers, build their skills and resumes, and win prizes!

2017 Hackathon Photo Gallery

Event Schedule

  • Dinner provided in the Design 2 Building (I2) Lobby.

    Student Notes: Students will check-in at the Atrium Building (J) Lobby. You will be given a badge and backpack. There is a lanyard in your backpack and it is suggested that you use it to keep up with your badge. Your badge is required to get food! Food is always served in the Atrium Building (J) Lobby with the exception of Thursday night, when it will be at Design 2 Building (I2) Lobby and Sunday afternoon, when it will be at the Wellness and Recreation Center.

    5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Registrant Check-In (Check-In Atrium Building (J) – Lobby)

    • Registration will be divided by the sponsor, so check in at the sponsor for your challenge.
    • You will receive your name badge (necessary to receive food!) and welcome backpack.
    • T-shirts will be handed out by your sponsor during your breakout sessions at 6:30 p.m.

    6:00 p.m. | Welcome (Design 2 Building (I2) – Room 112)

    • Grab some pizza over in the lobby of Design 2 and get ready to start!

    6:15 p.m. | Introduction (Design 2 Building (I2) – Room 112)

    • We will all gather in the auditorium briefly for an introduction and welcome from the CCSE Dean.

    6:30 – 8:30p.m. | Team Breakout Sessions/ Company-Team Thread Introduction/Discussion

    • Anthem – Joe Mack Wilson Student Center (A), Ballroom A (Rep: Dawn Tatum, 1 volunteer)
    • InComm – Jack Mack Wilson Student Center (A), Ballroom B (Rep: Dawn Tatum, 1 volunteer)
    • Travelport – Atrium Building (J), Room 161 (Rep: William Forsyth, 1 volunteer)
    • HPCC Systems – Atrium Building (J), Main Computer Lab 263 (Rep: Sarah North,1 volunteer)
    • YouAreHere – Academic Building (H), Room 200 (Rep: Bruce Skillin, 1 volunteer)

    You will have this time to sit with your sponsors to discuss the challenges in depth and find out what they are expecting from you. Ask them lots of questions and show your excitement! Find out if they are looking for “out of the box” thinking, creativity, mockups, coding, etc. Ask them how they will judge? The sponsors will provide you with your t-shirt and give you the contact information and schedule of when they will have mentors on campus and on #slack during the weekend. I encourage you to take notes of what they tell you – this information will not be posted and I cannot provide it for you later. It is in your best interest to take advantage of when the mentors are on campus to get their insight and bounce ideas off of them as you are developing. This will make for a better end result. Once this session is over, you and your team can begin brainstorming off campus. Friday (4:00 – 10:00 p.m.) and Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.) will be the hours of the hackathon on campus. This does not mean that you can't develop off campus – you certainly can.

  • Dinner provided in the Atrium Building (J).

    Student Notes: You will report directly to the assigned room for your sponsor to work.

    • Anthem Teams – Atrium Building (J), Room 156 (Lab Assistant assigned)
    • InComm Teams – Atrium Building (J), Room 215B
    • Travelport Teams – Atrium Building (J), Room 260
    • HPCC Systems Teams – Atrium Building (J), Main Lab 263
    • YouAreHereTeams – Atrium Building (J), Gaming Lab, Room 202 (Lab Assistant assigned)
    • Rooms available for overflow: 165, 201L, 211,161, 265

    This is a time to develop on campus and work with your mentors to come up with solutions to the challenges. It is in your best interest to be there with the mentors. They have taken the time to be there for you – because they care about you becoming the best you can be. They also hope that you will join their company, so they want to get to know you as well. Take advantage of this gift!

  • Team Work

    9:00 – 9:30a.m.| Breakfast (Provided)

    12:30 – 1:30p.m.| Lunch (Provided)

    4:00 – 5:00 p.m.| Dinner (Provided)

    • Anthem Teams – Atrium Building (J), Room 156 (Lab Assistant assigned)
    • InCommTeams – Atrium Building (J), Room 215B
    • Travelport Teams – Atrium Building (J), Room 260
    • HPCC Systems Teams – Atrium Building (J), Room 263
    • YouAreHereTeams – Atrium Building (J), Room 202 (Lab Assistant assigned)
    • Rooms available for overflow: 110,131,151, 158,165,201L, 211, 217, 265

    This is a time to develop on campus and work with your mentors to come up with solutions to the challenges. It is in your best interest to be there with the mentors. They have taken the time to be there for you – because they care about you becoming the best you can be. They also hope that you will join their company, so they want to get to know you as well. Take advantage of this gift! Start developing your presentation Saturday night! Remember you will have 10 minutes total for setup/present/Q&A. I suggest you keep it simple with 5 slides depicting what you developed. If you have a demo, make sure the sponsors can see what you are showing on the screen – otherwise, it’s not a successful presentation. Make sure you introduce your entire team on a slide! And yes, the entire team should be there to present (except in case of emergencies).

  • 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. | Breakfast in the Atrium Building (J) Lobby

    Student Notes: Breakfast will be from 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. in the Atrium Building (J) Lobby, then report to the room assigned to your sponsor for presentations.

    9:00 – 11:00 a.m. | Team Presentations & Judging

    Present your solutions to the judges! Dress for Sunday is Business Casual (i.e. khakis/casual slacks/polo). Remember this is not only a competition, but a preliminary job interview.

    • Anthem Judging-Building M-100 (Rep: Becky Rutherfoord)
    • InComm Judging-Building J-152 (Rep: Svetlana Peltsverger)
    • Travelport Judging-Building H-200 (Rep: William Forsyth)
    • HPCC Systems Judging –Building I2-112 (Rep: Sarah North)
    • YouAreHere Judging –Building H-203 (Rep: Bruce Skillin)

    11:00 a.m. –12:30p.m. | Break & Networking

    Student Notes: This is open time. Make your way to the Wellness and Recreation Center by 12:30 p.m.

    The hard work is over! Take a break and remember to send your presentation to Dawn Tatum at dtatum7@kennesaw.edu.Use this time to network and talk among your friends before the ceremony begins.

    12:30 – 2:00 p.m. | Networking Reception & Awards Ceremony (Wellness Center, located at Technology Way Entrance)

    12:30 – 1:00 p.m. | Networking & Food

    Student Notes: Get some food at the Wellness and Recreation Center and find a seat. Sit with your team. Wait for the awards!

    Gather some food and find a place to sit. It is advised that you sit with your team.

    If your team is announced as a winner, you will be requested to come up onto the stage and receive your prize. You will have your picture taken while on stage withthe sponsor. Afterwards, you will return to your seat. At the end of the ceremony, sponsors would like ALL teams to come and take pictures with them as a whole and then the winners will also get a separate picture.

    1:00 p.m. | Awards Ceremony Welcome

    1:15 p.m. | Anthem Results, Award Presentations/Pictures

    1:30 p.m. | InComm Results, Award Presentations/Pictures

    1:45 p.m. | Travelport Results, Award Presentations/Pictures

    2:00 p.m. | HPCC Results, Award Presentations/Pictures

    2:15 p.m. | YouAreHereResults, Award Presentations/Pictures

Challenges

  • Watch the Anthem 2017 Hackathon video.

    Who we are: Anthem is working to transform health care with trusted and caring solutions. Our health plan companies deliver quality products and services that give their members access to the care they need. With over 74 million people served by its affiliated companies, including approximately 40 million within its family of health plans, Anthem is one of the nation’s leading health benefits companies.

    Our strategy is driven by our focus on achieving the following objectives:

    • Create the best health care value in our industry.
    • Excel at day-to-day execution.
    • Capitalize on new opportunities to drive growth.

    Our business strategy establishes a framework that yields tangible value for all of our constituents -members, employers, health care professionals, associates, and shareholders.

    Why choose us? Join us as we transform healthcare. A key to transformation is modernizing our systems. Check out more at careers.antheminc.com.

  • Watch the HPCC Systems 2017 Hackathon video.

    Who we are: HPCC Systems® helps businesses of all sizes to find the answers they need by making data easier to process, analyze and understand.

    Born from the deep data analytics history ofLexisNexis® Risk Solutions, HPCC Systems provides high-performance, parallel processing and delivery for applications using big data.

    The open-source platform incorporates a software architecture implemented on commodity shared-nothing computing clusters for resilience and scalability. It is configurable to support both parallel batch data processing and high-performance data delivery applications using indexed data files. The platform includes a high-level, implicitly parallel data-centric declarative programming language that adds to its flexibility and efficiency.

    For more Information, check out our Wiki: https://wiki.hpccsystems.com/display/hpcc/Kennesaw+State+University+Hackathon+2017

  • Watch the InComm2017 Hackathon video.

    Video password is experiences.

    Who We Are: InComm is the leader in prepaid products and solutions. The most familiar of our products are card based; gift cards, reloadable debit cards and other “cards” that you can find in your most common retailers. InComm, on average, activates around 2/3 of the gift cards globally, each year. We are the leading activator of iTunes gift cards and have over 600,000 points of retail distribution world-wide. Our business goes much further than giftcards, but all of our products and services leverage our end to end capabilities when it comes to product delivery to market, as well as Platform as a Service based solutions for back end activations and data processing. InComm owns over 200 internationaltechnical patents that help to define the prepaid payments process and we continue to innovate aggressively. We are growing rapidly and our need for strong technical minds that can help build the payment systems of the future is growing as well.

    By choosing our thread you will have the opportunity to dive into the payments space and explore a number of the technologies and business variables (performance, security, scalability, marketability, cost, compliance etc.) that come into play when businesses lookfor viable solutions.

    Why Choose Us?

    Not only is InComm growing, but the financial technology business sector is exploding... the big secret, it’s happening right here in Atlanta. You can start your journey in financial technology early, get a head start on the competition, and work with industry leaders from InComm by choosing our thread. We want innovative minds that enjoy a challenge and at InComm, we value people who provide solutions. We look for motivated, ambitious engineers that thrive in a dynamicenvironment and we want to work with you!The FinTech industry serves billions of global customers daily. With services ranging from banking to payments to wealth management and beyond, innovation in the space continues to expand the reach and types of offerings.Much of this innovation is driven by the exchange of digital financial data. Data that largely remains private due to the sensitive nature of the information.Note: The open API will be made available several weeks prior to the eventExamples of relevant technologies for this thread include:

    • Apple Watch
    • Google Home
    • Raspberry PI
    • Arduino

    In thinking of payment processing, what if you could associate your form of payment with a device? What would you be able to do? How would you keep itsecure? Think: "Alexa buy me a pizza and have it delivered to my house tonight at 7pm" If you your payment process was already authenticated and associated with Alexa, you could accomplish this --what are the possibilities? Expand this idea to a host of other situations/devices. Also think about the issues that may be problematic and how you can solve them.

    Another example, I buy the same things from the grocery store every week, can I set up a standard grocery list and just have them delivered every Friday afternoon? How can we accomplish this while maintaining privacy, security and authenticity? Think outside the box, inside the box, throw away the box --what is the future of how we pay for things given the new technologies available?

    Relevant Resources:

  • For all the detail on the challenges, come to the Hackathon Pitch night. To prepare, use the resources listed below.

    Challenge 1 Teaser: Using Travelport data, use Data Analytics for Air travel. The mobile landscape is evolving, and so too are the needs of travellers. Travel brands need to engage with their customers at every stage throughout the end-to-end travel lifecycle or risk getting left behind.

    Your challenge is to design the next-gen app or interface for how travel searches, purchases and interactions take place. Is the "app" still alive or is there something else that makes more sense? Travelport is also interested in alternative approaches to travel booking (i.e., how are students, retirees, millennials, etc. interested in booking —i.e., newuse cases for the system)

    What alternatives are there to the standard “I want to go from X to Y, show me options” approaches to travel booking? Can you design a new interface and search approach that opens new avenues and use cases? Such as: "I have $1500 and I want to travel Europe during the summer, how can I do that?" Think about how new users (demographics like students, retirees, etc.) might book travel and come up with something novel that works best for these new use cases

  • Watch the You Are Here 2017 Hackathon video.

    Who we are: We're a passionate and dedicated team of thinkers, creators, and developers based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We love helping people with computing. Computing used to be something you’d go visit. Then it became something on your desk. Now, we carry computing in our pocket. In our near future, computing will be all around us, all the time. In fact, this is already happening, and we’re bringing it to life with our clients.

    Why Choose Us? Check out what we do: www.youareherecorp.com.

Our Sponsors

A big thank you to all of our sponsors this year: HPCC Systems, Travelport, Anthem, InCommand You Are Here.

2017 Hackathon Sponsors

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