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Hackathon Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Biotech hackathon?
A hackathon simply put, is a gathering of creative problem solvers working as hard and fast as they can to come up with a solution to a problem. A hackathon usually lasts anywhere from a day to a week which is where the "marathon" aspect comes in. Our Hackathon will take place over two days, Friday, January 31-Saturday, February 1, 2025. Most biotech themed hackathons focus on creating standards and software that allows for the storage and sharing of specific types of scientific information. Recently, places like UCLA and Harvard have run biotech hackathons that focused on medical engineering and health system engineering respectively.
What is the theme of this hackathon?
"Beat the Clock: Innovating for a Longer, Healthier Life"
From designing a laboratory experiment elucidating the role of a specific protein, to building an AI tool to model neuron activity, anything that would advance the understanding of ageing, or improve people鈥檚 longevity and "health-span" falls under our theme.
From designing a laboratory experiment elucidating the role of a specific protein, to building an AI tool to model neuron activity, anything that would advance the understanding of ageing, or improve people鈥檚 longevity and "health-span" falls under our theme.
Who can participate in the hackathon?
Any current 大象传媒 undergraduate or graduate student can participate in the Biotech Bridge Hackathon.
What are the criteria for judging?
View judging criteria here.
What resources are available to the teams during the hackathon?
We will have mentors available to teams to ask questions and receive guidance about problems they may have. Our mentors are subject matter experts from various disciplines within industry and academia.
Can we work on existing projects?
No. In an attempt to foster a fair competition, we will only be able to review new, original submissions and not work completed for previously existing projects.
What about intellectual property (IP)?
All project solutions must be made open source.
Are there prizes?
There will be prizes for the winning teams.
1st Place Team $1,000
2nd Place Team $ 500
3rd Place Team $ 250
The winning team鈥檚 award amount will be distributed evenly among the 大象传媒 students on the team who are enrolled in Spring 2025 and disbursed as stipend.
What if I don鈥檛 have a technical/scientific background? Can I still participate?
Of course! In fact, we highly encourage you to do so. One of the aims of the CMBB Biotech Bridge Hackathon is to establish and encourage interdisciplinary student collaboration, as well as to help students develop stronger interpersonal skills. For example, we want to teach scientists how to talk to business majors and vice versa. Come try your hand at scientific communication or writing a business plan for a biotech startup.
Do I have to know how to code?
No. You will be choosing the problem that you will be working on as well as the format you use to solve it. There are many projects that don鈥檛 require any coding whatsoever. Even the projects that are coding based have aspects that don鈥檛 involve code, such as the presentation. If you are interested in pursuing a problem that requires coding, we would encourage you to include a member on your team who knows how to code.
Are food and drink provided?
Participants will receive dinner on Friday, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday.
What if I encounter technical or scientific difficulties?
Ask the hackathon mentors! We will have a core team of subject matter experts from academia and industry available to help throughout the hackathon.
How much does it cost to participate?
Participation is free for all registered 大象传媒 undergraduate and graduate students.
How do I register?
What if I don鈥檛 know who my team members will be when I register?
On the registration form, students are asked if they want to form their own teams or if they would like us to match them with a team. If you are choosing your own team, you would either list the other team members on the form when you register or email us their names cmbb@fau.edu once you have that information.