EVENTS

INSPIRE Hackathon : Where Innovation Meets Community

At INSPIRE, we believe that meaningful technological innovation emerges when diverse perspectives collaborate on real-world challenges. Our hackathon series embodied this philosophy, creating unique spaces where students from all disciplines contributed to projects that matter. This year in 2025 we have introduced a unique structure involving a series of interconnected hackathons and events, taking students from ideation, to software development and testing. This series offered students a rare opportunity to follow their ideas from spark, to solution.

Beginning with the Hackathon 1 (the Ideathon), students generated creative, socially impactful ideas. Rather than ending there, Inspire student leaders carried those ideas forward, conducting community research, refining concepts, and preparing teams for the next stage. In Hackathon 2 students returned to transform their ideas into working prototypes, building on the foundation they had created in the Ideathon. Finally in the Project Showcase participants returned a third time with their solutions fully implemented by the Inspire teams, and were ready to test and improve their platforms.

With continuity across all three events, mentorship from the Inspire students, and evaluation by industry and academic judges, the series gave students exposure to the full software development life-cycle, and a chance to use their skills for social impact.

A Different Kind of Hackathon

While traditional hackathons often focus solely on rapid coding and technical prowess, INSPIRE hackathons took a fundamentally different approach. We designed these events to operationalize our core belief: STEM for Social Impact. This meant creating inclusive environments where creativity, community engagement, and social impact took center stage alongside technical skill.

The Hackathon Series Journey

Throughout the semester, our two-hackathon series guides teams from initial concepts to polished products:

    • Hackathon 1 – Ideathon: Pure creativity and conceptual design
    • Hackathon 2 – Developlement: Transforming ideas into working product
    • Project Showcase: Showing the finalized product to get valuable user feedback for improvement

This progression mirrors authentic development cycles while building participants’ skills incrementally.



What Makes INSPIRE Hackathons Unique

Open to All Disciplines

Computer science knowledge was not required to participate. The hackathons welcomed students from social sciences, humanities, business, and all fields. We recognized that the most innovative solutions often come from unexpected perspectives and diverse backgrounds.

Real-World Impact

Every project addressed authentic community needs. Participants worked on initiatives that tackled challenges in education, cultural preservation, social equity, and community empowerment. 

  • Bridging Roots, supporting Indigenous language revitalization and cultural preservation in remote Arctic communities; 
  • FoundrAIse, developing AI-powered tools to enhance operational effectiveness for non-profit organizations; 
  • Mathinè, creating accessible educational platforms for university students.

These weren’t hypothetical challenges—they were projects designed to make tangible differences in people’s lives.



Mentorship-Driven Experience

Each team included experienced INSPIRE program members who served as facilitators rather than traditional leaders. This structure ensured that fresh perspectives flourished while participants received the guidance needed to navigate complex social and technical challenges. while INSPIRE students have the opportunity to acquire valuable leadership, communication, and teamwork competencies.

Beyond the Code

The first hackathon didn’t require any programming at all. The Ideathon focused entirely on creative problem-solving, conceptual design, and presentation skills. Participants brainstormed features, created mockups, and articulated their vision—proving that valuable contributions to technology projects extend far beyond writing code.

Building Community

INSPIRE hackathons were more than competitions—they were community gatherings grounded in our program’s values. Participants formed connections across disciplines, learned from each other’s approaches to problem-solving, and experienced firsthand how diversity strengthens innovation. The collaborative atmosphere encouraged risk-taking, celebrated creative thinking, and recognized that the path to excellent solutions often involves setbacks and iteration.

Evaluation That Reflects Our Values

The diverse judging panels included technical experts, community stakeholders, educators, and industry professionals from various backgrounds. The involvement of industry judges brought real-world perspectives to the evaluation process, assessing projects not only on technical implementation but also on creativity, social impact potential, community responsiveness, and presentation quality. This connection to industry provided students with valuable exposure to professional standards and expectations while ensuring that projects were evaluated through multiple lenses of expertise.