This hackathon is for students, staff, alumni and friends of Northumbria University, Newcastle. Teams should work together to develop ways to address the Coronavirus crisis (covid-19). We are particularly interested in projects that can help "flatten the curve" (i.e. slow the spread of the virus) or can help improve our everyday lives at this time.

(Flatten the Curve gif by Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris)

Because this is an incredibly busy time of year for most students, with coursework and exams due soon, we want you to work on "mini projects" that address the crisis. A mini project could be a website, an animation, a visualisation, a small game, a chatbot or anything you would like to work on in your 'spare' time.

We also want people to work together in teams of two or more. You are welcome to work individually, but the prizes are specifically aimed at teams. We want your work to be as social as possible, which may help everyone feel a little less isolated at this time. Even if you do not feel isolated, remember that others do and would benefit from some social contact - so this is a great time to reach out and make connections. Please also be aware that not everyone will have the time to contribute something substantial, but may have time to do something such as discuss ideas or do some play testing.

Projects should address the coronavirus crisis in some way. Suggested topics are:

Public health information
Help for small businesses
Support for mental health
Encouraging physical activity
Games to pass the time
Ways to connect with people in isolation
Online learning support
Support for friendships and romantic relationships 'at a distance'
Something funny to cheer us up
Something creative or expressive
Anything you think is appropriate

Appropriate types of submission for this hackathon include:

An informative website or helpful web app
An animation (e.g. a gif)
A Visualisation
A video game, or design for a board game
A video or slide deck about a concept or something you're working on
A wireframe

If you are creating relevant work for elsewehere (e.g. submitting to another hackathon, contributing to an open source project, or creating software for an organisation) you can submit a presentation or video about that work to this hackathon without needing to submit the code or product itself.

The deadline for submission is April 17th 2020

Please use the discussion board or Discord channel to discuss the event: https://discord.gg/kq8rPRA
Queries can also be sent to john.rooksby@northumbria.ac.uk

Eligibility

Students, staff, friends, family, alumni and people with links to Northumbria University are very welcome to join.

The prizes will only be awared to teams of two or more people with at least one Computer and Information Science student from Northumbria University (but we are very happy for teams without Computer and Information Science students to join in).

Requirements

Your submission can be in a number of formats, including code, an executable, a presentation, a video, a slide deck, etc.

Together with your submission, please give a short description of how you have collaborated and whether the team members are current students in Computer and Information Science at Northumbria or have another relationship with the University.

We encourage you to create open source software and media (e.g. by using a Creative Commons or other appropiate license)

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

£200 in prizes

Best project (2)

The best project, as decided by the judges

Best collaboration

The best collaboration. This will be decided by the judges based upon factors including the size of your collaboration, the inclusivity, and the tools you have used.

Runners up (2)

Projects that did not win another prize, but are good quality work and/or are good examples of collaboration. This will be decided by the judges.

Judges

John Rooksby
Northumbria University

Christina Vasiliou
Northumbria University

Shaun Lawson
Northumbria University

Kamlesh Mistry
Northumbria University

Edmond Ho
Northumbria University

Judging Criteria

Collaborative
The work should be collaborative, ideally involving a range of people and making effective use of online collaboration tools.
Social value
The work should positively contribute to society at this time.
Connection to Northumbria University
Only projects with at least one Computer and Information Science student from Northumbria University will be considered by the judges (this must be made clear on the submission).
Overall
Overall opinion on the submission

Northumbria University: Flatten the Curve

Mini projects addressing the coronavirus crisis. A hackathon for staff, students, alumni and anyone with links to Northumbria University, UK.