Hoya Hacks 2022

On January 28, 362 hackers came together to learn, code, and develop innovative solutions at the annual Hoya Hack competition. Over the course of 36 hours, participants from 20 different universities completed 29 different projects to test their programming skills for a chance to win a cash prize.

More than two dozen professionals, including Georgetown university professors, mentored students over the course of the weekend. In addition to this mentorship, the hackathon hosted several professionally oriented workshops, including a Google Development Series, GEAR Blockchain, Interviewing Skills with Yelp Representatives, and an Echo3D-VR Workshop. The event was sponsored by Google, Verizon, Slack, Apporto, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and the Craig Newmark Foundation

Hoya Hacks also featured Payton Iheme, head of public policy for North America, Latin America, and the Carribean for Bumble, Inc., as the 2022 Keynote Speaker. Iheme is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Georgetown Entrepreneurship where she provides expertise, mentorship, and coaching assistance to students, faculty, alumni, and administers. Her work at Bumble, Inc. focuses on issues relating to community building, online safety, diversity and equity, data privacy, the digital economy, small business, and public/private partnerships. 

The hackathon projects were completed along the guidelines of several different tracks, each with their own prizes, including: 

  • Georgetown Track (GU students only) 
  • Pandemic Year 2
  • Social Impact 
  • Build a Game 
  • Best Use of Google Cloud
  • Best Use of Slack for a Connected Campus 
  • GEAR Blockchain 
  • AMBA Farmers Help Farmers Track 
  • Best Domain Name from Domain.com 
  • Best Hardware Hack Sponsored by Digi-Key 
  • Most Creative Use of Twilio 
  • Best Space App powered by Space Force
  • Best Web Monetization Project

The weekend concluded with 40 total judges awarding $3,564 in prizes to the best projects completed in each of these tracks, including employees from Salesforce (Slack), Verizon, and Georgetown University alumni, faculty, and staff specialized in information services.