We’re excited to announce the official launch of the 2020 Major League Hacking Hackathon Season! Our 2020 Season will run from August 2019 through June 2020 and will feature over 200 amazing student hackathons worldwide.
If you’ve been to a hackathon already and are ready to sign up for your first event of the new Season, the North American & European schedules have the most up to date list of Member Events. Be sure to keep a close eye on the schedule, we’ll be adding many more great hackathons to our roster over the next few months! For real-time updates on events as they are added, follow us on Twitter and Facebook or join our Mailing List today!
You might be asking yourself, “What is a hackathon?,” and you’re not alone! Thousands of people are discovering or attending hackathons for the first time every year. Hackathons are weekend-long “invention marathons” where attendees dream up ideas for apps, websites, robots, and more! Then they bring them to life over the course of a weekend.
What is a hackathon?
Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been programming since an early age, hackathons are a great place to learn new skills, build your network, find jobs, and have fun. In fact, last year 78,000 hackers like you came out to the hackathons in MLH’s Season and there’s no sign of things slowing down!
The 2019 Season Recap
The 2019 Hackathon Season was an incredible journey. Last year alone we empowered 78,000 hackers across 220 hackathons where they created over 11,000 projects!
Here’s a look back at some of our favorite moments:
Diversity and Inclusion Blossomed!
We partnered with 23 hackathons focused on encouraging and empowering underrepresented groups in tech. One example is Technica, an event in Maryland that hosted over 800 female and non-binary hackers. At this event, we also celebrated and welcomed a new generation of problem solvers with one of our youngest hackers, Alexandra N, at only 4 years old!
@youngesthacker
#YoungestHacker
Leaders Got Involved!
Influential leaders in the tech industry started to join in on the hacker movement. Scott Forstall, the founder of iOS, gave the opening keynote at TreeHacks. We’ve also heard from the Sacramento Kings, who sponsored SacHacks, and the president of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska, who gave an inspiring speech at Hack Kosice.
Organizers Focused on Fun
We saw new and creative mini-events at our 2019 Season Hackathons: BeachHacks had an egg hunt complete with piñatas, providing a festive and fun way to unwind! uOttaHack had ice skating outdoors, much to hacker’s chilly delight. And McHacks featured a petting zoo full of furry animals, going a step beyond therapy dogs!
We can’t wait to see how the 2020 Hackathon Season grows beyond our wildest dreams.
Sign up for one of the first 2020 Season events listed below to Learn, Build, and Share with hackers from around the world. We can’t wait to see what you build!
Upcoming Events
And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Here are the first group of events of the official Major League Hacking 2020 Hackathon Season:
HackMTY – Aug 24 – 25th in Monterrey, MX
HackMTY is the largest student hackathon in Mexico and will be back at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey for its sixth edition! In previous Seasons, we’ve seen hacks that make videogames more accessible and immersing, tools to detect breast cancer, and other applications of disruptive and emergent technologies. HackMTY is an amazing event that has created a platform to empower the Mexican and Latinamerican hacker community.
ShellHacks – Sep 20 – 22nd in Miami, FL
Make a splash at ShellHacks, Florida’s largest hackathon! Spend 36 hours in sunny Miami, where 1,000 students will gather to learn, build, and share their latest creations at Florida International University’s Ocean Bank Arena. Featuring top companies, interactive workshops, fun activities, and delicious meals, this a wave you don’t want to miss!
SunHacks – Sep 20 – 22nd in Tempe, AZ
Come visit SunHacks for it’s third year in a row! Held in sunny Arizona, SunHacks welcomes all kinds of backgrounds and skill levels to promote the sharing of ideas, technologies, and network connections. With the support of the growing Phoenix tech community, SunHacks is ready and able to provide ample learning opportunities to all participants.
GrizzHacks – Sep 28 – 29 in Rochester, MI
GrizzHacks is proud to be the largest 24-hour hackathon in metro Detroit, offering engaging tech talks, interactive demos, and great food! Join us September 28 to unleash your inner innovator.
HackUTD – Nov 9 – 10th in Richardson, TX
HackUTD is the largest university hackathon in North Texas, and just keeps growing, with over 650 hackers at HackUTD 19. Join us for 24 hours as we build apps, hardware and more at the beautiful UT Dallas campus. Whether you’re a seasoned hackathon goer or just getting started, we’d love to see you at HackUTD VI! Check them out on Facebook and Twitter or learn more at hackutd.co
BostonHacks – Nov 16 – 17th in Boston, MA
BostonHacks is Boston University’s 24-hour hackathon taking place this year November 16-17. Come help celebrate their fifth birthday by joining a weekend full of celebratory hacking.
DurHack (EU) – Nov 23 – 24th in Durham, UK
Get ready for DurHack 2019 – Durham CompSoc’s flagship annual hackathon! We’re super excited to bring DurHack to more hackers this year as we focus on making sure DurHack is super beginner friendly. We’ll be running plenty of build-up workshops and prizes exclusively for first-time hackers, so this definitely isn’t a hackathon to miss. Featuring top sponsors, technical and non-technical activities, great food and so much more, you can pre-register now at durhack.com. Join 150 hackers at DurHack this year to create, innovate and push technology to new limits!
Hack Arizona – Jan 17 – 19th in Tucson, AZ
Hack Arizona is the largest collegiate Hackathon in the Southwest and seeks to foster a culture of hacker mentality, social good and entrepreneurship open and inclusive to anyone with an interest in technology. At Hack Arizona, individuals can learn about new technology, collaborate with a team on a project and participate in any of several activities hosted throughout the event.
BrickHack – Feb 8 – 9th in Rochester, NY
BrickHack is Rochester Institute of Technology’s annual premiere collegiate hackathon and is back for the 6th time! It is a 24-hour “invention marathon.” An event where around 650 designers, developers, and engineers come together to work on their ideas, solve challenges and learn new skills.
PickHacks – Apr 3 – 5th in Rolla, MO
PickHacks is back! This year, over 500 hackers will join us to build projects around the theme of entertainment. Come build with us and the Midwest tech community!
Where are you hacking this season?
Visit the MLH’s 2020 Season Page to view all the events that are currently part of the 2020 MLH Hackathon Season and sign up for your favorites. We’ll be adding many more events this summer, so be sure to check back regularly.
Interested in bringing a hackathon to your school?
Want to bring a hackathon to your local community? We’re here to help! You can apply now for your hackathon to become a Member Event or email league@mlh.io to learn more about the application process.
Questions or comments? Email us at hi@mlh.io and we’ll get back to you soon!
Happy Hacking!