- Are we hacking into something?
A hackathon is more about hacking something together.
You'll have around 24 hours to start prototyping an idea in code! No need to have an idea - just show up.
- Do I Need to know how to code?
No experience necessary!
This event is for all students - from coding neophytes to seasoned Computer Science majors.
We strongly encourage skill diversity, if you are in theatre then you will be great at pitching, if you are in English then you could be great communicating.
- Must I stay the full 24 hours?
That is not necessary although some teams do work through the night. A majority of teams head back to their dorms and reconvene the early morning.
- Can I or my team continue my app or project after the hackathon?
Yes, your apps, ideas, products or services are your own.
For Swarthmore Students
You can explore it further by checking out Design and Development Fund or Venture Funding.
Additionally, if you have a team that works well together it is easy to explore other CIL programs like SwatTank or Dinnovators.
For Haverford Students
The Haverford Innovations Program supports students wanting to start or continue with ideas from the classroom, workshops, or Hackathons in the following ways:
Rolling Startup Grants (Haverford only): hav.to/8ttClasses (Open to Tri-Co): https://www.haverford.edu/innovations-program/courses PE Classes (Open to Haverford, likely Bryn Mawr): Contact Shayna for more information
Haverford's Summer Innovation Incubator (Open to Tri-Co): https://www.haverford.edu/innovations-program/programs/ innovation-incubator During this paid 8-week fellowship over Haverford's summer session, small student groups immerse themselves in a project of their own design, apply innovative, creative, professional, and business skills to develop a product demonstrating their learnings.
At the end of the program students have the skills to design, activate and guide a project through development and prototyping stages, applying necessary entrepreneurial skills to develop or determine market readiness and a roadmap to guide further development and exploration.
Please reach out to Shayna Nickel, Director, Haverford Innovations Program (HIP) with any questions. snickel@haverford.edu
Tri-Co Hackathon
The Tri-Co Hackathon brings students together from Haverford, Swarthmore, and Bryn Mawr in a collaborative learning environment to engage in innovative problem solving with digital technology. Teams of 2-5 students have 24 hours to ideate and create a deliverable project that answers a specific problem. The weekend begins on a Friday with students forming teams and discussing project ideas. They have until 4:00 pm on Saturday to finalize their projects before they present to a panel of judges for a chance to win prizes.
The Hackathon usually takes place in November and provides workshops for students with varying computer programming experience to learn skills in interface design, machine learning, and geographic information systems (GIS).
2025 Tri-co Hackathon Details:
This year's hackathon will be at Swarthmore College. If you are interested in this year's Hackathon please register here. More info will be distributed as we get closer!
Location: Swarthmore College
Date: February 14 & 15, 2025
Kick-off: Friday, February 14, 2025
Pitches: Saturday, February 15, 2025
