To see our Winners Announcement, click here!
The Hackathon is a weekend-long challenge where teams compete to create and develop an app to then pitch to a panel of judges. At least, that is the concept. Along the way, each of our participants also learn, grow, and share their passion for technology, which we hope will inspire them to thrive in the future. Each team is made up of some amazing students who come from all over Maryland. Each team is provided a little less than 48 total hours to complete the entire process of creating a business idea to bringing their idea to life. The pressure-packed environment is balanced out by a community-oriented focus that is created by the mentors, sponsors, and event leaders. Each team has the expertise and experience of these professionals at their disposal throughout the weekend to help them so that their apps could really shine. There were 9 teams that participated with 2-3 volunteers that worked with each team.
How does the Hackathon Work?
If you’ve never been to the Hackathon, here’s a quick rundown on how it works: The event starts off on Friday night with 2 hours of workshops conducted by industry professionals. There were design, technology, and marketing workshops for the competitors to engage with and to begin creating their concept. Then, on Saturday, it’s time to get to work! Each team spent Saturday buckling down and fleshing out their apps in a classroom of their own. Then, on Sunday, each team presented their work with a 7-minute pitch followed by 2 minutes of questions from the judges.
Then the judges deliberated and declared winners for Best Design, Best Technology, Best Idea, Best Pitch, and Best Overall. This year, our judges included Christopher College from TCP Venture Capital, Lauren Samuelson from Dreamscape Marketing, Ricky Venters, Jr. from Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, Michelle Wagner from Team BCPS, Sarah Wright from Lantern LLC, and Jennifer Yang from Inflexion. Thank you all for joining us and for providing your insights to our participants!
The Hackathon Gets Better Every Year!
The MAGIC Hackathon is not only an opportunity for students to prepare themselves in a realistic entrepreneurial setting, but also, a way for them to connect and network with industry experts who want to see them succeed. We are so proud to foster the young talent in our area and help them garner technological opportunities to prepare them for bright careers. All of the administrative staff for MAGIC shared this same vision of building and growing the program for a better state of living for those in the local community.
Many contestants have gone on to either building out their award-winning app from the Hackathon or have progressed to impressive careers, so we can’t wait to see what our students achieve in the future.
We would also like to thank all of our sponsors for their contributions. Without you, we couldn’t make this amazing event happen year after year!
Friends Of MAGIC: Lantern LLC
Bronze Sponsors: Advantage Internet Marketing | byte.lion | Skayl | ting
Silver Sponsors: CYAI – Cybersecurity Youth Apprenticeship Initiative | McDaniel College
Gold Sponsor: Carroll Community College
Volunteers: Carroll County Public Library
Take a look at some of the winners from years past below!
To learn more about the Hackathon, check out some of our press releases and articles below!
What the Center for Digital Education says about MAGIC’s Hackathon