hackathon

What to expect from TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2017

By Paul B. Kaiser on May 13, 2017

What Is Disrupt?

TechCrunch Disrupt is the premier startup and technology news conference that brings to life all the things that make techcrunch.com great – startups, news, and a no “BS” attitude. Digital Intervention will be there this week to take in this experience. For full information from TechCrunch, click here.

What Can You Do At Disrupt?

TechCrunch Disrupt is for anyone who is interested in startups and tech. It has become the “Go To” event for Tech startups.

Get breaking news first-hand from our Disrupt main stage with high-profile speakers and thought leaders.
Watch the ultimate pitch competition during the Startup Battlefield, where a select handful of top-notch early stage startups compete for a $50,000 grand prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup.
Discover & meet hundreds of early stage startups in Startup Alley or Hardware Alley. Startups exhibiting in the Alley change each and every day!
Network and schedule meetings with other attendees through the Disrupt App.
Investors and Startups get matched with CrunchMatch, a curated matching program with private meeting spaces at Disrupt.
Decompress after a full day at the official Disrupt After Party.

Here are a few items you can expect at Disrupt NY 2017 according to Tech Crunch.

Derek Jeter and Jaymee Messler of The Players’ Tribune will discuss the future of the site and sports media. Facebook’s Fidji Simo will talk about how video leads the site’s content creation and what comes next. We have AngelList founder Naval Ravikant discussing changes in how investing is done. And author, famed World Chess Champion and political enthusiast Garry Kasparov will talk about his new book, “Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins.”

Incubus guitarist Michael Einziger is set to close the show on Wednesday, May 17th with a special musical presentation, featuring Pharrell Williams and Incubus, that will demonstrate the technology developed by his startup, MIXhalo. We’ll hear about what exciting things Instagram’s head of product, Kevin Weil, has in store for us and we’ll hear from the co-founder of Campaign Zero, Brittany Packnett, about how data is used in social movements. And, of course, there are 20 amazing young companies in Startup Battlefield that will compete to win the Disrupt Cup and $50,000.

Full agenda is here.

The Hackathon at Disrupt – Where Great Products Are Born in 24 Hours

Preceding the Disrupt Conference is Hackathon weekend on May 13-14, where developers and engineers descend from all over the world to take part in a 24-hour hacking endurance test. Teams join forces to build a new product, present it on the Disrupt stage to a panel of expert judges and an audience of tens of thousands and compete for a variety of prizes, including the chance to win free tickets to the Disrupt Conference. Products created at the Disrupt Hackathon have seen great success beyond the event, like GroupMe which was created overnight and ultimately acquired by Skype for $80M.

More info on the Hackathon.

Showcase Stage Demos In Startup Alley

Stop by the Showcase Stage in the heart of Startup Alley to see startups in these fields demo their company’s innovations at 12:00pm each day of the conference.

STARTUP BATTLEFIELD

Startup Battlefield brings the world’s top early stage startups together on one stage to compete for the coveted Disrupt Cup, a $50,000 prize, and the attention of media and investors. Since appearing on the TechCrunch stage, Battlefield alumni have collectively raised over $6.9 billion. The judges include TechCrunch editors as well as top VCs and entrepreneurs, and past winners include names like Dropbox, Mint, Yammer, Zenefits, and many more. Participation is free and open. More info.

Casey Neistat at TechCrunch 2016

Get the Users Guide to Disrupt

Innovation at Rutgers Hackathon 2016

By Paul B. Kaiser on April 16, 2016

It’s that time of year again for one of my favorite event at Rutgers – Hack RU. This year about 900 students are expected to attend the Rutgers Hackathon spring 2016. Held at the Rutgers RAC building, the event draws students from many different colleges and states. As they all spend 24 hours honing their coding skills, innovation is in the air.

What’s HackRU?

HackRU is a 24-hour hackathon at Rutgers University. We welcome hundreds of students to join us in building awesome software and hardware projects. Industry experts and mentors come from all over the country to create an environment that fosters an atmosphere of learning through tech talks and one-on-one guidance. They encourage beginner and advanced hackers alike to challenge themselves and expand their skills.

10 Tips for building a winning app at a hackathon.

Are more women attending Hackathons?

The women involved in computer science at Rutgers may be a small percentage of the students in that field, but they proved how powerful they are this weekend when they organized a Hackathon geared toward women. The “HackHers” has their won Hackathon as well.

Have more questions? Visit Hack RU

Photos from the Hackathon

Hack RU 2015 – 24 Hours of Non-Stop Hacking at Rutgers!

By Paul B. Kaiser on April 19, 2015

Twenty Four Hours of Non-Stop Hacking!

2,100 students signed up for this years Hackathon at Rutgers University. As of 3pm today, there were 800 at the RAC – Rutgers, New Brunswick, Livingston campus. This is the largest group of students hacking through the night, creating, developing and brainstorming your future at HackRU. These are truly the kids thinking up new apps. If you’re not familiar with a Hackathon, do not confuse this with “Hacking” and the connotation that is in the news so much. This is a collection of collaborative computer scientists, assembling at colleges and universities across the country. They work in groups to create new ideas, apps using the technology available. Some events have partners with VR – Oculus Rift, 3D printers and motion sensing tools that they can develop and test for while they are there.

The event is run by the Rutgers USACS (Undergraduate Student Alliance of Computer Scientists) who do an amazing job. Mike Swift who is the CEO and co-founder of Major League Hacking (MLH) helps similar college associations to achieve their goals for the hackathons. I met him today and he has a great attitude for setting these events up and letting the kids run the show. Mike Swift, simply known as “Swift” is a cool casual dude. Mike Swift is the founder of the premier platform for managing hackathons, and the Commissioner of Major League Hacking, the Official Collegiate Hackathon League. Formerly, Swift was a developer evangelist at SendGrid and an engineer at Crowdtap. Swift lives in New York and travels around the US and now Europe doing hackathons.

Michelle Chen who is one of the main organizers at HackRU has done a spectacular job at hosting these 1,000 techno-geeks. In speaking with her today, she is totally dedicated to providing students with a top notch experience. No sleep for the organizers tonight!

The students go in for 24 hours and don’t sleep for 24 hours. They take on a task that has them leaving with a better understanding of what it takes to create something brilliant.In addition, there are many Rutgers volunteer students, like Matthew Kaiser, who start planning way in advance as well as assisting throughout the event. Matthew attends all the HackRU events, also goes to other schools, such as the U of Maryland last weekend. If you have not witnessed a couple hours of these events and spoken to the students there, I highly recommend you go and witness the experience. The intensity is thick.

Several of the vendors this year include Google, Twitter, Bloomberg, Linode, L3 communications, Merck, and many more. They provide opportunities for the students and some freebies too. The HackRU ends tomorrow and awards will be handed out to the best apps developed during the show. I look forward to next years event.

Many great photos from HackRU today.

What the Hack?

By Paul B. Kaiser on March 1, 2015

HackTCNJ 2015 – Hacking for Fun – It’s going down!

The Hackathon at TCNJ is this weekend for 24 hours straight. Kids from TCNJ, Rutgers and neighboring schools all assemble for a educational event.

If you ever wanted to dedicate 24 hours to extend your knowledge and learn a new technology platform or framework, HackTCNJ is the perfect time to jump into a new area. They’ll have development professionals on hand to engage, inspire and assist as much or as little as you wish. Build a Web app? You bet. Mobile app? Not a problem.

Oculus had 20 units for the kids to experience first hand.

The event is hosted by TCNJ ACM

The mission of the TCNJ ACM student chapter is to create a collaborative environment in which all students interested in computing science can come together to share ideas, partake in activities, and learn together. ACM activities include tech talks, group trips, and an annual hackathon, HackTCNJ. ACM also connects students to resources in the computing community such as hackathons, computer science groups, and professional or academic opportunities. We are an ACM accredited chapter and we welcome all students regardless of ethnicity, experience level, major, or gender. TCNJ ACM membership is also free for all students.

Visit their website for more information.