Fun, prizes, & friendly competition.
Compete at a Steel City Codes Hackathon.
6
hackathons
$20,000
total prizes awarded
800+
competitors
15
workshops
Upcoming Hackathons
Steel City Hacks: Spring Hack 2023 - $13,000 in prizes! 5/13/23-5/28/23
Steel City Hacks is returning for the 2023 Spring season! This time, we've changed a few things with a new format, a division system, and an emphasis on beginner participation. Participants can register for Steel City Hacks in one of three separate competition pools: our novice hackathon, our advanced hackathon, and our ideathon! These events have distinct submission requirements and awards, and participants may only register for one of the three. However, participants are welcome to switch from the ideathon to either tier of the hackathon at any time! We are also excited to present additional optional events (such as interactive workshops) this year for participants looking for extra educational opportunities.
Previous Hackathons
Steel City Hacks: Winter Hack 2022 12/3/22-12/10/22
Steel City Hacks is returning for the winter with a new week-long hackathon for middle and high school students. With an extended submission period, a bevy of new awards, and exciting new workshops, Steel City Hacks brings back the classic formula with fun new twists. Participants can register for a hackathon or code-free ideathon, both of which require the preparation of a presentation about your compelling ideas! The hackathon is completely beginner-friendly, with awards dedicated to newcomers to the hackathon space, and as with all things SCC, it’s totally free!
Steel City Hacks 4/30/22-5/1/22
Steel City Hacks is a weekend-long online hackathon for pre-college students of all ages. Hosted by Steel City Codes, we aim to encourage young students to use their computer science skills to create projects and devise solutions to today's important problems. We hope to bring the powerful experience of being a part of the greater computer science community to students of all experience levels, whether it's your first time ever at a hackathon or you've got trophies on your shelf. This hackathon follows Steel City Codes' mission of bringing computer science education to underserved communities, and to that extent, it is completely free and available to students across the country! Aside from the creative ideathon event, we will be holding various workshops and seminars to introduce students to new and exciting fields of computer science. Students will also have the opportunity to meet and connect with peers who share their interests!
GirlsHack (times vary)
GirlsHack is a collaborative environment for elementary & middle school girls to challenge themselves through problem-based learning, make friends, and receive personal mentorship from high school students!
As a part of this hackathon, girls will be divided into small teams coached by high school students. High school “coaches” will act as support as teams work together through computer science challenges every month. (All coaches are high school girls currently involved with Steel City Codes!)
Outside of the monthly challenges, GirlsHack will include weekly small-group mentoring sessions, talks, and other fun activities!
Registration and mentor sign-ups for GirlsHack are now closed.
Steel City Hacks India 10/9/20-10/12/20
We invite every middle and high school student to participate in our Hackathon. We have a total prize pool of $1000 and are open to all skill levels. We are providing workshops with industry level professionals in skills that are about to become a necessity for the 21st century. Examples - design thinking, web-development and soft skills.
The students participating in our hackathon will not only have a chance to present their projects and gain mentorship but will also gain international exposure.
Unlike others, we are accepting ideation and design based projects which makes our hackathon unique.
We will also be providing moderated interaction sessions for students to connect with each other. They can either participate as a team, alone or form a team with the others.
Steel City Hacks 8/21/20-8/23/20
Steel City Hacks is a free, 48-hour, online hackathon for middle and high school students. Through Steel City Hacks, we hope to encourage middle and high school students to use computer science to engage with their community and devise solutions to a variety of problems. All students are encouraged to participate regardless of skill level. Throughout the competition, we will be holding various workshops and seminars for interested students to build their proficiency in a variety of frameworks/services and meet and connect with students of similar interests. We will also have industry professionals available to mentor and guide you along the way, so no experience is required.
How do Steel City Codes hackathons work?
Since we started in 2018, we’ve prioritized educating our students, constantly working to improve our lessons, teaching methods, and more. With hackathons, we wanted to create something different: an outlet for students to be able to apply their knowledge outside of the classroom.
Hackathons are competitions where students will create a project from scratch centered around a theme provided at the beginning of the competition. At the end, teams will pitch their project to a panel of judges with the chance of winning prizes! Students get to apply what they’ve learned to find tangible solutions to real problems!
(Due to the impact of COVID-19, all Steel City Codes Hackathons will be held virtually until further notice. Middle school and high school students from around the world are welcome to participate!)
Problem solve.
Every hackathon has a theme which projects have to be centered around. These themes are centered around relevant topics affecting people everyday, allowing students to design solutions that can have a real impact!
Work with friends.
At hackathons, students can compete in teams of up to 4. If you don’t have a team, no worries! We provide opportunities for students to meet others at our hackathons and to form teams on the first day!
Learn new skills.
Students have the ability to attend workshops and to get advice from mentors to learn something new. Learn how to create a website, code a mobile app, or even build hardware. The possibilities are endless!
Are you interested in sponsoring a hackathon?
Work with us to improve STEM for everyone!
To keep all of our offerings cost-free, we rely on the generosity and financial support of our corporate partners and sponsors. Partnering is a great way for businesses to support local communities, students, and families.
FAQs
What if I don’t know how to code?
No worries, no past experience is necessary! We hold workshops throughout the hackathon so that you can learn skills to implement into your project, and we have plenty of mentors on standby that can help you with your project!
How are projects judged? What aspects are considered?
Projects are judged by our panel of judges on multiple criteria including: theme adherence, originality/creativity, technical complexity, usefulness, and presentation.
If I’m a high school student, can I sign-up to volunteer?
Of course! We have high school mentors on standby during our hackathons to help assist any teams in need of help. Any high school student (grade 9-12) with a background in CS can apply to volunteer. Learn how to get involved here.
Who can participate?
Check the specifics on each event for details on who is eligible to compete! For any special circumstances, please email contact@steelcitycodes.org.
How long does each hackathon last? What if I’m in a different time zone?
Our hackathons tend to last between 24 and 48 hours long. If you live in a different time zone to where submission deadlines are at an inconvenient time, email us and we can make special arrangements!
I want to support your hackathons. Can I sponsor/donate to Steel City Codes?
Absolutely! Steel City Codes is 100% funded through sponsors and community donations. Get started as a partner here, or donate directly to our organization here.