Hack@Campus takeaways: Meet the winners, future of #MiamiTech


Congratulations to LinkedIn Hub, Miami Dade College DAO, and Mi ART

The first-of-its-kind Hack@Campus was a huge success! 100 students across Miami rolled up their sleeves, finished their endless packs of energy drinks, and completed projects to enhance the “Future of #MiamiTech.”

After careful deliberation between Florida International University and Miami-Dade College, the official winners of Hack@Campus *drumroll please* are:

1st Place: LinkedIn Hub

Team Members: Alex Lecusay, Ivan Reyes, Jalen Veiga, and Zackery Santana, all from FIU.

What it is: LinkedIn Hub is a Google Chrome extension that enhances the user experience for job recruiters and job seekers. Specifically, LinkedIn Hub helps businesses and organizations connect with fresh, local Miami talent that might have gone unnoticed without the extra push by allowing job seekers to showcase their personal projects uploaded to GitHub, a provider of Internet hosting for software development and version control using Git.

The way it works: LinkedIn Hub expands LinkedIn’s functionality by adding a GitHub section to every profile using it. All you have to do is add the extension to your Chrome browser and link their LinkedIn Hub and GitHub together!

2nd Place: Miami Dade College DAO

Team Members: Adrian Valdes, Cassandra de la Cruz-Munoz, Genesis Guardado, Kennashka DeSilva. Team is made up of MDC and FIU students.

What it is: Miami Dade College DAO is an app that connects students with exclusive scholarship opportunities, resources, and rewards for students who give back to the community via community service.

The way it works: The Miami Dade College DAO app uses the 311 database to create a student initiative in community clean up, and students can redeem rewards by earning the crypto(MDC coin) after each community service project. The coolest part? All credentials are earned and certified by blockchain. Talk about the “future of #MiamiTech!”

3rd Place: Mi ART

Team Members: Cecilia Gervasoni, Erbol Nishanov, Leon Kipkoech, Moises Rendiles. Team is a mic of students from FIU, MDC and Florida National University.

What it is: Mi ART is an app that creates a platform for artists and creators to tokenize both 2D and 3D art, such as murals, graffiti, art installations, sculptures, etc., by accessing augmented reality technology on the app, taking NFTs and digital design to the next level. For example, a physical mural painted in Wynwood can be digitized, or tokenized, on Mi ART by using QR codes or chip installments. Then, investors or collectors can purchase the “digital art” using MiamiCoin and a digital wallet linked to the app.

The way it works: To make that beautiful Wynwood mural last a lifetime, artists can tokenize their art on the app using QR codes or chip installments. Then, investors or collectors can purchase the “digital art” using MiamiCoin with their own digital wallet that would be linked to the app for easy and quick accessibility to the art.

“The winning projects addressed the current needs of our burgeoning #MiamiTech ecosystem, all while leveraging technologies such as augmented reality, smart contracts, web applications, and more,” said Cesar Villa-Garcia, advisor to Florida International University’s student tech organization, Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE). “Team “LinkedHub,” for example, built a solution that connects startups with limited resources to local talent looking for job opportunities, addressing the needs of our Miami’s growing tech community for both employers and job-seekers.”

So, make sure to download Google Chrome and create your LinkedIn profile (jump on this ASAP if you haven’t yet!), lock in your community service hours, and digitally capture your breathtaking piece, because with these students – the future of #MiamiTech has never looked brighter.

READ MORE ABOUT MIAMI HACK WEEK ON REFRESH MIAMI:

Krysten Brenlla