By Krysten Brenlla
ShellHacks, Florida’s largest hackathon, is back and bigger than ever. During the weekend of September 27 – September 29, 2024, Florida International University (FIU) students are invited to the Modesto Maidique Campus’ Graham Center to trade no sleep for a weekend of hacking, networking, and connecting.
The hackathon, which was first launched in 2017, has attracted thousands of students every year. Organized by student leaders from the INIT FIU chapter (previously known as UPE), the goal for ShellHacks is to motivate students to create new and exciting projects while having a fun weekend they won’t forget.
“Now more than ever, we’re really building ways for students to meet people and have fun as a community through INIT and events like ShellHacks,” said David Ulloa, a senior student at FIU majoring in computer science and president of the INIT chapter at FIU. “This year, we’re seeing more people who would have never thought about going to a hackathon, and are now open to it and attending. I think that’s really special for this community.”
At ShellHacks this year, participants can look forward to not only 36 hours of hacking, but also connecting with sponsors and recruiters, such as this year’s title sponsor, Microsoft, and other big-name sponsors like Netflix, Ford, Google, GitHub, Southwest, and more. Workshops, activities, scavenger hunts, prizes, networking, and a career fair are also on the agenda throughout the entire weekend.
“Participants should expect to meet a lot of good people – people you wouldn’t expect to be friends with,” said Elizabeth Hechavarria, a junior at FIU studying cyber security and a program manager for ShellHacks. “This year, we’re also having sleeping rooms, where participants can take a break to nap or relax.”
Last year, the hackathon saw 1,200+ hackers, 50+ partners and sponsors, 230+ projects, and 20+ workshops. This year, the students are aiming to bring even more to the table.
“We’re seeing more artificial intelligence (AI) projects this year, and we’re seeing so many recruiters and sponsors like Google and Microsoft interested in our students,” Ulloa said. “People who are new to the scene, or never thought about this, are now applying and getting involved.”
When Refresh Miami asked the student leaders in charge of this year’s hackathon what their advice would be for new hackers or participants, they said that participants should just have as much fun as possible, while keeping their minds open to learn as they build.
“If it were my first hackathon, I would pick a topic to learn and start researching beforehand. Once you’re at the hackathon, work on the first version of your project and save the features you want to build upon for the next version,” Hechavarria said.
“My advice is to really make the most out of the event, even if you decide not to be super technical and build a project,” Ulloa said. “There’s a lot of beginners – go, enjoy the workshops, eat free food, network, and have fun.”
For more information on this year’s ShellHacks at FIU, visit their website at https://www.shellhacks.net/. For more information on INIT at FIU, visit their website at https://www.weareinit.org/.
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