Name: Camp PolyHacks 2023
Start: 2023-01-21T09:00:00-08:00
End: 2023-01-22T17:00:00-08:00
Location: SLO Hothouse

Camp PolyHacks 2023

Camp PolyHacks

Camp PolyHacks helps students use their innovative skills to build teams and solve SLO's toughest problems and pitch their plan to judges.

SLO Hothouse

UPDATE: SOLD OUT--UNABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ADDITIONAL SPACES AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE SUPPORT!Last day to confirm your spot with Mdemay@calpoly.edu is Tuesday, January 10th at 6:00pm PST **signing up on Eventbrite was solely the first step, receiving and responding to the confirmation email from Mdemay@calpoly.edu secured a participants spot in the event**Do you want to learn about local challenges facing SLO, win cool prizes, enjoy free food, and network with industry professionals? Do you want to work with Amazon Web Services or Tolosa Water Treatment Center? All Cal Poly SLO students are invited to join the Camp Polyhacks Hackathon! We want students from all six colleges—your diverse expertise is needed to create innovative solutions like apps, platforms, campaigns, products, businesses, and services!What Problems Will We Try to Solve? Working with local organizations and government agencies, we have identified four interdisciplinary problems to tackle this year, and you get to pick which one you address! Please only sign up for ONE theme as you will only be making one solution in the 24 hour period. Inclusive Digital Spaces: Over 60% of the world’s population is online and participates in shared digital spaces like social media, games, and platforms. The digital landscape offers potential places where diverse identities are shaped and expressed, ideas are voiced and debated, and people come together to work and play. However, this potential is not always realized. Online places also manifest toxicity, silence, conformity, discrimination, harassment, and rejection. Given that for many people, the human experience is defined, in part, by digital spaces, how might we redesign forums, platforms, apps, and games to welcome and support underrepresented voices, build safe connections within and across identities, and welcome people to be their authentic, best selves? We need students from across campus to apply their knowledge, skills and passion to rethink and redesign our digital spaces. Transportation Innovations: Reaching SLO’s climate goals requires that 50% of trips in the community come from a mode other than single-occupancy vehicles. Join experts from the SLO Council of Governments, DCR Design, and faculty in Civil Engineering and City and Regional Planning to design accessible and affordable transit innovations. We need ways to encourage biking, e-biking, walking, busing, ride sharing, and carpooling; to promote sustainable tourism to and in SLO; to rethink how we might use underutilized rail and harbor assets; to gather and use traffic data to inform policy and infrastructure; and to engage the public to garner support for new transportation initiatives. We your help to address our transit needs. Small Business Success: Businesses are still recovering from COVID-19 and are experiencing barriers to their success. Small businesses struggle to recruit talent, manage their social media and online presence, and apply to loans. We need to rethink how small businesses recruit and retain talent. We need to simplify how small businesses manage and update their online information and listings on websites like Google, Yelp, and Apple. We need to help new small businesses know how to navigate their next steps–navigating licensing, social media, and learning best practices. We need to create tools to help small businesses apply for loans and manage their accounting. We need you to help our small businesses succeed. Groundwater Sustainability: Rain in California is increasingly scarce due to climate change and desertification. At the same time, current patterns of urban development are causing the rain we do receive to wash away at increased rates. To supplement this scarcity, California and other Western States have relied on groundwater to meet their needs, primarily irrigation. Agriculture currently consumes approximately 80% of California’s yearly water use, and crops are often not chosen with the local climate needs and water scarcity in mind. So, the San Luis Obispo region is running out of groundwater, causing hardships for businesses and the people who live here. Recent years have brought recognition of this problem and early legislative steps, but solutions to this problem are not widespread. This challenge is an opportunity for Cal Poly students to find creative solutions to increase Groundwater sustainability in San Luis Obispo. We need to find ways to regulate groundwater usage, advocate for different agricultural practices, understand current policy, or propose better green architecture. What can I build? At Camp Polyhacks, we welcome you to apply your skills and creativity to hack together all kinds of things. At the end of the weekend, you might create:<ul><li>A demo or prototype of an application</li><li>A product or technology</li><li>A service or experience</li><li>Architectural designs</li><li>An information or marketing campaign </li><li>A policy proposal </li></ul>What does my participation in the Hackathon involve? We host a Pre-Hackathon Workshop and a 24-hour Hackathon!Pre-Hackathon Workshops: During the week prior to the hackathon, we offer an optional (but highly encouraged) 1-2 hour workshop at Cal Poly led by subject matter experts. Each challenge theme will have its own workshop, with its own experts. This is an opportunity to quickly get oriented to the problems you’ll be solving, learn why they’re important, and start thinking about potential solutions! This will take place on campus, on Friday 1/13. Look below for the schedule: Inclusive Digital Spaces: Location: Building 186 (construction innovations), Room C100. Time: 10:00am-12:00pm. Presenter: Dr. Aubrie Addams with Cal Poly Communication Studies Ground Water Sustainability: Location: Building 186 (construction innovations), Room C101. Time: 11:00am-1:00pm. Presenters: Bob Schiebelhut and Fintan Du Fresne with Tolosa Winery&#x27;s Water Treatment Center and Dr. Amro El Badawy with Cal Poly Civil and Environmental Engineering Small Business Success: Location: Building 186 (construction innovations), Room C102. Time: 11:30am-12:30pm. Presenter: Jose Huitron with the CIETransportation Innovations: Location: Building 186 (construction innovations), Room C103. Time: 10:00am-12:00pm. Presenters: David Figeroa with DCR Designs, John Dinunzio with SLO&#x27;s city government, and Dr. Anurag Pande with Cal Poly&#x27;s City Planning. 24-Hour Hackathon: This will take place on Saturday, January 21st (9:00am-11:00pm) and Sunday, January 22nd (9:00am-4:00pm). On Saturday, all participants will meet at the HotHouse in Downtown SLO, form interdisciplinary teams around similar interests, and start hacking away at their problems! Students will be given free snacks and meals throughout the day and have the opportunity to attend workshops to help give their solution an edge (e.g., logo design, pitch practice, and virtual reality workshops). Experienced coaches will also help guide through their ideas. On Sunday, participants gather to finish up their solutions, network with sponsors and industry partners, and pitch their solutions to our judges for the chance to win cool prizes. FAQWhy should I participate? The reasons are many. You get to apply your knowledge to help solve pressing local problems. This is an amazing resume-building and professional networking opportunity. You’ll also learn about all the resources available to you at Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to move your ideas forward. Plus, a Camp PolyHacks shirt and meals both days! How much does it cost to participate in Camp Polyhacks?Through the generosity of our sponsors, participation in Camp Polyhacks is free to all students!I don’t know anything about these challenge areas, can I still participate?Yes, addressing these challenges requires people with different perspectives coming together to apply their unique knowledge. The pre-hackathon workshops are designed to get you quickly oriented to the specific challenges so that you can hit the ground running during the hackathon!Do you need to attend the pre-workshop?The pre-workshops are led by subject matter experts from industry, government, non-profits, and academia. They will help you learn more about the problems that need to be addressed so that you help create a solution. While participation in these pre-workshops are not required, they are heavily encouraged!I don’t have a team or know anyone going. What should I do?No need to worry! Teams are not formed until the day of the hackathon and teams need to be interdisciplinary. We will help you find your people at the event.I am not a hacker or coder. What can I contribute?So much more than you think. While hackathons often focus on software or products, that is not the case of Camp Polyhacks. Interdisciplinary teams might create apps, architectural designs, marketing campaigns, or products. No matter what your major, there will be ways to contribute. What kinds of awards will there be?Camp Polyhacks recognizes students for more than their tech savviness. Students and teams will be recognized for the quality of their pitch, graphic design, solution feasibility, and creativity. You might walk away with awards for Best Logo, Best User Experience, Best Pitch, Best Prototype, Best Demonstration of Teamwork, Most Sustainable, or Best Idea.What kind of workshops will you offer during the hackathon?At the Hackathon, you will be able to participate in a mini-workshop. This year, you might learn about logo design, pitches, or demo virtual reality!

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