Monday, January 25, 2021

Building something incredible in 36 hours: a Hack the North recap

This article was originally featured on Waterloo Stories.

An automated speech coach to help you nail your next interview. Image recognition that can always find Waldo. And a voice-controlled scanner that allows you to 3D print a medical cast. 

Those are just a few of the projects created by over 3,000 student hackers who attended Hack the North 2020++ from January 15 to 17, 2021. 

Now in its seventh year, Hack the North is Canada’s biggest hackathon. Teams of up to four are given just 36 hours to experiment and create unique software or hardware projects from scratch. 

Supported by the University of Waterloo and a long list of industry sponsors, admission to Hack the North is free. The event is put together by a volunteer team of more than 40 students and recent alumni and is open to attendees of any background and skill level. There’s no experience required: in fact, around one-third of the participants this year were first-time hackers and more than 550 were high school students. 

“A lot of times we have newer hackers and they come to our event without much exposure or knowledge about the tech industry, or just about tech in general,” said Emily Wang, co-director of Hack the North. “And it's always really nice to hear the stories of how it impacts them. I think it's giving people their initial exposure and being part of the reason that they find their interests in the area.” 

Finding the silver linings 

In the past, hackers travelled to the University of Waterloo campus from around the world for the weekend event, with flights, accommodations, and other costs covered by Hack the North. But with COVID-19 restricting travel and gatherings, the organizers were forced to re-imagine the event and move it online. 

They made the most of it, taking advantage of the opportunity to expand without the limitation of building capacities or hospitality budgets. Hack the North doubled the number of hackers they accepted from 1,500 in 2019 to more than 3,000 this year. 

They also launched a new program called Gear Up, a series of workshops that were open to the public in the days leading up to the hackathon including tech talks, career advice and more. 

“I think silver lining is a pretty good way to put it,” said Wang, who is also a Systems Design Engineering student at Waterloo. “As an organization, we've always wanted to do more in terms of help for the community and the public. And the impact of reaching double the number of hackers, even if the experience isn't the exact same, is very valuable.” 

The Hack the North team made every effort to bring hackers the same sense of community that the in-person event provides. Discord channels were set up to connect on everything from gaming to food, speed networking linked pairs of participants and special events including games and a karaoke contest were brought online to add to the experience. 

“We put a lot of effort into making sure that hackers feel like they're a part of a community and that they're all contributing to something great,” explained Anna Liang (BSc ’20), one of Hack the North’s two logistics team leads. “That included taking advantage of the online format to add workshops and meet-ups with industry leaders from around the world.” 

“If it was in person some of the logistics might not work out, if people had to travel. But we were able to get awesome speakers and leaders to be our judges and guests at our event because it's more accessible for them now.” 

Learning from industry leaders 

Two of those experts doled out advice at the event’s opening ceremony on Friday. Keynote speakers Chamath Palihapitiya (BASc ’99), the founder and CEO of Social Capital, and Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, sat down to talk about taking risks and innovating to solve problems and to answer questions from the hackers. 

Palihapitiya was recognized this week in the 2021 Maclean’s Power List, a ranking of 50 influential Canadians. A frequent guest and ardent supporter of Waterloo, he brought the trademark passion that landed him on list to the hacker and emphasized the importance of finding mentors. 

“Find people that you look up to and admire them and just be motivated by them,” he advised. “And the imperfect path is much more motivating. To go through the ups and downs and come from not too high expectations and have some stumbles and struggles and failures — I think that that richness is what heroes are about.” 

Khosla, who Palihapitiya identified as one of his mentors, also left the creators with words of inspiration as they set out to build their projects. 

“I like to say the future is not knowable. But it's discoverable, and it's inventible. You try lots of things, you fail in small ways, and then hopefully get successful in a large way. I fundamentally believe most people can do much more than they think they can, and they are limited not by what they can do but what they think they can do.” 

Read the full article on Waterloo Stories.

This week is Consent Week

A message from Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (HREI).

The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office is kicking off Consent Week today, January 25. It is an annual opportunity for campus community members to engage in conversations, activities, and events focused on consent and changing culture. Talking about consent, and creating a consent culture, are work we do all year round – though Consent Week enables us to intentionally:

• Normalize dialogue about consent
• Enhance nuanced understandings of consent
• Explore how to engage in healthy, positive, respectful relationships with each other, and embed consent in our daily practices
• And highlight the services on and off campus available for support

Sexual violence is still occurring during the pandemic, as social and physical distancing measures can force individuals to remain at home with others who cause harm (e.g. sexually abusive intimate partners, caregivers). This happens away from bystanders and supporters who might otherwise intervene or provide care. With remote learning and working, the pervasiveness of online harassment has increased.

We support people doing only what they can, maintaining good boundaries, and taking care of themselves and their communities – including when this means you can’t participate in Consent Week.

For those who can participate, learn more about initiatives and ways to engage during Consent Week, including:

• a special virtual Wen-Do Self-Defence Workshop on January 27 from 3:00 - 5:00pm. Wen-Do Women’s Self-Defence offers a training space to non-binary folx and women, of all abilities, aged 10 and up. Space is limited for this session.
• an opportunity for funding for actions, activities and virtual events that Create a Campus #ConsentCulture

Attend the GRADflix showcase on January 29

A message from Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA).

Register now to join Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) for a virtual viewing party of select GRADflix submissions before the winners are announced. Be part of the action! The showcase will be streamed live on the GSPA YouTube channel and will feature special guests, audience prizes, and more.

As an audience member, you will have the chance to cheer on your favourites and vote for the People’s Choice winner from the comfort of your own home.

GRADflix is a research communication opportunity for graduate students. Participants create a video, moving slide show, or animation of no longer than 60 seconds (one minute) in length that describes their research. 

Applications open for writing and communication workshops

The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) has opened applications for their signature writing and oral communication workshops.

Dissertation Boot Camp

Want to make progress on your thesis or dissertation work? This four-day boot camp combines virtual workshops, individual writing time and consultations. Join the WCC to stop stalling and start writing.

The program runs online from February 16 to February 19 (Reading Week).

Applications for the February 2021 session close on Friday, January 29, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Apply for Dissertation Boot Camp. 

Speak like a Scholar

Develop your scholarly voice and give confident, impactful academic presentations. Speak like a Scholar guides you in learning the aspects of giving oral presentations in academia.

The program runs from Monday, February 22, 2021 to Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Applications are due Friday, February 5, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Please note that this program is open to doctoral students only. Space in this workshop is limited, and participants will be selected based on their applications. Register for Speak Like a Scholar.

New email threat detection tool goes into effect; other notes

This is a reminder that as part of the Email Improvement project, the University is transitioning to a new email security vendor, Cisco, to replace the current email threat protection tool, Proofpoint, with Cisco's Email Security (CES) solution. The new solution will be implemented today.

The CES solution applies to Exchange/Office 365 accounts only, and student email accounts, not currently being scanned for spam, will be included in this implementation. SPAM email message management will also change from the current "quarantine" approach to a "tag and deliver" method. "There are many benefits to this change, including simplified email transit, consistent SPAM actions for all mailboxes, and a single place to check for all email and add/remove safe/blocked senders," says a message from IST. To learn more about this change, including actions you may need to take after the implementation and related support documentation, please see the full announcement on the IST website.

The Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies is opening the 2021 Latin American Film Festival this week. "The 2021 Latin American Film Festival will be a celebration of Latin America’s cultural diversity through the great stories told in a selection of great movies," says a note from the event organizers. "Proudly presented by the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies in collaboration with the Kitchener Public Library, the Festival provides KW audiences with an opportunity to experience a dynamic selection of contemporary Latin American films that celebrate the rich and diverse cultures of the region. This year the Festival will be fully online and ​the films will be available to stream from a secure website for a period of one week starting from the opening date of each movie."

The Festival opens with Xavi Sala's Guie’dani’s Navel, from January 27 to February 4. Stream the film from the Festival Portal from January 27 2021 to February 4 2021.

Join Professor Mario Boido on the opening night of every film for a watch party and a post-screening (live chat) discussion. Instructions on how to do so are on the Spanish and Latin American Studies website.

The Healthy Workplace Committee is encouraging employees to sign up for two upcoming Wellness Sessions:

• Employee Wellness Session: Building Resilience in the Face of COVID-19 (offered by the Employee and Family Assistance Pplan and Homewood Health)
  • Workshop date and time: Friday, February 5 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
  • Registration is open from January 25 through February 2
• Employee Wellness Session: Eye Strain and Visual Demands in a Work from Home Environment (offered by Dr. Julie Shalhoub from the School of Optometry and Vision Science)
  • Workshop date and time: Wednesday, February 10 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.
  • Registration is open from January 25 through February 8