46-Hours: First-ever Waterloo Hacks held at Waterloo

Students from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University will put their coding skills to the test in order to design unique software solutions at the first-ever Waterloo Hacks hackathon challenge.

The 46-hour event, presented by Communitech and powered by Google for Developers, features speakers, workshops and a touchable tech showcase. More than 170 students in science, technology, engineering, and math will get the opportunity to “access world-class mentors, eat an endless supply of snacks, attend technical workshops, and create something awesome,” at the event which will be held, in part, at the University of Waterloo’s new Velocity Start space.

Kik CEO will speak at hackathon

Ted Livingston, a former Waterloo Engineering student and founder and CEO of Kik Interactive, will speak at the event along with Ted Hastings, CEO of Perk. Attendees can look forward to hearing about the next wave of web innovations during an intimate fireside chat with Livingston and Hastings on the first morning of the hackathon which takes place at Communitech.

After the opening activities, students will head to the University of Waterloo where the hacking will begin in the new Velocity Start space, which opened on January 20, in South Campus Hall.

With a strong history of startup collaboration between Communitech and the University, event organizers noted that hosting Waterloo Hacks in this space is one way to bring the Waterloo Region tech ecosystem to campus. Being on campus also makes it easy for students to sneak home for a quick nap or shower in between workshops, tech demos, and project development time, which continue well into the night and early morning.

On Sunday morning, participants will give a two-minute presentation on their project in front of judges April Blaylock, Senior Engineer at Aeryon Labs, Liam Horne, CTO of of PiinPoint, and Wes Wesford, associate director of Velocity.

Prizes are being kept under wraps until they are revealed to participants at the event.

Photo credit:  Snesky/iStock