Event Recap — Civhacks
CivHacks was a virtual hackathon hosted by the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) at the University of California, Berkeley, that took place on the weekend of April 23–25. In the span of 36 hours, participants had the opportunity to create new applications, websites, or software projects. With a focus on providing a welcoming, engaging and creative environment to support social good in tech culture,
students formed teams to help tackle issues affecting sustainability, civics, student success, and other societal issues. Over 200 signups, 140 participants connected through their Discord channel, and 30 projects submitted; beginners and experienced hackers alike had the opportunity to explore technology and develop their skills as they built solutions organized around 5 different tracks: Beginner, Civics, Student Success, Health, and Sustainability. The breakdown for each of their tracks were as follows:
Beginner Track — We believe that anyone has the potential to innovate.
Civics Track — This past year has had multiple low points, affecting our beliefs in our system of government, politics, and agencies, but it is one that requires us to have a lot of reflection and work towards social change.
Health Track — COVID-19 has introduced various problems with our healthcare system and has placed a lot of pressure on tele-health/medicine.
Sustainability Track — With climate change on the rise and our environment being threatened, we need tools that will help us eventually reach net zero emissions, advance renewable energy, and promote sustainability.
Student Success Track — The pandemic has affected how students interact, access resources, and ultimately succeed in their academic and social well-being.
Guest speakers included Dan Kammen who talked about data science and social justice, Brandie Nonnecke who discussed responsible AI, Minho Hwang who talked about surgical robotics, Dana Ragouzeos who talked about human centered design, and lastly Shyam Madabos who spoke about healthcare innovation.
“Given that this hackathon was the first ever hackathon hosted by the Associated Students of the University of California, we were proud of how many people signed up for and participated in this hackathon, proud that we were able to secure a wide variety of speakers and workshops, and very proud of all the different and amazing solutions that students came up with to tackle important societal issues,” said Eric Cheng, one of the student organizers and a member of ASUC.