Ali Partovi is CEO of Neo, a mentorship community and communal VC fund that brings together tech veterans to cultivate and invest in the leaders of tomorrow. Ali's first startup, LinkExchange, was acquired in 1988, and he has backed Airbnb, Dropbox, Facebook, & Uber.
Ali was born in Tehran and lived through the Iran-Iraq war. He studied CS at Harvard and helped launch Code.org to promote CS education. Ali is passionate about sustainable food and loves climbing, guitar, puzzles, and family.
Sara Du is the CEO & cofounder of Alloy Automation (runalloy.com), an integrations-as-a-service company backed by $27M from a16z, BCV, YC, & others. Originally from Atlanta, she previously studied at Harvard and worked for Snap before starting Alloy. She also scouts for Greylock and advises founders in vertical SaaS and developer infra.
Allison Koenecke (MIT '14) is an Assistant Professor of Information Science at Cornell University. Her research applies computational methods, such as machine learning and causal inference, to study societal inequities in domains from online services to public health. Koenecke is regularly quoted as an expert on disparities in automated speech-to-text systems. She previously held a postdoctoral researcher role at Microsoft Research and received her PhD from Stanford's Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering.
What is a hackathon?
HackMIT is a weekend-long event where thousands of students from around the world come together to work on cool new software and/or hardware projects.
When is HackMIT?
HackMIT will be a 24-hour hackathon from September 16-17, 2023! We anticipate the event will begin around 9am on Saturday and go until about 7pm on Sunday, but stay tuned for a more detailed schedule as we get closer to the event.
What's the cost?
Admission is free and includes mentors, workshops, $wag, resources, and an unforgettable experience!
Where's the schedule?
We'll release a more detailed schedule in the weeks before the event, but for now, know that check-in will begin at 8am on Saturday, September 16th and the event will end around 7pm on Sunday, September 17th! If you’re arriving early, you can also attend our pre-checkin from 9pm to 11pm on Friday, September 15th.
What can I win?
We offer three general prizes, a beginner prize, and four track prizes! But don’t worry, you’ll get free $wag just by submitting a project!
But I’ve never hacked before!
That's totally okay! We'll be hosting beginner workshops where you can start getting your hands dirty with all things hackathon. There will also be a beginner prize available!
I can’t wait until the weekend to get started with HackMIT!
Don’t worry! We’ll be hosting Hackweek, a series of livestreamed tech talks, workshops, and speaker events in the week leading up to HackMIT to get you hyped for the hackathon! Stay tuned for the schedule. You can also check out some of our past workshops on our Youtube channel, or join the Hacker Community Discord server.
Is there an admissions puzzle?
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I still have questions!
Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns : )
Can I attend?
If you are a college undergraduate or an MIT M.Eng student, then yes! Note that we consider student status during the 2023-2024 academic year, so students who graduated prior to the event are not eligible.
What if I'm no longer eligible? / Can I volunteer to be a judge or mentor?
If you're not a high schooler or college undergraduate, you are
eligible to judge or mentor at HackMIT 2023!
You can find the application
here
to be a mentor or a judge.
When is the application deadline?
This year, we have TWO admissions cycles:
General Cycle: This cycle is for people who will not be requesting travel reimbursements for HackMIT! Applications for the general cycle open in mid June, and are due on July 28th, with decisions released end of August. Click here to apply!
Travel Reimbursement Cycle: This cycle is for people who will be requesting travel reimbursements for HackMIT! Only people commuting from more than 50 miles away will be eligible for this cycle. Applications for the travel cycle open in mid June, and are due on July 14th, with decisions released mid August. Applying for travel reimbursements will not affect your chances of admission! Click here to apply!
How do teams work?
Your team can have up to 4 people! You can select teammates when you register, and you can also form them during the actual event! However, hackers will be accepted on an individual basis.
What if I don't have a team?
Don't worry! We'll have team formation events at the beginning of the weekend geared towards helping you find people to work with. You can also meet new people through our admitted hacker discord leading up to our event!
What if I go to MIT?
All MIT students will need to submit an application. Incoming MIT freshmen will receive automatic admission, but still need to fill out an application to be guaranteed a spot!
What are hackathon tracks?
We've developed four tracks, or impact areas, for you to hack in. The top project in each track will be awarded a prize!
How will tracks and prizes work?
You will be able to submit your project to ONE track to be eligible for that track prize!
Do I have to submit a project if I attend?
You can attend all our events without submitting a project, but you must submit one to receive $wag!
Will HackMIT be fully in person this year?
Yes!
What will I eat?
We’ll provide food for all meals from Saturday’s breakfast to Sunday’s lunch. If you have dietary restrictions, we’ll try our best to accommodate them. Of course, we’ll also have an abundance of snacks throughout the hacking period.
Where will I sleep?
Hacking all night is fun, but you can also get some rest when you need it! If you indicate in your confirmation form and you live outside the Boston area, we will try our best to match you with an MIT student who will provide places to sleep and shower.
Where is HackMIT?
HackMIT will be held in the Johnson Athletic Center!
How do I get there?
Our travel application cycle has passed, and we are unfortunately unable to provide reimbursements to apps submitted after the travel deadline (July 14th).
However, if you applied during our travel cycle and are accepted, we can reimburse up to 80% of your travel expenses, as long as you upload your travel receipts upon confirming your attendance and submit a project before judging at the event. We are able to reimburse both domestic and international travel!
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