Ready, set, hack! On Saturday, Oct. 5, more than 275 of the area’s brightest coders, computer science majors and problem-solvers gathered at Temple’s Science Education and Research Center (SERC) for the fourth edition of OwlHacks. The nonstop, 30-hour competition challenges students to design innovative projects that address issues in smart health, urban technology, inclusive education and financial technology. It is organized by a team of student volunteers with the help of faculty advisor Stephen MacNeil, assistant professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. 

This year’s competition attracted more than 200 Temple students, as well as students from over 20 different schools including the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Boston College. 

The action kicked off at 9 a.m. with opening statements from Miguel Mostafá, dean of Temple’s College of Science and Technology (CST), and Kristin Austin, vice president of inclusion, diversity, equity and access at Rewriting the Code, an organization devoted to supporting women in technology careers. 

Students then broke off into teams and began working on projects addressing a specific challenge, referred to as ‘tracks.’ One of this year’s tracks, called Smart Health, tasked students with designing technology that promotes healthy lifestyles and improves accessibility. Another track, Inclusive Education, called for the design of technology that promotes equality for all students. Philly Special, a popular track in this year’s event, invited hackers to get creative and develop a project that is simply related to Philadelphia in some way. 

“OwlHacks is all about learning new skills and leveraging technology to make peoples’ lives better, even if it’s for something fun,” said Chiku Okechukwu, Class of 2025, a computer science major at CST from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, and a director of OwlHacks. “We had lots of Philly-based apps. One group developed an app for favorite spots to eat in Philly.” 

Another team of students created Educational Brainrot Generator, which generates a quiz based on the user’s prompt while short videos loop in the background. The app is inspired by a popular style of TikTok, and it is meant to make learning more fun for people who struggle with time management or focus. 

“I like that we offered a variety of tracks,” said Christine Kapp, Class of 2026, a computer science major from York County, Pennsylvania, and another director of OwlHacks. “We saw a lot of really creative but also really impactful projects that have the potential to become so much more one day.” 

OwlHacks attracts students with a diverse range of interests including computer science, information systems and technology, data science, cybersecurity, engineering, business, and even design. (Photography courtesy of Dan Z. Johnson)

The 30 hours of hacking was broken up by guest presentations related to career building, professional development and technology skills. Cheldin Rumer, an adjunct professor of advertising and Philadelphia-based marketing expert, gave a workshop on personal branding. 

“She made a lot of great points that you can take beyond your tech career. She talked about how to frame yourself, how to make sure you get yourself out there,” Okechukwu said. “I feel like computer science students and a lot of tech students, we tend to be more on the introverted side and aren’t great at displaying ourselves and our skills, so I thought it was the perfect discussion to have in that environment.” 

This year’s event featured additional workshops by presenters from Google, Microsoft and Ford. OwlHacks also attracts Temple student organizations, like Temple Robotics and Temple Trading Tech, as well as local employers looking to recruit employees. 

“We’re always pushing sponsors to come to OwlHacks to find new talent,” Okechukwu said. “If you’re going outside of class to attend a hackathon then you’re more likely to be motivated about your career, and that’s a perfect person to hire for these companies.” 

OwlHacks concludes with an awards ceremony in the SERC lobby, where gift cards are given out to the top project submitted in each of the five tracks. Major League Hacking, a sponsor of the event, awards additional prizes for the best use of specific technologies, like Terraform or Defang.  

Even for the students who don’t leave with an award, OwlHacks is an opportunity to make new friends and learn new skills. “We’re used to coding and technology, but at OwlHacks you get the opportunity to incorporate skills such as project management or design, all sorts of really important skills that we might not normally have exposure to,” Kapp said. 

“As a student in computer science you’re busy with homework and applying to jobs, so it can be hard finding time to do outside projects,” added Philadelphia native Egi Rama, Class of 2026, a computer science major and a director of OwlHacks. “It’s great to have a weekend set aside for students to work on a project and apply the tools and knowledge they’re learning in class.” 

View the 2024 OwlHacks participants and winners here.