What is a Hackathon:
A Hackathon is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time, such as 24 or 48 hours in person.1 These people are split into groups with the intention of building the best project they can to earn awards after presenting their project to a panel of judges.
Hackathons typically take place at colleges/universities or technological establishments, hosted by local tech groups and academic clubs. These events typically run during the academic year (Fall->Spring) and typically fall on weekends due to the length of events being 1-3 days.
The target audience for attendees is high school and college students who have an interest primarily in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), as well as other fields (such as Business or Art). Other people you can find at hackathons include: Sponsors, Presenters, Mentors, and Organizers. Sponsors an essential part of keeping events running, while many advertise positions and opportunities to the talented students that attend the event, some advertise products and services that could benefit project development in the tech industry. Presenters are those who host a workshop or learning session that hosts a tech related topic or skill that can benefit students in the event as well as in the workforce. Mentors are those who guide students and assist them while they learn and hone new and existing skills.
Why do they commit to such a challenge? To put it simply, people like learning and putting their skills to the test while under a time crunch… and they like winning prizes!
HackYSU:
HackYSU is a Hackathon that takes place at Youngstown State University and is hosted by the YSU Computer Club.2 Students from high schools and universities in the surrounding areas come to compete in the 36 hour event starting late Friday and wrapping up Sunday afternoon.
The theme of HackYSU 2026 is Wild Western!
As an organizer of HackYSU, my favorite part of HackYSU is the strong presence of creativity and determination while attendees develop a project from a notebook sketch to a real-world application. We have mentors constantly answering questions and helping students with any questions and technical difficulties that arise, showing that teamwork and collaboration is key to a successful project. Our presenters are sharing information on topics from AWS/Kubernetes to Angel Investments. As the cherry on top, we have sponsors bringing Ethernet cables and Japanese themed snacks and drinks for the attendees to enjoy.
While some students create to compete, others are just here for the vibes; students often come to the venue to enjoy refreshments while studying or working on private projects in a tech setting. As an organizer, when I am not setting up for our daily events and meals, I am catching up on homework and personal projects (such as this post). With that, I appreciate the time I have had here this weekend and look forward to seeing which projects win!
I would like to share a poll I gave to the community at HackYSU 2026:
I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments!
See you later, space cowboy,
~ Andrew McGarvie
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, December 5). Hackathon. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackathon ↩︎
- HackYSU. (2026). Hackysu.com. https://hackysu.com/ ↩︎
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