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Marshall Edition
Southwest Minnesota's first student hackathon brought together 30 participants to turn ideas into real projects over 12 hours of building, learning, and creating.
Beginner Friendly
Open to all skill levels. Mentors and Schwan's Company professionals supported participants throughout the day.
Built Together
10 teams of 1-4 collaborated, shared skills, and built something real in a single day.
5 Prizes Awarded
Top 5 teams received awards and recognition. The grand prize winner is featured on this site.
It happened.
Southwest Minnesota's first-ever student hackathon brought together students from across the region for 12 hours of building, learning, and creating.
Event Highlights
Meet the Winners
10 teams competed. Here are the top 5.
The Balancers
IT Budget Strategist
Pradunna Pudasaini, Sarthak Adhikari, Luis Miguel Heyaime Bayonet
View on Devpost
Horizon
Horizon
Sebastian Batista Ferrera, Noel Hernandez, Aidan Pereyra, Diego Vicente Bello Polanco
View on Devpost
What is a Hackathon?
A hackathon is a creative marathon where people come together to build something amazing in a short amount of time. Think of it as a hands-on workshop meets friendly competition.
Participants spent the day designing, coding, and presenting a project: an app, website, hardware prototype, or creative solution to a real problem. Along the way, they learned new skills, met mentors, and had fun!
Schwan's Company Challenge
Two real-world challenges that drove all 10 projects
Knowledge Transfer Agent
Build an AI-powered agent that helps one person teach another. Capture knowledge from audio, video, screen recordings, or uploaded files. Organize it into clear training materials like summaries, step-by-step instructions, or quizzes. Guide a new learner through the captured content and answer their questions.
Teams used any technology of their choice. Creativity, usability, and working functionality were prioritized over perfection.
IT Hardware & Software Budget Forecasting
Build a tool that helps IT teams plan and manage hardware and software costs. Enter expected costs for laptops, servers, applications, and subscriptions, then forecast totals for up to 5 years. Track actual spending against the original plan and display planned costs, actuals, and variance in a clean format like charts, tables, or dashboards.
Teams used any technology of their choice. Creativity, usability, and working functionality were prioritized over perfection.
Event Details
Schedule Preview
A full day of building, learning, and fun!
Breakfast & Check-in
Arrive, grab breakfast, and meet other participants
Opening Ceremony & Sponsor Remarks
Kickoff with organizers, judges, sponsor remarks, and challenge walkthrough
Hacking Begins
Start building your project with mentor support available
Lunch
Recharge with a provided lunch
Submissions Due on Devpost
Final project submissions close. No extensions.
Demos & Judging
Each team presents their project to the judges
Dinner
Dinner served while judges deliberate
Awards Ceremony & Closing
Winners announced, plaques and medals awarded
Frequently Asked Questions
Made Possible By
Some people gave their weekend, their time, and their belief in something that had never been done here before. This event would not have happened without them.
Prof. Oluleye Babatunde
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, SMSU
Came on his weekend off to mentor students throughout the event and served as a judge. His presence and guidance made a real difference for participants working through tough problems.
Dr. Dan Kaiser
Professor of Computer Science & Department Chair, SMSU
Served as a judge and met with the organizers every two weeks in the lead-up to the event. His ongoing guidance and support were essential to making this happen.
Dave Deines
Platinum Sponsor, Schwan's Company
Believed in this event before even meeting the organizers in person. Sponsored the hackathon, brought Schwan's food for participants, and stepped in as a last-minute judge when a scheduled judge could not make it.
Our Sponsors
Thank you to our amazing partners who make this possible!
Interested in future editions?
We're just getting started. Learn how to support the next generation of student builders.
Sponsor a Future Event