Southwest MN Hacks 2026 Recap
A look back at Southwest Minnesota's first student hackathon, held March 21, 2026 at SMSU in Marshall, MN.
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
Horizon
Horizon
Sebastian Batista Ferrera, Noel Hernandez, Aidan Pereyra, Diego Vicente Bello Polanco
View on Devpost
From Hackathon to Production
Continuing with Schwan'sAfter the awards ceremony, Schwan's Company invited The Balancers to keep building IT Budget Strategist past the prototype stage. The team accepted and is now developing the tool further as a paid engagement with Schwan's. A 12-hour hackathon build became real software for a real customer, which is exactly the kind of outcome this event was designed to make possible.
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.
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.