Food FAQs - Splash

Sep

14

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Sep

15

Food FAQs

Food, swag, workshops, networking and more! It may be virtual, but we're still including as many of the features you've come to expect at our hackathons!

All students from any degree program, in any major, any year in school are invited and encouraged to participate.

Ticket Sales Are Closed

VIRTUAL EVENT

FEBRUARY 19 - 21, 2021

SIGN UP HERE

About

A hackathon celebrates the use of minimal resources and maximum brain power to create outside-the-box solutions ("hacks") in a constrained time frame. HACK + MARATHON = HACKATHON

The 2021 Virtual Cornell Animal Health Hackathon is an interdisciplinary event which brings together students from across degrees, majors, and schools at Cornell, as well as other universities! On Friday evening, teams comprised of veterinary, business, engineering, and design students, form and begin to create solutions to needs in veterinary health care. On Saturday, mentors provide feedback and guidance to teams. On Sunday, the hackathon culminates in a project showcase to an audience of peers, mentors and representatives.

A panel of judges select winners and award $8,000 to winning teams.

The Game Changers

The hackathon will be held virtually this year. Students from any degree program, in any major, any year in school are invited and encouraged to participate. Workshops, speakers, networking, prizes, and more! It may be virtual, but we're still including as many of the features you've come to expect at our hackathons!

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where is the hackathon?

The 2023 Cornell University Food Health Hackathon will be held in Stocking Hall located at 401 Tower Road and accessible via the TCAT Bus Route 81 A-Lot/B-Lot, #51, and the #10 bus. The full schedule is available here

do i need a team to sign up?

No! The vast majority (90%) of participants sign up without having a team. Team formation sessions are scheduled Wednesday October 18th at 7:30pm, and Thursday October 19th at 6pm, to help students meet each other and form teams. Everyone must be on a team to participate in the hackathon. Teams must have a minimum of 4 members and no more than 6 members. Participants are strongly encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams.

Do I need an idea to participate in the Hackathon?

No! Students with ideas present their pitches to recruit other students to join their team. Students without ideas of their own are free to join any of the other Hackathon teams. Students may choose to select from a list of food challenges posted on the Hackathon website, or use them to spark ideas.

What can you tell me about Sunday's Demos/pitches

Every team has an opportunity to present their hackathon project to a panel of judges during Sunday's Demos. Each team has 4 minutes to present their project (demo/pitch/etc). An additional 4 minutes is allotted to the judges to ask questions. The pitch order for teams is determined on Sunday morning after all the teams have submitted their projects.

What is a hackathon?

The Cornell University Food Hackathon is an interdisciplinary event that brings together students from diverse backgrounds including food science, agriculture, nutrition, public health, engineering, and business to solve food & food systems challenges in a fun and competitive learning environment. A hackathon celebrates the use of minimal resources and maximum brain power to create outside-the-box solutions ("hacks") in a constrained time frame.

Students work in teams throughout the weekend to create holistic, viable solutions. Mentors provide feedback and guidance to teams, providing real-world context that enriches the student learning experience.

The weekend culminates in a final competition where teams showcase their innovation to industry representatives, participants, and other members of the campus community. A panel of judges will select winners of monetary prizes.

There are no over-night/all-nighters. Everyone is strongly encouraged to return home and sleep.

How can the Hackathon benefit my career?

Students who participate in the Hackathon build valuable professional competencies applicable to a wide variety of career pathways: industry, nonprofit, entrepreneurship. Idea generation, problem-solving, forming and working within diverse multi-disciplinary teams, project management, branding and marketing, and public speaking are just some of the many skills students practice in this experiential learning setting.

Can I earn course credit for participating in the Hackathon?

Yes! Taught by Dr. Brian Lucas and Ami Stuart MS, the Creativity Sprint: An Entrepreneurship Hackathon course is designed to complement the Hackathon and helps students develop the tools necessary to identify real problems, effectively ideate solutions, and think through feasibility, viability, and novelty of idea/solution. The course provides students with a unique opportunity to interact with students with different backgrounds from across the Cornell campus. The course requires participation in the Hackathon as well as mandatory pre-and post-Hackathon lectures and learning exercises.

Cornell University Students can receive credit for the Food Hackathon through enrollment in AEM 4940 007 LEC (Second seven weeks).

Can I participate in the Hackathon without taking course?

Yes! Any student can participate in the Hackathon by signing up here

Not all students in the hackathon will be in the class. The class is capped at 60 students and the hackathon is capped at 150 students.

Cornell Students registering for course credit (AEM 4940 LEC 007) through the course enrollment process are also required to register for Hackathon through the link above.

*Note: while a student can only take a for-credit course once, students can participate in the Hackathon an unlimited number of times while they are a student at Cornell.

What Resources are Available?

3-D printers, hardware, Arduino kits, food/ingredients are available with prior notice (and within reason - ie: no caviar, no truffles). Reach out to organizers, at least one week prior to the event, and they will work with you to secure the necessary items.

A well stocked test kitchen and lab are available in Stocking Hall for the weekend. There is space for up to 6 teams to utilize the test kitchen at any one time.

Mentors, from corporate and academia, are present on Saturday to provide feedback and coaching to teams as needed.

Challenges / prompts are provided to help spark ideas and provide inspiration, however students are welcome work on any idea of their choice as long as it related to the theme of the hackathon.

DOES CORNELL OWN IDEAS GENERATED AT THE HACKATHON?

No, Cornell does not have ownership rights to ideas at the hackathon. It should be stressed that the focus of the hackathon is to provide an experiential learning opportunity. Ideas generated are generally in their very early stages, for which limited, if any, intellectual property is developed. In rare occasions when an idea brought into the hackathon is more fully developed, the idea could be the property of the originator, and possibly members of the team which further significantly develop the idea. In these instances, a team would need to reach an understanding of the appropriate approach

What is a hackathon?

The Cornell Animal Health Hackathon is an interdisciplinary event that brings together students from diverse backgrounds including veterinary medicine, engineering, and business to solve animal health challenges in a fun and competitive learning environment. A hackathon celebrates the use of minimal resources and maximum brain power to create outside-the-box solutions ("hacks") in a constrained time frame. Students work in teams throughout the weekend to create holistic, viable solutions. Mentors provide feedback and guidance to teams, providing real-world context that enriches the student learning experience. The weekend culminates in a final competition where teams showcase their innovation to industry representatives, participants, and other members of the campus community. A panel of judges will select winners of monetary prizes.

How can the Hackathon benefit my career?

Students who participate in the Hackathon will build valuable professional competencies applicable to a wide variety of both clinical and non-clinical career pathways. Idea generation, problem-solving, forming and working within diverse multi-disciplinary teams, project management, branding and marketing, and delivering pitches are just some of the many skills students will practice in this experiential learning setting.

Mentors from industry, veterinary private practice, academia, information technology, and entrepreneurial start-ups will be on hand to serve as consultants to student teams throughout the weekend. This provides students with an unparalleled opportunity to network and develop valuable career contacts.Previous mentors have included representatives from Encore Vet Group, Banfield, VCA, IDEXX, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Animal Health, Zoetis, IBM, Nestle Purina, Caring Hands Animal Hospitals, Vitus Vet, and Ethos Vet.

The event also features presentations from leaders in veterinary health care and business.

February 20 - Saturday

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET

Staff Desk

Pop in any time during these 12 hours to ask a question or just say hi! Staff include:
Ami Stuart '10, Tech Events Manager - Entrepreneurship at Cornell
Tushar MEng '14, Senior Software Developer - NYC Startup

Rose Pember '16 MS, Faculty - Parson's New School of Design

Aaliyah Holliday CALS '21 - Tech Events Assistant

Staff are actively on Slack all day until 10pm.

11:00 AM ET

Team Updates

Teams provide a live update to an online audience of Mentors. Update is an overview of the team's Project, Needs, and Goals. This gives teams an opportunity to get comfortable with public speaking and provides the mentors with an overview of what all the teams are working on and need help with.

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM ET

Mentors Visit Teams

Mentors visit teams to provide face-to-face feedback via zoom. Mentors visit the teams who they are able to help by entering into each team's Zoom room. To see an example click here

1:00 - 2:30 PM ET

Teams Needing Advice

Mentors are no longer visiting teams via zoom. If a team needs more assistance, they may jump into a zoom meeting to get real time face-to-face guidance from a mentor. To see an example click here

4:00 PM ET

Team Updates

Teams provide a live update to an online audience of Mentors. This is the last team update until Demos on sunday!

4:30 - 6:00 PM ET

Mentors Visit Teams

Mentors visit teams to provide face-to-face feedback via zoom. Mentors visit the teams who they are able to help by entering into each team's Zoom room. To see an example click here

6:00 - 7:30 pM ET

Teams Needing Advice

Mentors are no longer visiting teams via zoom. If a team needs more assistance, they may jump into a zoom meeting to get real time face-to-face guidance from a mentor. To see an example click here

February 21 - Sunday

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Staff Desk

Pop in any time during this hour to ask a question or say hi.
Staff include:
Ami Stuart '10, Tech Events Manager - Entrepreneurship at Cornell
Tushar MEng '14, Senior Software Developer - NYC Startup

Rose Pember '16 MS, Faculty - Parson's New School of Design

Aaliyah Holliday CALS '21 - Tech Events Assistant

9:00 AM ET

Team Formal Submission Due

Teams MUST complete their final project submission by 9am. This information is used to sort teams into rooms and determine the order of Demos.

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Teams Demos

Every team will pitch in one of five rooms to panels of judges. Each team will pitch 1 time.

1:o0 - 2:30 PM ET

Final Round Demos & Prizes Awarded

The teams with the highest points from each room pitch again, winners are announced and prizes awarded.

The Final Countdown!

Time left for the event days hours minutes seconds

The countdown doesn't work if the event start date is set to TBD

"A hackathon is running a marathon and then a mentor comes along and gives you a bicycle"

– cornell student, hackathon particpant

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don't have an idea?

Plenty of other students do and they will be looking for team mates. Listen to other students ideas, reach out to learn more, and be prepared to join a team.

Team size? Don't have a team?

Teams must have a minimum of 4 members, up to a maximum of 6. Teams can be pre-formed. Students without a team should attend the Team Formation Session one week prior to the event.

What's the purpose of this?

A hackathon is experiential learning. A deep dive into a topic-a micro experience- to learn about yourself, how you fit into a team, your skill sets, unique abilities, & the many roles & responsibilities that go into creating a sustainable product/project.

Who owns the IP?

Cornell does not have ownership rights to ideas generated at the Hackathon. Ideas generated are, generally, in their very early stages, for which limited, if any, intellectual property is developed.

See U there(!)