June 14, 2021 – More than 300 YRDSB students from across 27 secondary schools participated in a 28-hour hackathon, an event that was led and organized by students. A hackathon is a coding event, typically held overnight, that includes educational workshops and activities. Participants design, code, and pitch a program, app, or solution to judges in order to win prizes
Held on April 23-24, YRHacks was the creation of a group of students with a passion for programming and entrepreneurship. The student leadership team planned workshops, found industry mentors and judges and organized the event, supported by school and Board staff, as well as community partners. “YRHacks took about six months to plan and fully flesh out,” said event co-organizer Joseph Wang, a grade 12 student at Richmond Hill H.S. "Since YRHacks was primarily a student-led hackathon. I need to give my fellow co-lead Shari Sun and the entire organization team massive kudos for their diligence in planning and organizing. I also owe the teacher advisors a huge thanks for supporting us.”
“It was inspiring to see students from across our board collaborate with others to engage in problem solving through coding solutions. For 80 per cent of the student participants, this was their first hackathon and what was evident throughout the event was that each person contributed to and learned from one another” said Richmond Hill H.S. Principal Debbie Linkewich, adding that she was proud of what the students accomplished.
During the event, students developed a variety of apps using various programming languages and frameworks. More than a dozen workshops were hosted during the event, including by well-known technology companies.
“We gave participants ideas through our prizes. Our prize categories included problem-solving themes like sustainability, pandemic problems and social justice, as well as technologies like web apps and games. There were also workshops that revolved around idea formation and planning skills, which not only apply to this hackathon, but even to future personal and entrepreneurial projects,” said event co-organizer Trinity Yip, a grade 11 student at Richmond Green S.S. Winners were offered a gift card from an assortment available at the event. Active participants will receive an enamel pin and sticker once they can get together.
The planning team is already putting together a plan for the next event. Even though he’s graduating, Wang wants to see the event continue. “It’s my heartfelt wish for this to become a yearly event, so that no matter what year you’re in, you can look forward to taking part in an engaging, YRDSB-supported hackathon,” he said.
You can connect with YRHacks on Instagram, or by email at yrhacks@gapps.yrdsb.ca.
York Region District School Board is the third largest school district in Ontario with over 128,000 students in 180 elementary schools and 33 secondary schools. York Region students consistently perform above average in provincial testing and the Board is one of the top achievers in Ontario. For more information about the York Region District School Board, please visit the Board website and follow YRDSB on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
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