Yeshiva University students will host their third annual hackathon from 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night, October 29 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night, October 30, in the Heights Lounge on YU’s Wilf Campus, located at 515 West 185th Street, New York.
On college campuses around the world, hackathons—24-hour technological innovation marathons—are becoming increasingly popular as a way to encourage creative thinking and partnerships. But because they typically occur on Saturdays, religious Jews can’t participate. The YU hackathon provides a unique forum for observant Jews to connect, brainstorm and partner together to build anything from apps to robots to self-driving cars, all in a single 24-hour window.
This year’s event features a special focus on the Israeli technology sector. An Israeli Tech Startup Fair will take place during the hackathon where participants will be able to meet with representatives from Israeli companies, learn about the products they create and hear tech talks from professionals in a wide range of fields. These professionals will also be available to mentor students and offer insight or feedback on the projects they’re working on throughout the event.
“We’re pioneering a brand new way for students to step into the world of Israel,” said Tamar Shiller, one of the event’s organizers. “The goal is to build an experience for students that will help them create tools for and learn more about Israel’s tech community.”
The hackathon is organized by YU Hackers in collaboration with YU Tamid Group, YU Israel Club and YU Computer Science.
The event is free and open to students at any high school or college between the age of 16 and 26. Knowing how to write code isn’t a requirement to participate. In fact, backgrounds in any field are welcome, and participants will be able to engage in a variety of workshops throughout the day to pick up new tech skills.
“Anyone who enjoys creating and wants to learn how to build things or be more involved with tech in Israel is invited,” said Meredith Shapiro, an event organizer. “You don’t have to be a programmer or a computer science major.”
For more information, visit www.inventyu.com.