WELCOME TO KEANUHACKTHIS 2027
Spend 24 hours at Kean University building something of your own, with workshops, mentors, meals and people who want to build with you. It's free and in person, on April 2-3, 2027, at Green Lane Academic Building in Union, NJ.
All majors and experience levels are welcome. Don't have a team or an idea yet? Come anyway. You can find teammates in our Discord or at the event.
TRACKS
Pick one track for your project. Choose AI only if AI is the core of the project, so an AI health app goes in Healthcare.
HEALTHCARE
Care, wellness and public health. Think telehealth, mental health tools and fitness tracking.
FINANCE & BUSINESS
Money and how companies run. Think budgeting tools, startup billing, fraud detection and dashboards.
AI
Projects where AI is the main idea. Think custom models, AI agents and new ways to use AI.
CYBERSECURITY
Keeping people and data safe. Think phishing detection, privacy tools and account security.
EDUCATION
Learning and teaching. Think study tools, tutoring apps and classroom tools.
BEST OVERALL HACK
Every project is in the running for Best Overall Hack, whichever track you pick.
Requirements
1. You must submit a link to your project's PUBLIC Github repository created between April 2nd, 2027 - April 3rd, 2027. Please add your DISCORD usernames to your submission so we can contact you if you win a prize!
2. Participants will have 5 minutes to present to judges in person. Judging times will be sent to participants shortly after the submission deadline.
3. You MAY submit an OPTIONAL video demo that does not exceed 3 minutes in length. Remember to leave time to upload your video to Youtube/any other platform and add the link to the video to your Devpost submission.
Prizes
1st Place Best Overall Hack
$400 per member.
Judges
Zimeng Lyu
KeanUHackThis Organizers
Judging Criteria
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Innovation and Creativity
How original, creative, or unexpected is the idea? Judges will consider whether the team approached the problem in a unique way and whether the project stands out from typical solutions. -
Technical Implementation
How well was the project built from a technical perspective? Judges will evaluate the complexity of the work, quality of execution, and how effectively the team used tools, frameworks, APIs, or AI technologies to create a working solution. -
Impact & Problem Solving
How clearly does the project solve a real problem or address a meaningful need? Judges will look at the usefulness of the solution, the relevance of the problem, and the potential value or impact of the project. -
Design & User Experience
How easy is the project to understand and use? Judges will consider the overall user experience, interface design, flow, accessibility, and whether the project feels polished and thoughtful. -
Completeness & Functionality
How complete and functional is the submission? Judges will evaluate whether the project works as intended, how much was actually built during the hackathon, and whether the final submission clearly shows a usable, demonstrated product.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager