Loyola’s Department of Computer Science to host second annual HackHounds Hack-a-thon
Loyola’s Department of Computer Science is hosting the second annual HackHounds Hack-a-thon from Saturday, April 5, to Sunday, April 6, in the Fernandez Center for Innovation and Collaborative Learning on Loyola’s Evergreen campus. The free event—which is open to all college and university students, regardless of major or experience level—brings together innovative minds from across the region for a 24-hour challenge of coding, creativity, and collaboration, with a chance to win up to $1,000 in prizes. Interested students can apply on the HackHounds website.
“Building on the momentum from last year’s event, this year promises to offer even more opportunities for participants to collaborate, learn, and compete,” said John Nweke, assistant teaching professor of computer science. “Teams will have access to engaging workshops, industry guest speakers, and free food to fuel their ideas. Participants are encouraged to think outside the box and create solutions that could shape tomorrow’s world.”
Doors open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 5, and the 24-hour challenge will start at noon. Participants can compete individually or on teams of up to four people. Workshops on various topics will be held throughout the event, and there will also be time for networking.
On Sunday, April 6, participants will present their projects, which will be judged on innovation, technical complexity, creativity, and presentation. The awards ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. First place will receive a prize of Sony WH-CH720N Noise Cancelling Headphones, second place will receive JBL Flip 5 Portable Bluetooth Speakers, and third place will receive HyperX Mechanical Keyboards.
The competition also features prizes for specific tracks, which include a general track, AI/ML, finance, computer vision, art/multimedia, and health.
“What sets HackHounds apart from other hackathons is our commitment to making this accessible to students outside the computer science major,” shared Callie Walker, ’25. “This vision has inspired several of our tracks, such as the art and multimedia track and the finance track, encouraging students from diverse backgrounds to get involved.”
Lunch, dinner, and a nighttime snack will be provided on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch will be provided on Sunday. There will also be a Mario Kart tournament on Saturday night, giving participants a chance to unwind.
“We are so grateful to have the opportunity to create a space where students can challenge themselves to go above and beyond and apply their skills outside of the classroom to build something amazing,” said Walker. “Most importantly, we are excited to see the creative ideas participants come up with.”