A WEEKEND OF INNOVATION AND IMPACT

CruzHacks brings together a diverse and inclusive group of students and professionals to develop innovative solutions to solve real world challenges. At our last in-person event, we brought together 700 students from over 25 universities. Our goals to support creativity in technology and promote the development of technological solutions in social good are at the forefront of our efforts every year.

Requirements

WHAT TO SUBMIT

Your project submission on Devpost must have these components to be eligible for judging:

  • a link to the project's code repository; and
  • a write-up on the project page.

After submitting your project on Devpost, note that:

  • You will be assigned a table number for the expo judging
  • You must be present for the in-person demo/expo portion of CruzHacks 2025 on April 13th for your project to be judged. You will need to present your project to the judges during the specified time for judging. Your presentation will be 3 minutes or less, with no more than 2 minutes allocated to your demo and 1 minutes allocated for Q&A with the judges.

Please see your Hacker Portal on www.cruzhacks.com, or ask an organizer at the event for more information.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$500+ in prizes
+ other prizes
Sustainability Hacks
2 winners

Challenge: This category is dedicated to supporting sustainability and conservation efforts. How can we live harmoniously with our planet?

First Place:
(1) Divoom Ditoo-On Retro Pixel Art Bluetooth Speaker (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) 1 Year free 1Password account (per team member)

Second Place:
(1) CruzHacks Hoodie (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) $50 vouchers to Synty products (per team member)

Health Hacks
2 winners

Challenge: This category aspires to address healthcare disparities. How do we support mental & physical well-being with accessible services?

Prize:
First Place:
(1) JBL Speaker (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) 1 Year free 1Password account (per team member)

Second Place:
(1) CruzHacks Hoodie (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) $50 vouchers to Synty products (per team member)

Justice Hacks
2 winners

Challenge: This category aims to drive innovation for civil liberty and social justice. How can we uphold truth & order in a (mis)information age?

Prize:
First Place:
(1) Galaxy Buds (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) 1 Year free 1Password account (per team member)

Second Place:
(1) CruzHacks Hoodie (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) $50 vouchers to Synty products (per team member)

Education Hacks
2 winners

Challenge: This track encourages students to create apps that have a substantial impact on fostering a more effective and stimulating learning environment.

Prize:
First Place:
(1) OReilly Ebook (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) 1 Year free 1Password account (per team member)

Second Place:
(1) CruzHacks Hoodie (per team member)
(1) 1 year license of Mathematica, Mathematica|Online & Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)
(1) $50 vouchers to Synty products (per team member)

Best Beginner Hack
1 winner

Challenge: Hackathons are meant for everyone, especially our first-timers! We've created a prize category to reward teams composed of all first-time hackers.

Eligibility: This is the first hackathon for each member of your team.

Prize:
(1) JBL Earbuds (per team member)
(1) CleanShotX License (per team member)

Best AI Hack
1 winner

Challenge: We're looking for projects that use AI/ML to solve a problem in a unique way!

Prize:
(1) Echo Dot (per team member)
(1) CleanShotX License (per team member)

Best UI/UX Hack
1 winner

Challenge: Have a new paradigm for interaction design? Create a project that has an awesome user experience!

Prize:
(1) Digital Camera (per team member)
(1) Monthly Vue School License (per team member)
(1) CleanShotX License (per team member)

Best Hardware Hack
1 winner

Challenge: Innovate using hardware components, including PCBs or IoT devices.

Prize:
(1) Fridgaire Mini Fridge
(1) InterviewBuddy GenAI Mock Interview Tool (per team member)
(1) CleanShotX License (per team member)

Best Slug Hacks
1 winner

Challenge: Create something that benefits the UC Santa Cruz campus community!

Prize:
(1) AirTag (per team member)
(1) InterviewBuddy GenAI Mock Interview Tool (per team member)

[Sponsor - Vectara]
1 winner

Winning team using the Vectara platform will receive $1500 of Vectara credits. Credits will be issued by the Vectara team post-event.

[Sponsor - Niantic studio WebXR track]
$500 in cash
1 winner

Most Ambitious
1 winner

Prize:
(1) Anker portable charger (per team member)
(1) InterviewBuddy GenAI Mock Interview Tool (per team member)

Wildest Idea
1 winner

Prize:
(1) Squishmallow (per team member)
(1) InterviewBuddy GenAI Mock Interview Tool (per team member)

President's Pick
1 winner

Prize:
(1) Backbone Controller (per team member)
(1) InterviewBuddy GenAI Mock Interview Tool (per team member)

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Eunji Gil

Eunji Gil

Judging Criteria

  • Technology
    How technically impressive was the hack? Was the technical problem the team tackled difficult? Did it use a particularly clever technique or did it use many different components? Did the technology involved make you go "Wow"?
  • Design
    Did the team put thought into user experience? How well designed is the interface? For a website, how beautiful is the CSS or graphics? For a hardware project, how good is the human-computer interaction (is it easy to use / use a cool interface)?
  • Completion
    Does the hack work? Did the team achieve everything they wanted?
  • Ideation
    How creative or original is the project idea?
  • Applicability
    How well does this project fit the prize track it's in?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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