ABOUT DEISHACKS

Welcome to Deishacks! To learn more about our non-profit partners and register head to: https://www.brandeis.edu/global/deishacks/

Hosted by the Brandeis School of Business and Economics, this year's DeisHacks is a 48-hour hybrid competition targeted at real-world solutions. This social design challenge focused on pain points from the 8 not-for-profits partners. Instead of having a single hackathon challenge, this event's theme will fuse design thinking & social impact to work on real-world solutions for non-profit companies. Each hackathon team will choose a pain point from Waltham's diverse non-profit community they find compelling to focus on. If you're making a real impact, you have a chance to win our $1,000 top prize or two other $500 awards and a startup consultation for the "Best AI Application for Non-Profits" category is brought to you by The Open Accelerator (Red Hat|IBM|The Commonwealth of Massachusetts: https://the-open-accelerator.com/). We offer free food and drinks to all in-person participants - and the first 100 people to show up in person Friday Night get teeshirts!
Welcome to #deisHacks !

WHY DEISHACKS?

Our challenges are identified by 8 local non-profit organizations in which Brandeis students serve as non-voting Board Fellows. A hackathon is typically a technology-focused event, however, we’ve looked beyond computer science enthusiasts, integrating students of all majors, to help serve local non-profit needs. As long as you're a critical thinker and a problem solver, then you can excel in this event. 

COMMUNITY IMPACT

Previous year’s winning technical hacks include things like a VR space that provokes sympathy and explains the systemic issues that lead to homelessness created for Waltham's CDCW. There is also a prize for a non-technical hack, one example from past events was a specialized media engagement platform to bridge the gap between local youth and the non-profit. Last year there were a total of 25 hacks that provided real-world implementable solutions to non-profits. See last year's winners here: https://deishacks-2025.devpost.com/project-gallery 

• Originality
  Does it do something entirely novel, or at least take a fresh approach to an old problem?
• Functionality
  Is the hack usable in its current state? Is the user experience smooth? Is the minimum viable product well-designed?
• Impact
  How big of an impact does it have on the non-profit? Does it solve any of the pain points?
• Potential to be implemented
  Does the hack have the potential to be implemented in the future? Is it something people would actually use and be able to maintain at the organization?
• Presentation
  How well was the project presented? How well do the slides and visuals help presenters deliver their ideas?