Can you hack it?

In this spirit of Thanksgiving, let’s gather around the table for Hacksgiving: A.I. for Good. The Hacksgiving hackathon offers students an opportunity to use their skillsets to give back to the community by developing an A.I.-driven solution to support a local nonprofit.

Discovery World Science and Technology Museum Milwaukee

This year's nonprofit partner is Mitchell Park Domes, a conservatory located at Mitchell Park in Milwaukee that is owned and operated by the Milwaukee County Park System.

 

How Hacksgiving works

Students are presented with a problem statement and dataset from a nonprofit organization. Then, students work individually or with a team to crunch the data and develop a solution over the course of a three-day hackathon. They present their solutions to the judges for a chance to take home the prize money. Hacksgiving is open to all MSOE students from any major. 

Hacksgiving provides an opportunity for students use their creativity and apply their application-oriented talents and skills to help your organization overcome challenges. These real-world projects empower our students to make a real difference in the community.

Hacksgiving was developed by Dr. Jeremy Kedziora, PieperPower endowed chair in A.I. at MSOE.

Hacksgiving 2025

Interested in participating? Attend the kick-off meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20.

Hacksgiving 2025 will take place November 20-23, 2025

  • Nov. 20 | Kick-off Meeting | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Diercks Hall Atrium 
  • Nov. 21 | Hacksgiving Day 1 | 3–7 p.m. | Diercks Hall Atrium 
  • Nov. 22 | Hacksgiving Day 2 | 10 a.m.–2 p.m. | Diercks Hall Atrium 
  • Nov. 23 | Hacksgiving Final Day | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Diercks Hall Atrium/Auditorium for Final Presentations

Awards

  • 1st place: $3,000
  • 2nd place: $2,000
  • 3rd place: $1,000

Judges

  • Rob Bardunias, adjunct assistant professor of computer science and software engineering at MSOE
  • Dr. Jeremy Kedziora, PieperPower endowed chair in A.I at MSOE
  • Brett Storoe, president of MSOE A.I. Club
  • Representative from Mitchell Park Domes TBD

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