Use common sense and listen to hackGC staff. Let us know if you have any questions!
Code of Conduct
Grinnell College is committed to establishing and maintaining a safe and nondiscriminatory educational and working environment for all College community members. Discrimination and harassment on any of the bases covered by state or federal anti-discrimination statutes is unlawful and a violation of Grinnell College policy. For more information, visit the college’s nondiscrimination policy, and the college’s policies and procedures regarding sexual respect.
General
Rules are subject to change at any time. Decisions made by the hackGC team or the Wilson Center are final.
Participation
Participation is only open to currently enrolled Grinnell College students. Participation is closed to family members of judges and the general public.
Teams
Teams are limited up to 5 people. Teams must submit a list of members upon submitting their idea by the Team Registration deadline listed on the schedule. Any modifications after that must be approved by organizers.
Projects
Projects must be created within the hackGC event time period. Teams may not enter the competition with a working prototype or a flushed-out project design. Participants may research into topics of interest beforehand, but we do not allow any prior work to be done in designing or building a deliverable. Participants may use any resource available to them, but sources must be credited and plagiarism will result in disqualification of the team.
Presentations
Presentation information will be finalized by the deadline listed in the schedule. Presentations should be sent to the email provided by the hackGC team. Presentation times will depend on the number of teams registered. Expect presentations to fall between 10-15 minutes including Q&A from the judges.
Judging Criteria
Teams’ pitches will be judged on several criteria including execution, innovation, usability (+accessibility), feasibility, and environmental or social impact. Please see below for more information. Teams will not be told their scores during or after judging, and decisions by the judges and hackGC team are final.
Presentation & Demonstration. Does the group make a strong pitch and address questions asked by the judges? Are they able to provide a rough demonstration of how the product would work using a prototype to reflect basic design elements?
Feasibility & User Validation. Can the product be completed and will it be used? Is the product technologically feasible? Is there evidence that intended users would/could use the product?
Design & Efficacy. Will the product meet the need? Is the design appropriate for the purpose? Is there reason to believe that this will address the stated problem?
Social Innovation & Justice Impact. If the product can work (efficacy and feasibility above), to what extent will this will this have meaningful positive impact on users lives or the broader community? Is this a short term or long-term impact?
Innovation. Does the product already exist? How innovative is it?
Theme. How well does the product fit this year’s theme?
Winners
Winners for hackGC prizes will be selected by the hackGC judges. Each winning team will be responsible for working with the hackGC team and the Wilson Center to arrange for the payment to be sent. The winning team is responsible for all taxes associated with prizes.
Photos
By attending hackGC, you acknowledge that your picture and video may be used without compensation, prior permission, or notification in any promotional material related to hackGC. For any reason, if you do not wish to be identified, please let us know. Thank you!
