The Purpose of this Event

Z Hacks (“Hackathon”)  is designed to give participants a medium for addressing the many challenges facing our planet and communities.  

Event Timelines

Participants agree to start the project no sooner than 9am PT on September 19, 2020, and complete project no later than 9am PT on September 25, 2020.

Participation

This event is open to anyone who attended school in 2019, or will attend in 2020-21.  Physical prizes to US only. Coders and Artists are welcome. As per our Code of Conduct, there is no discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, economic status, veteran status, disability, or age. Anyone younger than 16 will be required to submit the Parental Consent Agreement. 

  • Participants: this event is open to anyone who attended school in 2019, or will attend in 2020-21.  Schools can include public, private, online, full time or part time. Physical prizes to US only. Coders and Artists are welcome. A Participant does not need to be on a Team. Anyone younger than 16 will be required to submit the Parental Consent Agreement. 
  • Teams: a Team must include at least 1 Participant.  Teams should not be larger than 6 persons. 
  • Mentors: a Mentor can be of any age, and does not need to be in school.  The purpose of a Mentor is to help others.  Mentors must list "Mentor" in their skill set.

Submission Requirements

Code, Carve, Sing, Dance, Write.  Your project submission is limited only by the reaches of your creativity. Submissions must include 

  • Story: submissions should include a worded summary of the project, photos and video, of the design and/or a prototype, proof of concept or link to a website or simulation where applicable, along with a proposal of next steps, roadmap, and a description of the necessary resources and plan to implement the project. When submitting a project, you will be asked to complete fields for: Team Name, Project Name, Category for Project, Names of Team Member(s), Name of Mentor(s), Clinics attended if any, and the problem the entry solves. 
  • Video: video demonstrations of 3 to 5 minutes max should be submitted as a link to YouTube or Vimeo. 

For coded submissions, any and all tech stacks are welcome, but we encourage teams to build on tech stacks that are easy to scale and commonly used. Any necessary supplementary files, such as installation files or instructions, should be included with the submission as a single file or a zip. 

Judging

Three (3) judges will review each project entry.  Project entries will be matched with judges who have background expertise.  For example, a coded project entry will have judges with coding experience; a song project entry will have judges with music experience. 

Winners will be announced on September 27 by 5:00pm Pacific Time.

Evaluation

Submissions will be critiqued by a panel of judges on the following weighed criteria: 

  • Inclusivity (10%): The final output considers equity, accessibility, and inclusiveness.
  • Collaborative (20%): Did your team conduct Discovery, gather input, attend a SCWorks Clinic (get 1 extra star if you), collaboration whether in the form of a team or advisors.
  • Potential for impact at scale (30%): Can final project output work for a broad range of people and geographies.
  • Creativity (20%): How original is the idea? How does it uniquely address the problem?
  • Project Completeness (20%): Finalists will be judged on their abilities to narrate their creation process, identifying a problem, innovation, and final solution.

Getting Started

You'll receive an email with information on how to get started upon registering for the hackathon on the DevPost page

Rights & Display

Submissions and their associated intellectual property rights will remain under the sole or joint ownership of their inventor(s); neither Sponsor nor any co-sponsors or promoters of the Z Hacks make any claim to ownership of submissions. We encourage participants to open source their projects to both share their hacks with the greater community and to promote innovation in this space. 

We, along with all parties involved in the development of the Z Hacks, reserve the right to use all participating teams’ and/or individuals’ names and likenesses in any publicity statements or events, including internet and website posts or articles, regarding the Z Hacks or the party’s involvement therewith.

By submitting a Submission, you grant Sponsor and the Z Hacks an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide right and license to use, distribute to the public, and publicly display and perform your Submission in any media, in connection with the Z Hacks. 

Your Submission may be posted on a public website. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your Submission by visitors to this website.

You will not receive any compensation or credit for the above use of your Submission, other than what is described in these Official Rules.

By entering the Hackathon you acknowledge that Sponsor and/or the co-sponsors or promoters of the Hackathon may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your Submission and you acknowledge and agree that neither Sponsor nor any co-sponsors or promoters has now and will not have in the future any duty or liability (direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise) with respect to the infringement or protection of your or any third party’s patent, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to their content. Further you understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your Submission. 

Code of Conduct

We expect all participants to follow high ethical standards. Show respect to all participants, attempt collaboration before conflict, and refrain from demeaning comments.

This is a harassment-free event for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. If you're aware of any harassment, please report it immediately to event organizers. 

Other

You understand that Z Hacks (“Hackathon”), any benefits derived therefrom, and/or your participation in the Hackathon, may be modified or terminated at any time for any reason. The Hackathon and any benefits are provided “AS-IS” and with no guarantees of any sorts.