A hackathon is a design sprint-like event in which computer programmers, project managers, subject matter experts, and others collaborate intensively on software projects. The goal of The Immune Health Hackathon: Accelerating Immunology Research Through Technology is to bring together immunologists, data scientists, and healthcare professionals for an intensive collaboration aimed at developing new tools and solutions to advance our understanding of the immune system. Over the course of 48 hours, participants will work in cross-disciplinary teams to tackle pressing challenges in immunology research.

Any interested Penn faculty, student, or staff can participate in the hackathon. Participating in a hackathon is a great way to learn more about how it is to work in a fast-paced development team. You will be using version control to share code with your team members, troubleshoot code and create a project towards very challenging deadlines.

• A laptop which you must bring, and a good internet connection, which we’ll provide.
• Access to the Immune Health Hackathon Slack Workspace (if you cannot access the workspace, please contact (Lisbeth Dennis)
  
  Note: You’ll be added to the workspace after you sign up for the hackathon

• Access to a development IDE (we recommend Gitpod.io as code can easily be shared amongst the team and has great GitHub integration)
• An open mind and willingness to learn.

• Complete the registration form
• Contact Lisbeth Dennis if you have additional questions.

You need a team to participate in a hackathon, otherwise the workload to get everything done within time will be too great and, more importantly, you will not get the wanted learning outcomes. Learning about what it means to work as part of a development team is the main benefit of participating in a team.

You have the option to register your team via the registration form. If you don’t know your team, that’s ok! You can contact Lisbeth Dennis when you know your team.

Note: Depending on the number of attendees, we may need to consolidate teams and ideas to ensure adequate time for presentations.

There will be a cash prize for the top three winning teams.

The winning teams will be decided by a panel of judges (TBD) who are experts in the immunology, informatics, and other interdisciplinary fields.

The judges will analyze and evaluate all works submitted by each team according to the following evaluation criteria:

• Effective Use of Course Knowledge
• Usability and Practicality
• Team Collaboration
• Presentation and Adherence to Theme
• Awesomeness

Yes! The I3H Informatics Division will provide expert guidance throughout your project. They have extensive experience in biomedical data science and informatics. More specifically, support will be available for:

• Implementing strategies
• Accessing and managing datasets
• Developing code and analytical tools
• Technical troubleshooting

‍