Draft:Durhack

DurHack

DurHack is Durham University Computing Society’s flagship hackathon. Established in 2017, DurHack has quickly grown to become one the largest student-run MLH hackathon in the UK, attracting participants from across the country and beyond.

History

DurHack was founded in January 2017 by a group of passionate students from Durham University, one of whom was computer science student Sara Chen, who originally thought of the idea after completing J.P. Morgan’s ‘Hack For Good’ Hackathon in her spring internship. The inaugural event aimed to provide a platform for students to collaborate, innovate, and develop creative solutions to real-world problems over the course of a weekend-long coding marathon.

Since its inception, DurHack has seen exponential growth in both size and popularity. What began as a small-scale event has evolved into a 24-hour flagship hackathon, drawing hundreds of participants from various universities and backgrounds each year.

Megateams

Since 2023, DurHack has introduced a Megateams system, which gathered teams of hackers together into larger groups, in which they will be able to compete for small prizes by completing challenges.

For the eighth iteration of DurHack, which was themed around space, the Megateams were: Lyra, Orion, Pegasus, Cygnus. Lyra wa the overall winner of DurHack 2023.

Sponsorship and Partnerships

DurHack runs at no cost to the hacker; it is supported by sponsors and partners each year.

Previous sponsors and partners include [3]:


 * Waterstons
 * Atom Bank
 * QRT
 * Marshall Wace
 * AWS
 * Durham Country Council
 * GitHub
 * Barclays

Impact

DurHack’s eighth iteration took place 4-5 November 2023, and garnered over 450 participants [3], making it the largest student run MLH UK hackathon.

Megateams

[tbc]

References

[1] DurHack Official Website - [Link to website]

[2] Durham University - [Link to university website] (edited)

[3] durhack.com/sponsor