Among the many many occasions that marked the IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) honor society’s 120th anniversary final yr was its first international hackathon. Organized by a bunch of 10 HKN college students and led by current graduate Christian Winingar from the Gamma Theta chapter at Missouri University of Science and Technology, in Rolla, the hackathon required greater than seven months of planning.
The thought originated from college students who attended the society’s 2023 Student Leadership Conference to proceed fostering worldwide collaboration among the many society’s chapters.
“It appeared a pure match to arrange it as a technique to rejoice the society’s anniversary,” says Serena Canavero, one of many occasion’s organizers and the 2025 HKN scholar governor.
To tie the hackathon to the institution of the society, the organizing committee created mathematical and engineering issues round saving the eight founders of HKN from those that would oppose their dedication to its foundational tenets of scholarship, character, and perspective.
“It was a worthwhile expertise for IEEE-HKN members each on the skilled and scholar member ranges to attach with one another and to foster a neighborhood targeted on problem-solving and innovation.” —Christian Winingar
“Our founders, particularly Maurice L. Carr, envisioned a society that will ultimately turn into worldwide, as it’s right this moment, greater than a century into the long run,” Canavero says. “To seize this spirit, our staff combed by means of HKN’s historic information, in search of insights into the visionary college students who based it. We imagined them going through numerous challenges, typically misunderstood by faculty leaders who didn’t but see the worth in a company devoted to the skilled development of younger, shiny, and philanthropic engineers.”
The hackathon succeeded in capturing the creativeness of scholars world wide, in the end attracting 62 contributors collaborating in 12 groups from 11 to 22 October. The scholars labored collectively to face obstacles, utilizing mathematical and engineering rules. Within the course of, they realized to understand one another’s problem-solving approaches, the way to contribute to a staff, and the way to surmount logistical challenges resembling working throughout time zones.
On 28 October, the hackathon culminated with groups presenting their options nearly to 16 IEEE members who judged their work primarily based on its completeness, accuracy, and timeliness. The presentation was part of HKN’s Founders Day celebration, which included a digital fireplace chat by two eminent members and IEEE Medal of Honor winners, Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn.
These are the highest 5 IEEE-HKN groups and their chapters:
Shockingly Environment friendly. Mu Nu chapter at Politecnico di Torino, in Italy; Sigma chapter at Carnegie Mellon; Mu Kappa chapter on the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia; and Iota Kappa chapter at Montana State University, in Bozeman.
Gentle Emitting Resistor.Lambda Omega chapter on the National University of Singapore.
Thetastic Coders. Theta chapter on the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Jumbos.Epsilon Delta chapter at Tufts University, in Massachusetts.
Leo. Nu Theta chapter at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, Ind.
TestEquity, a test and measurement product distributor, supplied prizes for the groups. They included a present card, a soldering station, handheld industrial and digital multimeters, a voltage detector, and multi-tools.
The organizing committee was happy with the hackathon.
“It was a worthwhile expertise for IEEE-HKN members each on the skilled and scholar member ranges to attach with one another and foster a neighborhood targeted on problem-solving and innovation,” Winigar says.
“The worldwide hackathon introduced collectively motivated younger IEEE-HKN engineers from each laptop and electrical engineering backgrounds,” Canavero provides. “It blended chapters into blended groups, sparking creativity and problem-solving, bridging time zones, and fostering our neighborhood at a global degree. It was a testomony to how IEEE-HKN empowers younger leaders to dream massive, enabling us to collaborate on formidable engineering endeavors collectively.”
Due to the enthusiastic response to the hackathon, plans are underway to carry one other one this yr.
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