UPchieve Hosts First Hack-A-Thon

On July 29, 2023, UPchieve successfully completed its first Hack-a-thon event! A Hack-a-thon is an event that brings together teams of software engineers to compete and collaborate on developing innovative solutions to real-world problems.

In this particular event, UPchieve invited high school students, who are active UPchieve users, to participate and contribute their ideas on integrating AI into the existing platform. The Hack-a-thon had three goals: firstly, to provide a learning opportunity for high school students to actively engage in developing AI-based solutions for UPchieve; secondly, to gather valuable feedback from these users to pinpoint and address pain points in the platform; and thirdly, to create functional prototypes that can be implemented into the platform for real-world use.

The solutions from the Hack-a-thon are as follows:

Voice to Text

One of the teams developed a solution to address UPchieve’s current text-only communication method, designed with student safety in mind. Their idea involved leveraging AI to monitor voice communications by converting spoken words into text and developing a monitor bot to analyze the content. Adding a creative twist to the UPchieve mascot, UPdog, they aptly named the bot “Watchdog.” This innovative approach has the potential to safely enable a more interactive communication experience.

Coach for Coaches

Another team focused on optimizing UPchieve’s onboarding process for volunteer coaches. Their innovative solution utilizes AI and incorporates adaptive learning techniques, replacing the current multiple-choice certification quiz. It evaluates volunteers’ knowledge of their chosen subject and provides interactive training through chatbot conversations. This forward-thinking approach enhances the onboarding experience, better-preparing volunteers for their vital role in supporting students.

Hack-a-Thon Results

The winning participants, Michelle M., Ashley G., and Yordanos L, showed immense creativity, engineering prowess, collaboration, and presenting skills. UPchieve’s first-ever Hack-a-thon proved to be an enriching experience for all participants.

The innovative solutions showcased the potential of leveraging AI to improve the platform. This event reaffirmed UPchieve’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation while providing valuable learning opportunities for high school students!