Student Stories

Five Teams Win Big at the 2024 Sustainability Hackathon

Karen Reid — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 21:59:19 +0000

Five Teams Win Big at the 2024 Sustainability Hackathon Karen Reid Wed, 11/13/2024 - 14:59 Karen Reid

It’s a wrap – ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s 2024 Sustainability Hackathon results are in: five teams walked away with a share of $10,000 in prize money for proposing viable solutions to sustainability issues. During the weeklong competition, a record number of 20 teams worked around the clock to ideate, develop ideas and prepare pitches.

Solving problems and making an impact

This annual event provides the opportunity to “hack” or come up with a clever approach to resolve a concern (such as energy waste or purchasing products sustainably) and develop an innovative solution to address the problem. Participation is open to students, faculty and staff, who have 168 hours to form teams and focus on building out an impactful idea.

Throughout the course of one week, teams work closely with industry partners and technology and startup ecosystem leaders, who share business expertise and offer guidance. Participants attend workshops, meetings and pitch practice sessions in advance of submitting video pitches to a judging panel of industry and academic leaders. Teams are scored on multiple criteria including creativity, execution, design thinking, feasibility and scalability. The top three teams are invited to pitch live for judges and the audience at the Grand Finale, where winners are announced and prizes awarded.

Establishing a footprint

The Sustainability Hackathon started as a way for students to learn design thinking and gain agile development experience and has grown into a much-anticipated annual event. Over the past two years, participation and event attendance more than doubled, with team members coming from multiple disciplines.

Members of the ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ community participate too, helping support the Sustainability Hackathon through financial and in-kind sponsorships and offering time and talent as workshop leaders, mentors or competition judges.

“It is exciting to see the continued growth of the Sustainability Hackathon,” said Stan Hickory, director of ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. “We have students coming together from across the campus and multiple universities to develop solutions to real sustainability problems. And none of this would be possible without the support of our sponsors, mentors and community partners.”

This year, community partner Taskrbee offered a “Bounty Project,” a special opportunity offered by an industry partner that includes a cash prize awarded to a team that creates a viable solution. The Taskrbee Team is focused on the development of an AI-powered platform for sustainable HR onboarding. Companies interested in discussing potential Bounty Projects should contact Hickory at hickorys@colorado.edu.

Stepping up to the New Venture Challenge

The Sustainability Hackathon is a stepping stone to the New Venture Challenge (NVC). Ranked 15^th among U.S. collegiate entrepreneurship competitions, NVC is the heart of ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s entrepreneurship engine. NVC startup teams pitch for hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding and attend year-round events – such as the Sustainability Hackathon – while networking and collaborating with mentors to refine ideas. Registration for the 2025 New Venture Challenge is open until Feb. 8.

Looking Ahead

While the Sustainability Hackathon happens once a year, there are plenty of opportunities to ignite innovation and creativity. Stay up to date on details, events and programs, and learn more about support ing real-world impact and problem-solving by joining the Innovation & Entrepreneurship mailing list.

2024 Winning Teams

This year’s winning teams addressed a variety of sustainability concerns:

First Prize ($3,000) – Good Watt

Solution: A device that helps consumers monitor and reduce energy waste.
Team members: Talha Ather, Hudson Curtis, Samir Dherar, Nabil Djaber, Nathan Mahary, Mohamed Mohamedali and Zuhair Rao.

Second Prize ($2,000) – SAGA

Solution: An app that supports sustainable product purchases while reducing carbon emission in deliveries and returns.
Team members: Siddharth Mathur and Marisha Parikh.

Third Prize ($1,000) – Peak Energy

Solution: A gamified app to help consumers reduce energy usage in their homes.
Team members: Matthew Nelson, Renner Skidmore and Alex Stelzer.

Additional Prizes:

TaskerBee Prize ($3,000) – TaskerBee Team

Solution: An AI chatbot that can perform customized, administrative tasks on behalf of human resources and operations managers.
Team members: Camdon Frisco, Oscar Gonzalez, Preston Rogers and Hamed Sidiqyar.

1000 Gretas Prize ($1,000) – Mallard Energy

Solution: A modular solar energy storage system.
Team members: Ben Partee, Walter Richard and Cooper Wathen.

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Bulwark Coffee, an NVC 15 participant, describes first responders, veteran support in Daily Camera

Anonymous — Fri, 13 May 2022 15:17:56 +0000

Bulwark Coffee, an NVC 15 participant, describes first responders, veteran support in Daily Camera Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/13/2022 - 09:17

The U.S. Marine Corps veteran and ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ student has begun an online coffee company, with the profits going to benefit disaster relief, first responders, and U.S. veterans and troops overseas, including those providing relief and other assistance in Ukraine.

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Architecture student creates clothing company to spread positive message

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 20:04:40 +0000

Architecture student creates clothing company to spread positive message Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/26/2022 - 14:04

Travis Weis, a third-year architecture major from Denver, created Release The Mind to help spread positivity through clothing that aims to simultaneously support the community and environment.

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Mechanical engineering students aim to make silicon wafer inspections more efficient

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 13:10:27 +0000

Mechanical engineering students aim to make silicon wafer inspections more efficient Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/22/2022 - 07:10

The Department of Mechanical Engineering seniors have built a silicon wafer center-finding improvement device to help combat the current semiconductor shortage.

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In person once more, startup competition brings capital to creativity

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 21:36:50 +0000

In person once more, startup competition brings capital to creativity Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/18/2022 - 15:36

Five startup ventures, led by ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ students and faculty, competed for more than $100,000 in prize money Tuesday evening at the 14th annual New Venture Challenge championship, ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ's premier entrepreneurial program and competition.

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��ý�Ļ��Ʒ student-run venture aligns business and tech—and teeth, too

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:53:45 +0000

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ student-run venture aligns business and tech—and teeth, too Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/18/2022 - 10:53

Founded by two engineering alums, this 3D-printing company found support and funding after attending a venture launch course at Leeds School of Business.

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��ý�Ļ��Ʒ inventions transformed to meet market needs after commercialization program

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:07:22 +0000

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ inventions transformed to meet market needs after commercialization program Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 02/07/2022 - 08:07

Seven teams pitched new startups after seven months of entrepreneurial training and guidance.

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Four ATLAS teams selected for coveted GDC showcase

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 21:38:21 +0000

Four ATLAS teams selected for coveted GDC showcase Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/04/2022 - 14:38

Four games developed in ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ's ATLAS Institute have been selected to participate in alt.ctrl.GDC 2022, a coveted showcase of new games.

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Student Spotlight: Rich Turner

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 17:48:00 +0000

Student Spotlight: Rich Turner Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/05/2022 - 10:48

Meet Rich Turner, a current MBA student at the Leeds School of Business and Founder of Bulwark Coffee Company! Bulwark Coffee Company is the first-ever coffee company to donate 100% of profits to first responders and veterans.

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Digging for innovation: University of Colorado Boulder team to compete in international tunnel boring contest

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 18:36:04 +0000

Digging for innovation: University of Colorado Boulder team to compete in international tunnel boring contest Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/09/2021 - 12:36

The CU Hyperloop team is one of 12 groups in the world competing to build a machine that will chew through nearly 100 feet of earth to create a tunnel as fast as possible.

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Student Stories

Five Teams Win Big at the 2024 Sustainability Hackathon

Solving problems and making an impact

Establishing a footprint

Stepping up to the New Venture Challenge

Looking Ahead

2024 Winning Teams

First Prize ($3,000) – Good Watt

Second Prize ($2,000) – SAGA

Third Prize ($1,000) – Peak Energy

Additional Prizes:

TaskerBee Prize ($3,000) – TaskerBee Team

1000 Gretas Prize ($1,000) – Mallard Energy

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Bulwark Coffee, an NVC 15 participant, describes first responders, veteran support in Daily Camera

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Architecture student creates clothing company to spread positive message

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Mechanical engineering students aim to make silicon wafer inspections more efficient

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In person once more, startup competition brings capital to creativity

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����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ student-run venture aligns business and tech—and teeth, too

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����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ inventions transformed to meet market needs after commercialization program

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Four ATLAS teams selected for coveted GDC showcase

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Student Spotlight: Rich Turner

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Digging for innovation: University of Colorado Boulder team to compete in international tunnel boring contest

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��ý�Ļ��Ʒ student-run venture aligns business and tech—and teeth, too

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ inventions transformed to meet market needs after commercialization program