AC-HACK 24hr Hackathon celebrates African and Caribbean culture

African Caribbean Society and the Department of Computing co-hosted hackathon.

On 12-13 November, Imperial’s African Caribbean Society and the Department of Computing came together to host a 24-hour hackathon to celebrate African and Caribbean culture.  

The event was a huge success, with over fifty Black and minority ethnic undergraduate students taking part from across the UK. 

Several tracks and challenges were provided during the competition to support a diverse range of experience and skills. 

“The passionate collaborative effort between the African Caribbean Society and Imperial Computing led to students from like backgrounds connecting and being inspired. With over a year of preparation put into the weekend, what blossomed was an exciting hub for young students of African and Caribbean heritage to use showcase their talents in the challenges, and also encourage more black students to pursue a PhD in Computing.” Wunmi Olatidoye, Former African Caribbean Society President

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE and Dr Shakir Mohamed joined the event to celebrate diverse talent in engineering. Sharing their experiences was insightful for participants, who felt more inspired to pursue careers in tech.  

The event was a result of the passion and dedication of Imperial students Harry Coppock, Samuel Adekunle, Wunmi Olatidoye, Olusola Deinde, Mary Kenneth, and Imperial graduates Simisola Otunla and Lucas Nseyep.  

Seven teams competed for the top prize (2 x £1500, 2 x £1000) and were judged by Imperial academics and engineers from Google and The Alan Turing Institute, who also sponsored the event.  

“I was most impressed with the passion and enthusiasm that the teams brought to the presentations and discussions, especially considering the short and intense burst of implementation they'd put in to get that far. The energy in the room was fantastic!” Charlie Reams, Google.  

‘’ ...it was wonderful to meet new people and collaborate on something which solved an actual issue that society faces today. The speakers were so inspiring and it was wonderful to hear from people so excited to share their passions in technology or data science. I will definitely be attending next year, and you should too!’’ Ifeyemi Ifekoya, LIBDO team leader, Google track winners (BSc Biological Sciences at Imperial College London)