Community+Technology+Innovation Hackathon

Now in its second year, the Community + Innovation + Technology Hackathon was held on the Cleveland State campus from Thursday, April 7th through Saturday April 9th. Over 40 students from Cleveland State University and two other colleges formed teams to address three issues facing Northeast Ohio communities. 

Community Challenges Presented:

Be Earth Friendly - Presented by Britt Corsi, Founder EarthABC, Inc.

The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible on the timescale of people alive today, and will worsen in the decades to come. To combat climate change, global action is required. In the United States, every community must transition to sustainability, circular economies, and clean energy. This includes government leadership, commercial buyers, and ecosystem suppliers. How can EarthABC & EarthXYZ’s (commercial & residential) platform prototype, NASA POWER Climate Data, and Northeast Ohio’s Resource Evaluation to develop a Circular Economy come together using technology to be a catalyst to achieve all the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals?

Health Care Disparities James Eller, Specialty Networks

African-American males represent only 2.6% of all men treated for Prostate cancer in Cleveland and statically twice as likely to die from low grade prostate cancer than other men. How can technology be used to overcome these healthcare disparities and get men of color access to care?

Democratic Engagement Cait Kennedy, Executive Director & Co-Founder of [unBail]

Voting in local elections has dropped significantly in the past 20 years. Local officials are responsible for distributing resources to communities and have the opportunity to address resource inequities. Lack of voter participation can lead to a lack of accountability on the part of elected officials. How can technology be utilized to increase voter engagement?

First Place: Team GovConnect Addressing Democratic Engagement
 – Gagan Bansal, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems
 – Scott Kiko, Walsh University, Psychology, Undergraduate
 – Vishal Shailesh Mandalia, Cleveland State, Computer Science, Graduate 
 – Michael Smith, Eastern Gateway Community College, Information Systems, Undergraduate
 – Madeline Weisburn, Walsh University, Marketing, Undergraduate

Second Place: Team ProMed - also, People's Choice Award Winner Addressing Health Care Disparities
 – Sheiry Makar, Cleveland State, Electrical Engineering, Undergraduate
 – William McCartney, Walsh University, Computer Science, Undergraduate
 – Astha Shah, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems
 – Nicholas Shaw, Cleveland State, Computer Engineering, Undergraduate
 – Jahnavi Trivedi, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems
 – Maxwell Wasserbauer, Cleveland State, Computer Science, Undergraduate

Third Place: Team Apex Addressing Democratic Engagement
 – Divy Kanani, Cleveland State, Computer Science, Undergraduate
 – Jubin Jacob Varughese Lnu, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems 
 – Nitin Mathew, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems 
 – Abhishek Venkatesh Iyer, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems 
 – Tessa White, Walsh University, Accounting/Marketing Undergraduate 

Honorable Mention: PSA Health Addressing Health Care Disparities
 – Sharan Burla, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems
 – Anchal Raj, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems 
 – Pooja Salvi, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems 
 – Keshav Singhal, Cleveland State, Computer Science, Graduate
 – Muhammmad Talha, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems
 – Jay Vyas, Cleveland State, Master of Information Systems

Honorable Mention: Tuppence Addressing Earth Friendly
 – Hannah Petersen, Walsh University, Business/Pre-Law, Undergraduate
 – Praneeth Polu, Cleveland State, Computer Science, Graduate
 – Richard Reske, Cleveland State, Master of Business Administration
 – Cameron Tolbert, Cleveland State, Software Engineering

After the event, students were invited to Specialty Networks to learn more about the health care company. Specialty Networks serves a highly specialized member network of 1,000+ physician group practices consisting of over 8,300 providers in Urology, Gastroenterology and Rheumatology. The organization's mission is to help create clinical, economic and operational value that will lead to positive impact on the patients their physicians serve. 

Students were treated to lunch and were able to learn about internship and career opportunities with the company and had the opportunity to ask questions of the executive team.

View all of the event photos here.