The CyberCup is a hackathon-style event organized by the Gateway Higher Education Cybersecurity Consortium (GHECC), a coalition of St. Louis-area universities with an interest in cybersecurity. Over the course of this weekend-long event, students will work in small teams to brainstorm and create innovative solutions to make our digital lives more secure. Student teams will showcase their final projects, and prizes will be awarded as determined by a panel of industry judges.
There are a few ways to find teammates for your CyberCup team. Please keep in mind that team sizes cannot exceed six (6) members.
- Ask around your classes. We’ll be sharing information about the CyberCup with our university partners, so feel free to chat with your friends and fellow students about putting a team together.
- Check out the “Looking for a CyberCup Team?” Google Spreadsheet. In this document, you can list that you are either looking for a team or team members for an existing team. Be sure to provide your contact information and any skills or knowledge that you’ll be bringing to the table.
- Find a team or team members before or after the CyberCup kickoff on Friday, November 15th. Feel free to check-in early to meet other participants who are looking for team members. We’ll also have some time immediately after the kickoff/welcome for participants to solidify their teams.
While the term 'hackathon' can imply that finished projects need to include original ‘code’, we will be accepting solutions that do not involve any programming in an attempt to draw non-traditional hackathon participants. With that flexibility in mind, non-technical projects can include:
- Basic wireframes/design concepts for your completed project.
- Real-world feedback that tests your assumptions with actual ‘customers’ and end-users of your solution. This feedback should also validate that your stated problem(s) are pain points for your end users.
- “Go-to-market” strategies and tactics to get your solution in front of users. How will they discover and ultimately use your product?
For judging purposes, we expect to see demos of your project for software projects and in-depth PowerPoints/design mock-ups for ‘no-code’ projects. The format of these presentations is wide open - flex those creative muscles!
This is it, the final day! During Sunday, you'll be wrapping up your projects and getting ready for our Project Expo and judging. After our first round of judging, we'll select approximately five teams to move onto the final round and present to the entire group. Be sure to stick around after that for our Awards Ceremony!
The COLLAB hosts collaborative courses as well as events that bring together academic, industry, civic and innovation leaders around topics of shared interest. Additionally, the COLLAB will support the growth of university-industry collaborations in areas of common regional interest, such as technology talent, geospatial research, data science and health informatics.
The Gateway Higher Education Cybersecurity Consortium (GHECC) is a newly-created organization comprised of local universities with educational and research interest in cybersecurity. The GHECC aims to guide cybersecurity students, educators and practitioners in the greater St. Louis region through collaboration in support of the growing field of cybersecurity, and to promote education, industry development and help fill regional job demand.