MTSU students create, network to pad résumés during 2023 HackMT - Wgnsradio

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University Computer Science and Data Science students were not lone creating games and dabbling with virtual world and artificial quality astatine this year’s HackMT event, but besides networking and establishing relationships with, hopefully, imaginable employers.

Joined by representatives from manufacture partners, MTSU students connected 10 teams spent 36 nonstop hours creating apps and much during the annual HackMT and task expo successful the MTSU Science Building Sunday, Jan. 29.

The marathon hackathon gathers bundle developers, ocular designers, programmers and computer/data subject students from MTSU and professionals from section manufacture to signifier teams to invent caller web platforms, mobile apps and physics gadgets during the weekend.

Shortly aft the awards ceremonial wrapped up the event, astir 80 blessed but highly bushed students near the lawsuit tract successful hunt of sleep, arsenic astir pulled 1 oregon 2 all-nighters.

“I’ve been capable to enactment and marque connections,” said Elijah Atkins, 19, a sophomore computer science major from Dickson, Tennessee, progressive for the 2nd consecutive year. “From this, I person a caller workfellow (Blake Stanley, a elder and part-time MTSU pupil who has conscionable go a task expert with Ingram Content Group successful La Vergne, Tennessee).”

Atkins and Stanley were portion of the 12-member squad named WHaSUP, voted 2nd wide by the judges. Atkins aboriginal received the 2nd MTSU Computer Science Department Foundation HackMT Scholarship.

“It’s chill that I got it,” Atkins said of the scholarship. “It means I’m visually capable to spot advancement arsenic a machine subject pupil and americium capable to assistance different students.”

Josh Phillips, machine subject subordinate prof and HackMT director, said they were “up successful the fig of participants and manufacture partners. All 10 teams stuck it retired and everybody worked hard.”

One squad included 18 data science students from the Data Science Club.

An app to renovate KOM - One team, named KOM-fused, developed an app called .KOM — creating a hypothetical mode to renovate Kirksey Old Main, 1 of the 4 archetypal buildings connected field successful 1911 and location to machine subject and Mathematical Sciences.

“You play a game, get tokens and currency them successful to renovate KOM,” said elder machine subject major Lorna Hedges. “You renovate the walls, floors, desks and materials 1 astatine a time. It has been a precise steep learning curve. … It was palmy and has been rewarding.”

One antheral show - Senior machine subject major Wesley Mitchell, 21, of Franklin, Tennessee, created a graphical programming instrumentality to physique neural networks with artificial intelligence.

He created by himself due to the fact that “I didn’t cognize a batch astir the (AI) exertion and I didn’t privation to get with a clump of radical and archer them, ‘I don’t cognize what I’m doing.’”

Mitchell’s solo efforts were rewarded erstwhile helium and Ian Tatum received $2,500 Asurion HackMT Scholarships. Mitchell plans to usage the assistance to be classes this summertime and his task “is thing I privation to support moving connected and marque better.”

2023 HackMT awards 

• First spot — Team 7 (team sanction 777), including Marim Abbas, Collin Kinslow, Anthony PierceIan Tatum, Samuel Thomasand Stephanie Zhang.

• Second spot — Team 2 (team sanction WHaSUP), including Elijah Atkins, Kwabena Fosuhene, Audra Hensley, Andrew Leverette, Phillippe Lumpkin, Elena Malafeeva, Cory McDermaid, Rosalinda Powell, Justin Redifer, Blake Stanley, Zach Turner and Ajay Vashist.

• Third spot — Team 9 (team sanction RLRACERS), including Zita Ajoku, Carlos Aldana, Joshua Cox, Kendra Givens, Jack Goble, Naomi Igbinovia, Alex Larable, David Ludwig, Christian Mertz, Grace Metriand Rahma Seid.

• Hackers’ Choice Award — Team 1 (team sanction No API available), including Mitchell Dwitt, Mark Eskander, Uriel Esquivel, Zarya Ghafour, Mateo Lopez Moncaleano, Adel Mahfoozand Matthew Radice.

• HackMT Scholarship/MTSU Computer Science Department Foundation — Elijah Atkins.

• Asurion HackMT 2023 Scholarship — Wesley Mitchelland Ian Tatum.

Industry partners - Phillips and Paul Wydra, MTSU manager of improvement initiatives, annually person coagulated enactment from a fig of manufacture partners, led by Asurion and Amazon. Other featured sponsors included Bondware, CAT Financial, Antage, Genesco, CGI, L3Harris and TVA.