As the next step in our C3Tech Initiative, Hackforge, in partnership with The City of Windsor Bicycle Committee, CWATS, and Parallel 42 Systems, is hosting a hackathon focused on extending and improving the features and functionality of WindsorEssexCycling.ca
Participation is free and open to anyone interested, including cyclists, project managers, designers, and developers of all experience levels. Join as a team or individual, and work on your own idea, or one of our community suggestions.
The C3Tech Cycling Hackathon will run for five weeks, with an official kickoff on April 1st, and a closing event on June 4th. Throughout that time, participants will have the chance to participate in weekly events to learn more about design and software development. There will also be access to mentors in various fields and disciplines to provide expert advice. Participants are welcome to collaborate with their teammates using their preferred method (in-person, Zoom, Discord, etc.)
Below is the full schedule of events. Please check back often in case of changes (participants will be notified of any schedule changes via email)
Date
Event
Time
Location
Friday, April 29
Pre-Hackathon Social
Meet judges, mentors, and other participants in this casual get-together
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Maiden Lane Wine & Spirits (494 Pelissier Ave, Windsor)
Sunday, May 1
Hackathon Kickoff
Featuring a roundtable comprised of transportation activists, cyclists, and municipal representatives, this event will help to set the stage for why C3Tech is happening and what we’re hoping this hackathon can help achieve. Learn more about the community-generated ideas for WindsorEssexCycling.ca and get pumped up to help solve local cycling problems!
Learn where OSM data comes from and improve the data available about Ford City in this free workshop (open to hackathon participants and non-participants alike) Visit WindsorJanesWalk.ca for more information
3 – 5 pm
Meet Outside of City Cyclery (1008 Drouillard Rd, Windsor)
Sunday, May 8
Week 1 Gathering: Share Your Plans
Discuss your idea and approach with judges, mentors, and other participants. Receive feedback and advice, ask questions, and get to know other people involved in the event! (attendance at this event is voluntary but encouraged)
Take a break from coding and engage in the activity we’re all here to support! Join Bike Windsor-Essex for a casual and leisurely ride around Kingsville (please bring your own bike and proper safety equipment)
10 am – 12 pm
Carnegie Visitor Centre (28 Division St. S, Kingsville)
Sunday, May 15
Week 2 Gathering: TBA
(attendance at this event is voluntary but encouraged)
Hear from a professional developer about the steps involved in properly wrapping up a project, including testing, debugging, and releasing, then ask for advice on your project (attendance at this event is voluntary but encouraged)
In the last weekly gathering, share your project once again with mentors, judges, and other participants to receive feedback on last-minute tweaks (attendance at this event is voluntary but encouraged)
During this event each team/participants will have a chance to show off their work and to explain how it makes cycling in Windsor-Essex safer, easier, and/or more enjoyable. Judges will consider each submission and confer with each other before announcing the winners at the end.(If local guidelines allow, this event will be held in-person, with the option for participants to join virtually. Stay tuned for more information)
Hackforge and the University of Windsor Computer Science Department would like to thank everyone who participated in the 2017 Windsor Hackathon. Twelve teams competed throughout the weekend Hackathon.
WINNERS:
EPICentre’s Most Commercial Potential Award Team GeoRisk (AMF Challenge)
Atilla Saadat
Best Overall: TransitAR (City of Windsor API Challenge)
Moaaz Elsayed
Colin Matthews
Zach Shaver
Atilla Saadat
Most Creative: Team GoBot (Open Data Windsor Essex Challenge)
Clovis Nogueira
Yadwinder Singh
Judges’ Favourite & Bike Windsor Essex’s Pick: Team BRAV-O (Bike Windsor Essex)
vikneshwaran seetharaman
V N Bharadwaja T
Rumana Hakeem
Areeba Kamal
Best Use of Data Team Mighty Pythons:
Javeriya Khan
Atish Lewate
Emile Papillon
Baseer Haider
Take On Challenges from the Community and Industry with Teamwork and Creative Coding.
The University of Windsor’s Computer Science Department and Windsor Hackforge are teaming up for Winter Hackathon. Open to undergraduate and graduate students from the University, this weekend hackathon will test skills with creative challenges using data from the community and industry.
Awards will be given for Best Overall Project, Best Community Project, Most Creative Team, Best Use of Open Data, and more.
Friday, January 27 @ Engineering Building – University of Windsor (Room 1100)
o 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Registration and welcomes
o 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM: Opening ceremony, Talks, Announcement of Challenges
o 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Dinner, Networking, and Team build-up
o 7:00 PM: Hackathon begins, teams start working together and picking challenges. Continue at Essex Bldg. Computer Science Rooms Registration is open for the community to attend the launch
Saturday, January 28 @ Essex Bldg – Computer Science Rooms
o 9:00 AM – 12:00AM: Hackathon continues!
Lunch and snacks provided.
The Winter Hackathon is supported by EPICentre, WEtech Alliance, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs.
Board Game Night Tuesday, January 10: 6:00 – 9:00PM
Join us for a night of board games and card games from 6-10PM. This event is free and open to everyone. If you’re new to board games, we encourage you to come by as we will have trusty Hackforgers there to help get you started.
We’ll have a games like Smash Up, Small World, The Resistance, and more. Bring your favourite game (that can be played in less than four hours)! Facebook Event
Member Day: Two New Rooms!
Saturday, January 14: 1:00PM
Hackforge Members are invited to join us for a tour of our two new rooms! Check out the renovated basement and let’s talk about a better workshop and classroom space, plus plans for 2017.
Facebook Event
Open Coding Night Wednesday, January 18: 7:00PM
Working on a project? Need to bounce ideas off other programmers? Bring your laptop and get coding! Great event for beginners as well. Tutorials will be available and the event is facilitated a real life computer programmer. Facebook Event
Border City Data Monday, January 23: 7:00PM
Border City Data is a new interest group focused on data and databases. Our initial meeting will focus on a practical introduction to SQL. The Structured Query Language is one of the most common ways that users interact with databases, and it’s an essential skill for all kinds of professionals who work with data. Facebook Event
Software Guild Wednesday, January 25: 7:00 – 9:00PM
Nerd-o-meter: Beginner/Intermediate
Through the magic of Space Cats and Pizza, we’ll be set on a marvellous journey exploring Javascript’s this keyword. We’ll be learning how to bend it to our every will, all the while avoiding its radioactive pitfalls. Space-cadets of all ranks are welcome to come aboard! Even the most experienced space surfer might pick up a few new cheesy curds of knowledge. We’ll be boarding soon, so don’t delay! Come join us on this epic journey through the space-time of this.
Also!
Looking to get your business or idea off the ground? Sara Alhasan from Ontario Centres of Excellence will be giving a short talk about their entrepreneurship programs, what they offer, and how to apply. Facebook Event
Winter Hackathon Open to University of Windsor Undergraduate and Graduate students Friday, January 27 to 29 2016
The University of Windsor’s Computer Science Department and Windsor Hackforge are teaming up for Winter Hackathon. Open to undergraduate and graduate students from the University, this weekend hackathon will test skills with creative challenges using data from the community and industry. More Details Here / Facebook Event Register NOW as a participant, volunteer, or mentor
Order of the Indie Game Developers: Great Canadian Game Jam Brainstorm Monday, January 30: 7:00PM
A Game Jam is a group of people planning, designing, and creating one or more games. January’s meetup, we will be giving an introduction to Game Jams and host a brainstorming session to what one spread across 2017 would look like. We’re inviting video game developers, artists, writers, and fans to join in the process. Facebook Event
Book Club: Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem (2006) Tuesday, January 31: 7:00PM
Liu Cixin’s science fiction novel The Three Body Problem was a smash hit bestseller in China, and has finally been translated into English by Ken Liu. It’s a mind-bending tale of politics, aliens and gaming. Join us for a discussion of this Hugo Award winning novel. Facebook Event Amazon | Chapters
**NB: Due to the holidays,Windsor-Essex .NET Developers will not be meeting in January**
May the Fourth: Drone Wars
Wednesday, May 4th: 6:00 – 10:00PM
In a galaxy not so far away, Windsor Drone Corps is coming to Hackforge…. on May the Fourth…. for Drone Wars! Come out and learn more about drones, meet actual rebel drone pilots, and destroy a Death Star. If you have a drone but can’t get it to fly, bring it in and get expert advice. Facebook Event Here
DIY Audio Electronics Club
Wednesday, May 11: 7:00 – 9:00PM
Aaron Mavrinac will be demoing his analog synthesizer and Michal Janyst will be demoing his DIY Arduino-based audio input selector. Come check out the projects, ask questions, and see them in action. Facebook Event here!
Guild Kata Night: Thursday, May 12th: 7:00 – 9:00PM
Have a little code-slinging skill under your belt? Want to get better? Come out to kata night and challenge yourself to solve some puzzles while you learn to up your programming game with Test Driven Development and Pair Programming. Facebook Event Here!
Board Game Night Thursday, May 19th: 6:00PM – 10:00PM
Join us for a night of board games and card games from 6-10PM. This event is free and open to everyone. If you’re new to board games, we encourage you to come by as we will have trusty Hackforgers there to help get you started. Facebook Event Here!
Software Guild: Stava Data
Bits & Bikes Event Wednesday, May 25th: 7:00 – 9:00PM
Learn about how to use crowd sourced data, specifically from fitness tracking apps. Stay up to date here
Biking across Canada with a DIY camera
Bits & Bikes Event Thursday, May 26: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
In 2005, Mike Beauchamp rode his bicycle across Canada and made a documentary film about the trip using a DIY bike-mounted camera. Learn how Mike designed and fabricated the audio and video system able to withstand the 7000KM trip. Stay for a free screening of the 60 minute film followed by a small Q&A session. Facebook Event Here
Electronics Club: Teardown Day Saturday, May 28th from 1:00 -3:00 PM
Teardown Day is inviting you to tear apart equipment in the name of part salvaging, electronics education, and stress relief. Bring your own items to break down or take apart something from Hackforge. Facebook Event Here!
Order of the Indie Game Developers Monday, May 30th: 7:00 – 9:00PM
Join us for a night of discussion of game development and projects in action. Perfect for designers, artists, developers of both tabletop and video games. Facebook Event Here!
StartUp MeetUp Tuesday, May 31: 6:00 – 9:00PM
Grab a drink, meet some new people, and share your entrepreneurial experiences and ideas. More info here!
From Downtown Windsor to Remington Park to Sandwich, we’re calling on the community to describe and design the neighbourhoods that define us – through text, symbols and creative illustration.
In partnership with the Cultural Affair’s Department at the City of Windsor, Hackforge will host FREE artist-led Design Time starting Tuesday, April 19 from 5:00PM to 7:00PM at 255 Ouellette Ave.
Design: Bring along your laptop and design a Snapchat Geofilter for a Windsor neighbourhood! We will help with submission specifications and inspiration. Hackforge will highlight all design submissions on our website after the event.
Inspire: Come to Hackforge to share your neighbourhood identity! We will have craft supplies for anyone to contribute ideas of what their area means to them.
This event will encourage attendees to think about their neighbourhoods in a creative way – exploring heritage symbols, colours and design elements that represent our region.
For those new to the digital design, guest illustrators and designers will provide mentorship and instruction on how to design, map and submit their Geofilter creation to Snapchat.
Whether it’s for family, friends, farmer’s markets or a city-wide event, Geofilters make it easy for Snapchatters to share visual identities of people, places and things.
The City of Windsor’s Cultural Affairs Department is a partner on this initiative in anticipation of the w.a.v.e.s 2016 – Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, 4-11 PM – FREE ENTRY, Rain or Shine! w.a.v.e.s. (Windsor’s Artists, Visions, Energies & Sculptures) is a two-day festival connecting communities through waves of art, culture and technology.
