The Tri-Co Hackathon brings students together from Haverford, Swarthmore, and Bryn Mawr in a collaborative learning environment to engage in innovative problem solving with digital technology. Teams of 2-5 students have 24 hours to ideate and create a deliverable project that answers a specific problem. The weekend begins on a Friday with students forming teams and discussing project ideas. They have until 4:00 pm on Saturday to finalize their projects before they present to a panel of judges for a chance to win prizes.
The Hackathon usually takes place in November and provides workshops for students with varying computer programming experience to learn skills in interface design, machine learning, and geographic information systems (GIS).
NEW THIS YEAR!
- Innovation Track (ITrack): is the usual Tri-co Hackathon Experience where students can come in with no CS or coding background, form a team and have 24 hours to design and build a tech product, service or app focused on specific themes announced during the Hack.
- Quantum Track (QTrack): is designed to make quantum computing accessible without previous knowledge of quantum mechanics. This year, it will consist of different levels were all participants start at level 0. As participants complete each challenge they will be rewarded with different prizes which improve as they get farther on the track. After Level 1, teams will have the opportunity to rank the challenges they prefer to do out of a prepared list we have been provided by IBM Quantum. All notebooks and prompts come directly from their Quantum Education team. All participants will get participation certificates signed by the VP of Quantum Algorithms at IBM Quantum, the teams that get the farthest on + Level 1 will also get certificates.
Scheduled of in-person events:
Location: Haverford College
Date: November 14 & 15, 2025
Kick-off: Friday, November 14th, 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Working on-site: Saturday November 15th, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Pitches, judging and prizes: Saturday, November 15th, 4:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
- Are we hacking into something?
A hackathon is more about hacking something together.
You'll have around 24 hours to start prototyping an idea in code! No need to have an idea - just show up.
- Do I need to know how to code?
No experience necessary!
This event is for all students - from coding neophytes to seasoned Computer Science majors.
We strongly encourage skill diversity, if you are in theatre then you will be great at pitching, if you are in English then you could be great communicating.
- Must I stay the full 24 hours?
That is not necessary although some teams do work through the night. A majority of teams head back to their dorms and reconvene the early morning.
- Can I or my team continue my app or project after the hackathon?
Yes, your apps, ideas, products or services are your own.
For Swarthmore Students
You can explore it further by checking out Design and Development Fund or Venture Funding.
Additionally, if you have a team that works well together it is easy to explore other CIL programs like SwatTank or Dinnovators.
For Haverford Students
The Haverford Innovations Program supports students wanting to start or continue with ideas from the classroom, workshops, or Hackathons in the following ways:
Rolling Startup Grants (Haverford only): hav.to/8ttClasses (Open to Tri-Co): https://www.haverford.edu/innovations-program/courses PE Classes (Open to Haverford, likely Bryn Mawr): Contact Shayna for more information
Haverford's Summer Innovation Incubator (Open to Tri-Co): https://www.haverford.edu/innovations-program/programs/ innovation-incubator During this paid 8-week fellowship over Haverford's summer session, small student groups immerse themselves in a project of their own design, apply innovative, creative, professional, and business skills to develop a product demonstrating their learnings.
At the end of the program students have the skills to design, activate and guide a project through development and prototyping stages, applying necessary entrepreneurial skills to develop or determine market readiness and a roadmap to guide further development and exploration.
Please reach out to Shayna Nickel, Director, Haverford Innovations Program (HIP) with any questions. snickel@haverford.edu- Code of Conduct
- 2025 Tri-Co Hackathon: Code of Conduct
Our hackathon is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of the following.
• gender
• gender identity and expression
• age
• sexual orientation
• disability
• physical appearance
• body size
• race
• ethnicity
• nationality
• religion
• previous hackathon attendance or lack of
• computing experience or lack of
• chosen programming language or tech stack
We do not tolerate harassment of hackathon participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate at any hackathon venue, this includes the following.
• hacks
• talks, presentations, or demos
• workshops
• any parties associated to the hackathon
• social media
• any other online media
Hackathon participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the hackathon at the discretion of the hackathon organizers.
