BU Spark!

✨ 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 & 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔! ✨ This year, 𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 brought together 𝟭𝟰𝟬+ 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 for a weekend dedicated to building technology that addresses real civic challenges. Through collaboration, mentorship, and innovation, students developed projects across justice, education, sustainability, and civic infrastructure, demonstrating how technology can be used to strengthen communities and improve public systems. CivicHacks is built on the idea that meaningful innovation happens when 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. Our sponsors and partners play a critical role in making this possible by supporting the event and helping ground student work in real-world challenges. 🤝 𝗧𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀: Thank you for investing in our students and helping make CivicHacks possible. Your support enables us to create a space where students can explore civic technology, collaborate across disciplines, and build solutions that aim to create meaningful public impact. We are grateful for the support of: Avanade Major League Hacking Red Hat Public Interest Technology University Network Red Bull MULLEN FAMILY FOUNDATION 🌍 𝗧𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: Thank you for contributing your expertise, insights, and real-world perspectives to the hackathon. Your involvement helped connect student ideas with the broader ecosystem of organizations working on civic technology and social impact. We are grateful to collaborate with: Allium GBH CYVL Equitable GreenRoots, Inc. Civera Open Justice Lab Boston University Sustainability Center for Media Innovation & Social Impact (MISI) McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT City of Boston Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Boston University School of Law Boston University Center for Career Development Your partnership helps create opportunities for students to build technology that is thoughtful, responsible, and grounded in real civic needs. Thank you for helping make 𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 an inspiring and impactful experience for our students. #CivicTech #TechForGood #CivicHacks #SocialImpact #StudentInnovation #BostonUniversity

🚀 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍: 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞! 🚀 Changemakers—this is your moment to turn ideas into impact! CivicHacks 2026 is returning to the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences on 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟏-𝟐𝟐, and we want YOU there. Whether you're a seasoned coder or have never attended a hackathon before, this is your chance to build technology-driven solutions to real-world challenges alongside a plethora of other passionate students. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥? ✨ Two days of intense collaboration on civic tech projects that matter ✨ Mentorship from industry experts and experienced developers ✨ Networking at our Opportunity Expo with non-profits, civic tech startups, and mission-driven organizations ✨ Hands-on workshops to sharpen your skills (Git, mobile dev, AI APIs, and more!) ✨ $5,000+ in prizes across multiple impact-driven tracks ✨ Epic views of Boston from the 17th floor as you code into the night This isn't just about winning—it's about learning, building connections, and creating solutions within social justice, education, and more. ⏰ 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭! Applications are due soon, and spots are limited. You must apply AND be accepted by the BU Spark! team to participate. Ready to innovate and make a difference? Application link in the comments.

📢 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐨! Boston University’s Civic Hacks, a civic tech–focused hackathon powered by BU Spark!, will host its 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟏, connecting organizations with students passionate about ethical tech, public impact, and community-centered innovation. The Opportunity Expo is open to any organization passionate about making a positive civic impact. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: create space for organizations to share who they are, the work they do, and what opportunities may exist now or in the future. Opportunities may range from internships and fellowships to research programs, trainings, and early-career pathways. ✨ 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞? - Engage with 𝟏𝟕𝟎+ 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟐𝟑+ 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 - Meet developers, designers, engineers, and data scientists focused on social impact - Build early relationships with diverse, civic-minded talent - Participate at no cost, with in-person and virtual options available 📍 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: Boston University – Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences 🕒 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧: Saturday, February 21 | 3:00–5:00 PM If your organization cares about using technology for good and supporting the next generation of socially conscious technologists, we’d love to have you involved. 📩 Interested or want to help spread the word? 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐮𝟐@𝐛𝐮.𝐞𝐝𝐮. #CivicTech #TechForGood #EthicalTech #SocialImpact #BUCivicHacks #OpportunityExpo

✨ Thank You to Our Mentors for an Incredible DS+X Hackathon! ✨ This October, more than 150 BU students came together for a weekend of experimentation, discovery, and cross-disciplinary creativity at DS+X — where data science meets every “X” imaginable. From art and climate to public policy, hardware, health, and beyond, students embraced the move from Hackathon 1.0 → Hackathon 2.0: a space where process, ethics, transparency, and AI orchestration matter just as much as the final demo. But none of this would have been possible without the people who guided them. 🧭 To our mentors: Your guidance made DS+X a welcoming space for both first-time hackers and experienced builders. From whiteboard ideation to debugging tricky pipelines, your mentorship helped teams explore bold ideas with confidence. Mentors: Saad N. Rishabh Kumar Lingyi Kong Heber Romero Tellez Atharv Gulati Ruochen Ji Roger Hunt Claudia Friedel Philip Lindsay JD Kotula Kathleen Berger Jimmy Huynh Kate Silfen Wilson Bui Angeline Tseng Preetish Mukundan Gerard Shockley Yan Si Jason Liu Helena J. Megan Pilkington Pete Groustra 🚀 Next stop: CivicHacks 2026 — February 21–22, 2026! Until then, keep building, keep questioning, and keep exploring your “X.”

✨ Thank You to Our Judges & Partners for an Amazing DS+X Hackathon! ✨ This October, 150+ students from across BU came together for a transformational weekend at DS+X, a hackathon where data science meets everything. Students pushed boundaries and showcased the power of interdisciplinary innovation. DS+X = Data Science + Your “X” Whether that “X” was art, health, public policy, finance, climate, music, hardware, or something entirely your own, participants fully embraced the shift from Hackathon 1.0 → Hackathon 2.0, where process, ethics, transparency, and AI orchestration matter just as much as the final demo. 💡 To our judges: Thank you for bringing expertise, thoughtful evaluation, and depth to the judging process. You helped students articulate not only what they built but why it matters, reinforcing intentional, ethical, and meaningful innovation. 🤝 To our partners & workshop leaders: Your workshops and contributions set the foundation for a weekend of empowered experimentation. Students gained hands-on skills in AI ethics, No-code AI prototyping, API development, Generative art, AI-powered sound design, Prompt engineering, design fundamentals, and more! These sessions brought the “X” in DS+X to life. 🙏 A huge thank you to our event sponsors: BU IS&T SharkNinja Figma BU Libraries Judges: (Ittoop) Shinu Shibu Zhamshidbek Abdulkhamidov Christopher Sedore Bob Graham Kush Zingade Nathan Stanislavsky  Alex Audi Hsiang Yu Huang Chuqiao F. Feng Shriya Jonnalagadda  Caleb Lee Aiymgul Kosmukhanbetova Addison Yam Christopher Miyai Rohit Agrawal Lingyi Kong MiHyun Kim James Grady Michelle Johnson Claudia Friedel Lucy Flamm Brandon Cohen Jason Liu Langdon White Gerard Shockley Philip Lindsay Bob Graham Amanda Mullins Preetish Mukundan Marylou O'Donnell-Rundlett, MBA Dharit Shah Heber Romero Tellez Jen Kelleman Arpit Kothari Dr. Indrajit kalita Ronald Czik Sandesh Gubbi Virupaksha Workshop Leads:   Seth Villegas (AI Ethics)   Asad Malik (No-Code AI Prototyping)   Saad N. (API Crash Course)   Halim Lee (Art + GenAI)   Lingyi Kong (Intro to Figma)   Kenn Sebesta (Art & Hardware Lab)   Richard Kasperowski (VibeCoding w/ Replit)   Abigail Gualda (AI + Sound Design)   Roger Hunt (Prompt Engineering 101) 🚀 Next stop: CivicHacks 2026 — February 21–22, 2026! Until then, keep building, keep questioning, and keep exploring your “X.”

As this year’s DS+X Hackathon closes out, we’re celebrating the participants whose creativity showed how data science can solve real-world problems. Here are the winning teams! ⭐Best Overall & HackBU 1st: RhettSearch – A platform helping BU students discover research opportunities through personalized recommendations, data insights, and an interactive research-type indicator. (Chuqiao F., David Feng, Amanie Foster, Anna Huang, Khai Duc Pham) ⭐Best Tech Execution: Stalk Market – An AI-powered educational stock-trading simulator that teaches investing through interactive farming-style mechanics and real-time market modeling. (Jack He, Luke Cooper, Nikita Afanaskin, Zhan Zhuo) ⭐Best Tech Implementation: Atlas-Talks – A conversational navigation system that lets users interact with maps through natural language synced with live route data. (Mohamed Ifreen, Aditya Bhandari) ⭐ArtHack Prompt: SightBoard – A motion-powered sketchpad that lets users draw with facial movement or traditional tools, offering smooth tracking and browser-based creativity. (Rafay Cheema, Anurag Mathews, Mohammad Amjad) ⭐ArtHack Open: Percent – An interactive tool helping designers explore how geometry, contrast, and curve adjustments shape typeface character. (Alara Kalfazade, Yue ZHOU, Margarita Gomez-Puche, Icarus Guo) ⭐HackBU 2nd: Cognify – A course-planning platform that lets BU students search classes, track Hub progress, explore faculty research, and get AI-powered recommendations. (Soham Patel, Om Patel, Kush Zingade) ⭐HackBU 3rd: PlanEdu – An AI-driven 4-year planner that builds personalized schedules using prerequisites, Hub requirements, RateMyProfessor data, and semester optimization. (Alex Audi, Christopher Miyai, Kenneth Wilber, Nathan Stanislavsky) ⭐HackBU 4th: CollabNet – A data-driven platform that helps students and researchers find collaborators through topic mapping, co-author networks, and real-time research insights. (Saya Atchibay, Aryan Punjani, Aiymgul Kosmukhanbetova, Zhamshidbek Abdulkhamidov, (Ittoop) Shinu Shibu) ⭐HackBU 5th: BU Bus – A campus transit app with live shuttle tracking, smart service alerts, trip planning, and real-time updates for smoother commuting. (Harini Saravanan, Kunal Vishwa Sivakumar, Akshay Kumaran Venkatesan, Leo Deng, Tanisha J.) ⭐FirstHack 1st: SafePath – A routing tool that uses streetlight data and Dijkstra’s algorithm to guide users along well-lit, safer paths. (Nina Chiladze, Sergio Luis Guillin Valencia, Miriam Dulin) ⭐FirstHack 2nd: Taste BU-DS – A filtering tool that scrapes BU Dining menus to help students quickly find meals that match dietary needs. (Rodrigo Scola-Velazquez, Michael Lwe, Elias Pamfilis, Charles Levy, Matthew Kim) ⭐FirstHack 3rd: Project Reducing Food Waste –  An inventory assistant that flags soon-to-expire products, recommends actions, and uses data structures to minimize grocery waste. (Adedayo Sanusi, Allison Lee, Sameeha Shaik) Full projects → http://bit.ly/4imELFt

🎉 That’s a wrap on the inaugural DS+X Hackathon!🎉 This past weekend, 175 student innovators and two dozen mentors transformed the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences into a three-level hive of creativity, collaboration, and code. Over two unforgettable days (and one very late night), teams brainstormed, built, and brought their “Data Science + X” ideas to life—tackling challenges that connected data with art, finance, pets, sustainability, health, and more. Some powered through overnight with nonstop project work, while others recharged with karaoke, naps, and snacks before diving back in. “Watching students bring DS+X to life was incredibly inspiring,” said Ziba Cranmer, Executive Director of BU Spark!. “I was especially excited about the cross-college collaborations at this hackathon. We had over 13 projects submitted to the HackBU track, which was a partnership with Boston University IS&T, two winners of the ArtHack track, which was a partnership with Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA), and dozens more projects - many of which were powered by data curated by BU Libraries. Hackathons embody what Spark! was built to do—empower students to turn data-driven ideas into real-world solutions.” Day 2 wrapped up with final presentations, judging, and the announcement of this year’s winning teams—celebrating innovation, teamwork, and the spirit of interdisciplinary problem-solving that defines DS+X. Huge thanks to all our student hackers, mentors, sponsors, planners, and partners - especially Boston University Information Services & Technology, SharkNinja, Figma, BU Libraries, CFA, and Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University for bringing this vision to life and making BU history. The energy, synergy, and imagination that filled every corner of the Duan Center made it clear: this is only the beginning. Check out the video 👇 👇 https://lnkd.in/ed3XVyZH #DSplusX #BUSpark #BUCDS #Hackathon2025 #DataScience #Innovation #Collaboration #StudentLeadership

💥 The DS+X Hackathon 2025 is officially underway! 💥 Breakfast fueled creativity and collaboration, the opening ceremony set the stage, and teams dove right into hacking, designing, and innovating. 🚀 Let’s build something extraordinary together. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eGxWf2Ze Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University Boston University BU Spark Alumni Outreach Boston University Information Services & Technology 📸 Isabella Boncser ✨ SharkNinja Franchesca Carrington, M.Ed. (she/her) #DSX #BUSpark #BUCDS #Hackathon #DataScience #Realtime

More than 200 Boston University students will participate in a weekend-long overnight innovation challenge at the DS+X Hackathon, being held at the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences October 25 and 26. Hosted by the Duan Family Spark! Initiative and BU’s Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, the event invites students to explore how data science can intersect with other fields, such as health, climate, art, and AI, to make meaningful change. More here ➡️ http://spr.ly/6048AhdAo