What is TOHacks?
Founded in 2017, TOHacks is an organization that connects and empowers individuals to explore opportunities in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math). We achieve this by hosting an annual hackathon every spring, along with professional learning opportunities throughout the year.
We’ve organized a mentorship program for women in Data Science and Software Engineering in partnership with Capital One, an AR/VR 4-week challenge in collaboration with echoAR, and Hello Azure!, a workshop on building and deploying cloud applications from scratch with Microsoft.
Our next 24-hour hackathon event, TOHacks 2021, is taking place May 8-9, 2021. Subscribe here to get notified when applications open later in March!
What is a hackathon?
A hackathon, also known as an innovation marathon, is an event that gathers people of diverse backgrounds and disciplines to work together to create a project from scratch.
The winning project from our last hackathon was Quarantine Companion, a 24/7 mental health companion during lockdown where users can have a “companion to raise as their own interactive digital friend.” You can find all 170+ projects made by over 550 participants at TOHacks 2020 here.
What sparked the idea of starting TOHacks?
My TOHacks Co-Founder, Shwetha, and I were working at a tech startup in Summer 2017. We discussed how our brothers didn't have opportunities for application-based learning in STEAM. After discovering this need, we set off on planning a hackathon for high school students.
We conducted user research to understand the problem space. What made hackathons exciting? What are some key do's and don'ts for organizations planning a hackathon for the first time? How do we attract a diverse group of participants?
Here are some insights we learned: document everything, always think about the user experience, and find your niche.
We went from a hackathon for high school students to an event where all students can learn, develop, and grow.
From TOHacks 2018 to Present
I am very fortunate for those who believed in us and supported the execution of TOHacks 2018. Thank you to BMO for being our 2018 Title Sponsor, all the volunteers and participants who attended the first-ever event, and my fellow co-founder, Shwetha, for her continued support and dedication.
At TOHacks, we're more than a student organization. Students apply to be on the team because they want to be part of our inclusive and welcoming culture.
We've always been remote since day 1, but I'm proud to say that we have a strong team member retention rate (85%+). We focus on helping our team members grow. We provide introductions to our connections, internal workshops, and have extracurriculars!
How can I get in touch?
Subscribe on the TOHacks website to get notified when applications go live. You'll also receive tips from our team members who work across many industries and organizations.
Sign up for my newsletter, where I talk about the passion economy, building community, and all things productivity. I'll be sharing my thoughts every Tuesday morning.
Follow me on Twitter or email me at andy.tran@tohacks.ca if you want to get in touch: if you’re interested in working with me, being featured on my newsletter, or want to partner with TOHacks!
Credits: Thank you to Joy, Shwetha, Emily, Ananya and Spandhana, members of the TOHacks team for feedback and editing.
Great article!