Hacker Application
1. Rules:
a. At least 50% of team members must reside in Alberta to be eligible for project awards.
b. You consent to your likeness being captured in photos and videos during the event.
c. We are only able to ship hardware to the US and Canada (excluding Quebec).
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the full rules document prior to the event.
2. Complete the Hacker Application Form! The application deadline is October 10th at 23:59mt.
3. Join the DevPost (for project submission) and the Discord (for event communication and to make friends!).
And that's it, you've applied for natHACKS 2023!
Your application has been sent for approval and will be reviewed soon! Get ready for another massive weekend of hacking and keep an eye on the Discord for further instructions.
Provider Application
1. Complete the Problem Provider Application Form! The application deadline has been extended to October 3rd at 23:59mt.
2. If approved, be sure to pitch your problem on Pitch Night.
Judge Application
Mentor Application
Volunteer Application
Hacker Application
1. Rules:
a. At least 50% of team members must reside in Alberta to be eligible for project awards.
b. You consent to your likeness being captured in photos and videos during the event.
c. We are only able to ship hardware to the US and Canada (excluding Quebec).
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the full rules document prior to the event.
2. Complete the Hacker Application Form! The application deadline is October 10th at 23:59mt.
3. Join the DevPost (for project submission) and the Discord (for event communication and to make friends!).
And that's it, you've applied for natHACKS 2023!
Your application has been sent for approval and will be reviewed soon! Get ready for another massive weekend of hacking and keep an eye on the Discord for further instructions.
Provider Application
1. Complete the Problem Provider Application Form! The application deadline has been extended to October 3rd at 23:59mt.
2. If approved, be sure to pitch your problem on Pitch Night.
Judge Application
Mentor Application
Volunteer Application
Hacker Application
1. Rules:
a. At least 50% of team members must reside in Alberta to be eligible for project awards.
b. You consent to your likeness being captured in photos and videos during the event.
c. We are only able to ship hardware to the US and Canada (excluding Quebec).
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the full rules document prior to the event.
2. Complete the Hacker Application Form! The application deadline is October 10th at 23:59mt.
3. Join the DevPost (for project submission) and the Discord (for event communication and to make friends!).
And that's it, you've applied for natHACKS 2023!
Your application has been sent for approval and will be reviewed soon! Get ready for another massive weekend of hacking and keep an eye on the Discord for further instructions.
Provider Application
1. Complete the Problem Provider Application Form! The application deadline has been extended to October 3rd at 23:59mt.
2. If approved, be sure to pitch your problem on Pitch Night.
Judge Application
Mentor Application
Volunteer Application
Hacker Application
1. Rules:
a. At least 50% of team members must reside in Alberta to be eligible for project awards.
b. You consent to your likeness being captured in photos and videos during the event.
c. We are only able to ship hardware to the US and Canada (excluding Quebec).
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the full rules document prior to the event.
2. Complete the Hacker Application Form! The application deadline is October 10th at 23:59mt.
3. Join the DevPost (for project submission) and the Discord (for event communication and to make friends!).
And that's it, you've applied for natHACKS 2023!
Your application has been sent for approval and will be reviewed soon! Get ready for another massive weekend of hacking and keep an eye on the Discord for further instructions.
Provider Application
1. Complete the Problem Provider Application Form! The application deadline has been extended to October 3rd at 23:59mt.
2. If approved, be sure to pitch your problem on Pitch Night.
Judge Application
Mentor Application
Volunteer Application
Hacker Application
1. Rules:
a. At least 50% of team members must reside in Alberta to be eligible for project awards.
b. You consent to your likeness being captured in photos and videos during the event.
c. We are only able to ship hardware to the US and Canada (excluding Quebec).
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the full rules document prior to the event.
2. Complete the Hacker Application Form! The application deadline is October 10th at 23:59mt.
3. Join the DevPost (for project submission) and the Discord (for event communication and to make friends!).
And that's it, you've applied for natHACKS 2023!
Your application has been sent for approval and will be reviewed soon! Get ready for another massive weekend of hacking and keep an eye on the Discord for further instructions.
Provider Application
1. Complete the Problem Provider Application Form! The application deadline has been extended to October 3rd at 23:59mt.
2. If approved, be sure to pitch your problem on Pitch Night.
Judge Application
Mentor Application
Volunteer Application
You will receive exclusive natHACKS swag!
We recommend applying early to secure your bag before they run out! Applications who are approved before October 10th are guaranteed a swag bag!
Expand you skills, make friends, forage connections with sponsors, and partake in an unforgettable weekend!
Do you face a problem that you think might be solvable with a neurotech solution?
Submit your real-world challenge and guide your team in developing a tech-based solution!
What's better than attending an event that builds your skills, your network, and your friend group while having fun doing it?
For some people, the answer might be "making that event possible!"
When searching for a job your network is your net worth!
73% of respondents in a LinkedIn survey claim they were hired through someone in their network.
We have Three physical hacking sites across the province in Edmonton, Calgary, and Lethbridge.
Not able to make it to one of our hacking sites? Join natHACKS remote at our virtual hackathon!
natHACKS boasts 20+ hours of workshops to prepare you for the weekend. They cover Python, BCI Hardware, Git, Machine Learning, and more!
Choose your battle, compete in smaller cohorts, and have better odds of securing prizes!
Win some serious dough to take your massive idea to the next level.
All winners are eligible for in-kind support from our various startup service providers!
Learn more about how your project will be evaluated
This is where you will find standings information during the judging periods
BCI hardware is available for all hackers, so you can have a hands-on experience developing a neurotech program with your own brain data!
You can find all dynamic natHACKS info live on natPortal!
You'll receive your account signin credentials once your application is accepted
Where can you natHACK at?
natHACKS is hosted as a hybrid hackathon across Alberta! We have in-person hacking sites in Edmonton, Calagry, and Lethbridge. Participants are also able to join us virtually from anywhere across Alberta or around the world (as long as >50% of your team is from Alberta)!
Students Union Building (SUB)
Information and Communications Technology Building (ICT-114)
Science and Academic Building (SA-6304)
Anywhere!
Build Your Knowledge
Leading up to and during natHACKS, we have a number of workshops hosted by domain experts to equip you with all the skills you need to succeed and excel through the weekend!
Provide a Real World Problem for natHACKS Participants
Do you have an interesting challenge that is conducive to a neurotechnology or bio-sensing solution? A backburner idea you want to get off the ground but don't have bandwidth to develop?
Problem Providers will benefit from the opportunity to explore their ideas in a de-risked, zero cost environment. There's a chance you may even come across talent that would be an asset to your research group!
Choose Your Hack Track!
All hackers choose the track they want to compete in. All tracks compete for their own prizes in seperate pools
The five hacker tracks are divided into two categories:
Are you interested in the Standard Division, but you don't have a team yet? Fret not! We have several networking and educational events leading up to natHACKS for you to meet potential team members.
Teams can be formed any time before 23:59 November 16th on natPortal.
Every team is required to have 5-6 members with >50% of members being Albertan.
Expert-Defined Project
Short on ideas? Get a kickstart and support from an industry professional!
Team-Defined Project
Projects related to novel methodologies in collecting, analyzing, or visualizing brain data
Team-Defined Project
Projects related to assessing, diagnosing, and/or treating neuro disorders
Team-Defined Project
Projects related to entertainment and leisure
Team-Defined Project
Restricted, <2 years of CMPUT experience
Cha Ching
natHACKS prizes are in the form of seed funding for continuing the development of your project. The prizes are all 50% monetary and 50% in-kind (legal services, cloud compute resources, business mentorship) services, so first place in the Standard Division is awarded $2000 monetary seed funding and $2000 in-kind services from our sponsors = $4000 total prizes.
$4000 1st Place
$2000 2nd Place
$1000 3rd Place
$4000 1st Place
$2000 2nd Place
$4000 1st Place
$2000 2nd Place
$4000 1st Place
$2000 2nd Place
$2000 Best Overall
How Are You Scored?
Judges complete a scoresheet for every project similar to the example below:
You will then receive a score /55 that represents your project.
During the Qualifiers round there's multiple rooms, each with their own panel of judges.
To account for differing judging styles and to promote fairness between the rooms, your score to continue to Finals will be computed as a "Room Percentage". Using this scoring system, your final score is:
Room Percentage = (Your Project's Points) / (Total Points Awarded to Room)
Beep Boop
Brain-Computer Interfacing hardware is usually pretty dang hard to get your hands on. That is, if you aren't at natHACKS! We offer several BCI devices for use through the hackathon, including but not limited to:
Information about hardware available can be found in section 8 of the rules document.
natHACKS Central!
You can find all dynamic natHACKS info live on natPortal!
You'll receive your account signin credentials once your application is accepted
We Thought About Dropping The Rules.. But Our Lawyers Didn't Like That
We don't like reading a ton of rules (and odds are you also don't!), Here's the key points to know:
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the full rules document prior to the event.
Look, Mom! We're on TV!
Meet the team getting all the natHACKS '23 ducks in a row.
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Operating Officer
natHACKS Co-President
natHACKS Co-President
Chief Product Officer
Chief Marketing Officer
Chief Human Resources Officer
Director of Business Operations
Director of Marketing
Director of Events
Director of Innovation
Director of Web Technologies
Edmonton Hardware Lead
Manager Calgary Operations
VP Calgary Operations
Calgary Hardware Lead
VP Lethbridge Operations
Lethbridge Advertising Lead
MacEwan Outreach Lead
NAIT Outreach Lead
VP Hardware
VP Education
VP Events
VP Future Development
Co-VP Volunteer
Co-VP Volunteer
Co-VP Problem Recruitment
Co-VP Problem Recruitment
VP Media Relations
VP Visual Media Operations
VP Sound Design
These folks are key to the success of natHACKS! Take some time to learn more about these sponsors and what they do.
One of Canada's three centres of AI excellence as part of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Amii (the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) is an Alberta-based non-profit institute that supports world-leading research in artificial intelligence and machine learning and translates scientific advancement into industry adoption. Amii grows AI capabilities through advancing leading-edge research, delivering exceptional educational offerings and providing business advice - all with the goal of building in-house AI capabilities.
The Edmonton Regional Innovation Network (ERIN) is a coalition of organisations in the Edmonton region that support innovation startups and enterprises. ERIN support service provider programs aimed at assisting innovation companies improve market readiness with the goal of increasing profitability and longevity. ERIN, which is funded by Alberta Innovates' Regional Innovation Network, exists to help entrepreneurs start and grow innovative businesses.
OpenBCI creates open-source hardware and software for biosensing. OpenBCI's mission is to lower the barrier to entry for brain-computer interfacing, while ensuring that these technologies are adopted into the consumer landscape in an ethical way that protects user agency and mental health.
The Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta (FAVA) has been supporting Alberta's independent filmmakers since 1982. FAVA offers affordable access to industry-standard film and video production equipment, large studio spaces, and exclusive educational programs to enhance their growth, no matter if they are a total beginner or professional artist.
The Imagination Centre at the Glenrose Hospital is home to clinical and research programs that focus on neuroadaptive technologies, including theBrain-Computer Interface (BCI) Program, bringing together families, clinicians, researchers, and engineers to connect neuroadaptive technologies with individuals across the lifespan living with severe neurological disability. Visit us at www.imagination-centre.ca.
Agility fosters campus innovation through our collaborative makerspace, entrepreneurial programming, and connection to the local innovation ecosystem.
Interested in helping further our goals of demystifying neurotechnology and fostering future innovators? Your partnership makes this whole event possible and helps us push the bleeding edge of neurotech. Contact us to learn more!
