WiCHacks 2026 in Rochester, NY

MLH Member Event

Saturday February 28, 2026

10:00AM to Mar 1, 4:30PM EDT

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Rochester Institute of Technology's Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED)

91 Lomb Memorial Dr
Rochester, NY 14623
United States

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Event Description

WiCHacks is a 24-hour hackathon focused on uplifting women and gender minorities in tech. This year, we will be celebrating our 12th annual event at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Please register and join us for 24-hours filled with informative tech talks, fun sponsor symposiums, provided meals, a 24-hour snack bar, fun prizes, free swag, and much more!

Hackers will have opportunities to connect with our sponsors in-person. Go to https://wichacks.io/ to check out our amazing sponsors!

To register, you must be a fully enrolled 18+ college student. Our event is only available to those who can attend in-person.

Our Mission Statement:
The Women in Computing Hackathon (WiCHacks) mission is to enhance opportunities for students who identify as women or gender minorities in the tech industry and all students who support them, regardless of gender or sex. WiCHacks values diversity and inclusion as essential to our mission and welcomes anyone in support of moving this mission forward, including those of other genders or sex, to sign up for the hackathon. Hosted by Women in Computing (WiC) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the hackathon is a 24-hour, collaborative programming event in which participants create an app, website, game, or other piece of software throughout the event!

Who can attend?

Locations have different requirements for who can attend. This location is open to the following:

Schedule

Saturday, February 28th:

10:00 AM - Doors open, Check-in begins [SHD 1st Floor]
12:00 PM - Opening Ceremony Begins [Hack Space SHD-3300]
- WiC Intro
- MLH Intro (5 min)
- CSL Microtalk (3 min)
- Keynote Speaker - Dorrene Brown (15 min)
- WiC - Closing Remarks
12:30 PM - Opening Ceremony Ends
12:30 PM - Q&A with Dorrene Brown [Bower Space SHD-1300]
12:30 PM - Team Formation Begins
1:00 PM - Hacking Begins
1:00 PM - Lunch is Served - Wegman's Subs [Atrium A950]
2:00 PM - Tech Talks & Workshops
- 2:00 PM - Devpost Workshop w/ COMS (20 min) [Bower Space SHD-1300]
- 2:30 PM - SSE Hardware Lab Workshop (45 min) [Bower Space SHD-1300]
- 2:30 PM - CSL Sponsor Symposium (60 min) [Atrium A950]
- 4:00 PM - Wegman's "Food You Feel Good About" Symposium (30 min) [Bower Space SHD-1300]
- 5:30 PM - MLH - Google AI Workshop (30 min) - [Bower Space SHD-1300]
6:00 PM - Dinner Time - Olive Garden Create Your Own Pasta Station [Atrium A950]
7:00 PM - Air Plant Terrarium Bar (60 min) [Bower Space SHD-1300]
8:00 PM - MLH - Github Copilot Workshop (30 min) [Bower Space SHD-1300]
9:00 PM - Rock Painting (45 min) [Bower Space SHD-1300]
10:00 PM - CSL's Midnight Snack [Atrium A950]
11:00 PM - Cup Stacking [Bower Space SHD-1300]

Sunday, March 1st:

8:00 AM - Breakfast [Atrium A950]
9:30 AM - Devpost Soft Submission Deadline
12:00 PM - Lunch - Chipotle Build Your Own [Atrium A950]
12:00 PM - Hacking ends
1:00 PM - Judging begins
2:30 PM - Judging ends
3:00 PM - Closing Ceremony [Hack Space]
- WiC Intro
- MLH Representative (5 min)
- Category Winners Announced
- Grand Prize Giveaway Winner Announced
3:30 PM - Prize Collection

Additional Information

An invite to our Discord will be sent out the week of February 23rd. Here, you can connect with other hackers, form groups, speak with sponsors, and be informed of event updates during the weekend.