RZRblock Hackathon
2022 Competition: March 4th – April 1st
Hackathon Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the important dates to know?
- March 7-12: Complete first check-in with the mentor(s) of your choice – not mandatory, but highly recommended
- March 13-19: Complete second check-in with the mentor(s) of your choice.
- March 20-26: Complete third check-in with the mentor(s) of your choice.
- March 27-31: Share the final pitch and receive feedback from at least one mentor.
April 1: Final slides for in-person (or MP4 video project files for remote participants) should be submitted to blockchain@uark.edu and accessible via a cloud file link by 12:00 PM noon on Friday. The RZRblock Hackathon Final Presentations will begin at 5:00 PM on campus in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development (RCED) Auditorium in-person and remote winners will be announced by Hackathon Judges, as well as a full YouTube playlist of all Hackathon team pitch entries sent out to all participants.
Q: What is the Kick-off Event on March 4th?
The Kick-off Event on Friday, March 4th will be hosted at the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub on the Fayetteville Square. The agenda will include Welcome Remarks, Brian Dixon as the Keynote Speaker, Use Case Pitches presented by partnering organizations, and time for participants to select use-cases and form teams. All events will be live-streamed and posted on the Walton College YouTube playlist. Applications for teams competing will be released on the event website and discord on Friday, March 4th at 8:00 pm CT. Applications to enter the competition will close on Sunday, March 6th at midnight.
Date/Time: Friday, March 4th – 5:00pm – 8:00pm CT
Address: 123 W Mountain St, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Q: Is it possible to attend as a spectator, as opposed to a participant?
The kick-off event is for hackathon participants, use-case presenters and sponsors, as well as mentors. The RZRblock Hackathon final pitches are open to all teams, families, students, co-workers and interested community members in Northwest Arkansas.
Q: How do we submit a team to enter the hackathon?
Team submission forms will open on the website and the link will be shared on Discord after all use cases have been presented at the Kick-off event (approximately 7:00pm CT) on Friday, March 4th. Team submission forms MUST be filled out by at least one participant per team. This will include contact information for all members, a team name, and use case selection. Use-case selection is first come first serve, including two student team spots and one open team spot. The form will be open for 2 days only. All forms are due by 12:00am midnight CT on Sunday, March 6th. No more teams will be accepted after that time.
Q: How many participants are required to form a team? Is there a maximum?
Q: What is the difference between the “student” track and the “open” track?
- Student Track: This is a separate track for University of Arkansas students. That may include students in other U of A colleges (engineering & law, etc.). All students from other universities will be competing in the “open/remote” track. U of A blockchain students should refer to what your specific instructor states in regard to team formation.
- Open/Remote Track: This track is available for all other participants that are not currently enrolled at the University of Arkansas or available to present in-person. That may include students at other Universities around the country or industry professionals who wish to compete or learn more about blockchains.
- Both tracks are separately judged and awarded at the end of the competition.
Q: What if I don’t have a team or if some members of my team drop out?
Q: Do I need to know how to code?
No, all participants do not need to know how to code in order to compete. Blockchain is an interdisciplinary field and final solutions might require business and legal expertise, technical coding, design expertise as well as a general curious and entrepreneurial spirit. It is for this reason that we do highly recommend diverse skill sets and knowledge between team members.
Q: Do teams have access to any technical platforms or resources for building blockchains?
AWS Educate has generously provided access to cloud credits that will allow Participant teams to build certain blockchain architecture platforms free of charge. You can read more here about what is required to redeem the supplied credits. Please email blockchain@uark.edu for AWS code access for your team.
Q: Can we choose our own use-cases?
Q: Is this event free?
Q: How do I communicate with Mentors? Do teams have to have a mentor?
Event communication will all take place on the official RZRblock Hackathon Discord server. The mentors can be viewed on the meet-the-mentors channel. Review mentor profiles to learn about each individual’s areas of expertise and discord handles. Mentors are dedicating at least 1 hour each week to chat or meet with teams virtually. It is up to each hackathon team to schedule Zoom/Teams meetings or calls with the mentor as needed. In order to gain valuable feedback and build rich professional relationships, we encourage teams to schedule at least 1 check-in each week with a mentor of your choice (this individual could vary week to week).
Q: How will teams present and submit the final pitch on April 1st?
Your team should prepare a slide presentation or recorded video presentation of a blockchain-based solution about 7 minutes long using a Microsoft PowerPoint or Google slides format. The presentation slides or mp4 file of the pitch presentation must be submitted to the Blockchain Center of Excellence email (blockchain@uark.edu) by 12:00pm on Friday, April 1st. Each team can choose to have one person or all members participate in the final pitch.
Q: What is the presentation and judging criteria being used for this competition?
See the following document outlining all presentation expectations and judging criteria applied.
