WWU team claims the EduHacks hackathon crown in Seattle

Beats out teams from the U.S. and China to take the title

January 19, 2024

The winning team from WWU poses with their $1400 check at the EduHacks Hackathon competition held simultaneously in Seattle and Nanjing, China.

Over the winter break, a team from Western Washington University emerged victorious in the EduHacks hackathon, held on Jan. 5 and 6. The team, composed of Indie Cowan, Autumn Davis, Henry Baker, Yang Zheng, and Owen Wright, demonstrated their skill and creativity in a competition that brought together bright young minds from both China and the United States.

The EduHacks hackathon was held simultaneously at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China and the University of Washington (Seattle) in the U.S. Competitors ranged from students to young professionals. This year's edition focused on applications for social good, emphasizing the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, connected vehicles, intelligent sensing, industrial metaverse, and large language models.

Starting at 10 a.m. on Jan. 5, the participating teams had a 26-hour window to develop and submit their projects. Following this, they presented their innovations to local judges, vying for a spot in the final round. Teams were judged on innovation and creativity, technical feasibility, application prospects, and completeness of the work.

The WWU team's entry, a Google Chrome Browser Extension called "Organic Translator," set them apart from the competition. The tool, powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT, translates highlighted text on web pages into English, in order to understand the meaning of the text in its cultural and textual context. Additionally, it provides insights into the grammar and cultural nuances of the phrase. This product's effectiveness and potential for impact sent the WWU team into the final round, where they faced the top teams from China.

In the final round, the WWU team presented their product in a live stream to over a million viewers worldwide. They went up against the three other finalist teams, and after a long deliberation from the judges, they were awarded the first-place prize of $1400.

The team was formed from members of WWU’s Competitive Programming Club. The club prepares students for industry by connecting them to resources, educating them on how to succeed, introducing them to their peers, and practicing programming problems. If you are a WWU student and you are interested in joining, check out the CPC’s Instagram @wwucpc.

This victory is a feather in the cap for the team members and a proud moment for Western Washington University. The team thanked Western Washington University for its support, and its members said they are excited to compete again soon in the upcoming International Collegiate Programming Contest this winter.