What the hack?
Deconstruct a problem. Hack a solution. Build a better Monash.
HackaMon is a Monash sprint-like event that allows you to design and showcase your ideas and creative solutions to the University.
Whether you're hacking a secure network, timetable swaps like SwapMe, or even hacking gender equality - the process is the same.
Join as an individual or form a team to help:
- identify a problem
- ideate a vision
- innovate the process
- create a solution.
Highlights from this year's HackaMon
2018 Winners
Community stream: Work Like a Girl
This year, the winners of the Community Stream proposed a multi-faceted strategy to tackle the pay gap for Monash graduates.
Through educational workshops, online resources and mentoring, ‘Work like a Girl’ aims to increase the negotiation skills of young women, securing fairer employment terms to set them up for a lifetime of success. This solution has gained significant accolades from the Office of the Vice Provost, who intend to take this initiative to the next stage.
General stream: Smart Attend
Winners of the general stream tackled a big issue too - sustainability.
‘Smart Attend’ is an app that uses facial verification and geolocation to accurately record student attendance. This simple and clever approach leverages the ubiquitous selfie to save thousands of trees per year by negating the humble class list. Attuned to Monash’s Smart University Strategy, this solution also has an infinite number of possible spin-offs.
Event details
Team Formation
Highly recommended for first-time hackers, or if you're looking to form or join a team.
Friday 13 April
Rm G03 - Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton campus
4.30 - 7.30pm: Team formation activities with food and drinks provided
Hack Day 1
Saturday 14 April
Monash College - Level 7, 271 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
8 – 9am: Register your arrival
9 – 9.45am: Kick-off
9.45am: HACK START
10am – 3pm: Mentors available
1 – 2pm: Lunch and team stand-up meeting
7 – 8pm: Dinner and team stand-up meeting
8pm: Overnight commence
Hack Day 2
Sunday 15 April
Monash College - Level 7, 271 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
8am: Venue reopens, breakfast and team stand-up meeting
1 – 2pm: Lunch and stand up meeting
2pm: HACK STOP
2.30 – 5pm: Pitching, judging and awards
5 – 6pm: Drinks and nibbles
Choose your stream
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General stream
This is HackaMon as you know it. All you need to do is sign up, get a team together and come along to help build a better Monash.
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Community stream
New this year - the Community stream provides some intriguing challenges. Challenges will be provided to teams (ahead of HackaMon Weekend).
The challenges have been set up by two Monash University departments, Respect.Now.Always and Gender Family Violence. Solutions may or may not be technical in nature.
Community stream
Choose one of our community stream challenges.
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Address the gender pay gap
How might we design interventions that alert young adults (16 to 25) of the gender pay gap, its impacts on their future and actions they can take to address the pay gap?
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Speak out about violence and abuse
How do we engage the unengaged? How do we get students to want to complete and use these programs?
How might we motivate students at Monash speak up and challenge sexism and any inappropriate behaviour so we can work to end all forms of violence and abuse? -
Protect students from online abuse
How can we educate students about safety online, in a way that speaks to them, and connects to the issue of domestic/intimate partner violence?
How can we ensure students are protected from online abuse, and also ensure they’re aware of ‘red flags’?
Meet our judges
We've selected a panel of highly accomplished and influential judges for our General and Community streams.
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Trevor Woods
General stream
Since joining Monash in mid-2015 as the Chief Information Officer, Trevor has significantly reduced the time to benefit realization of ICT developments and provided organisation-wide cost savings. By embedding business owners in the end-to-end development process, satisfaction with products and services has markedly increased, as has the relationships between his portfolio and other parts of the business.
His leadership focus on outcome excellence, and genuine partnership with stakeholders have demonstrated that ICT is a cornerstone enabler to executing Monash’s strategic vision as a world leader in Education and Research.
A keen advocate of lifelong learning, Trevor encourages students and staff to create the next disrupter by running hackathons and popup innovations and supporting startups with a studio to ‘test drive’ creations and providing resident entrepreneurs.
Before moving from Canada, Trevor led multi-million dollar transformations in the university sector over two decades, including at a top 100 university. -
Professor Kris Ryan
General stream
Professor Kris Ryan is the Academic Director in the Monash University Office of Learning and Teaching. Kris has taught large classes, typically in excess of 300 students, for over a decade.
He is known for his animated and highly interactive approach, combined with his use of technology to reach large audiences. He has led course reviews, introduced contemporary teaching approaches, laboratories and novel teaching facilities.
In his role as Academic Director, Kris leads a multi-disciplinary team to establish and implement the university-wide education technology roadmap, and provide academic input into learning and teaching spaces university-wide. Kris has been awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s award for education excellence and an OLT citation for his contributions to student learning. -
Alicia Stephenson
General stream | Judge and mentor
Alicia is the Founder and CEO of Millennial Mentor and edutech company The SC Group, a Melbourne based Consultancy Firm that in 2017, merged with global strategy consultancy, Incorp.
Alicia was the 2015 Telstra Victorian Young Businesswoman of the Year for her entrepreneurial work with women and a recipient of the 2014 Australian Institute of Management 30 under 30 National Manager's Award for her work at the Women's Super Max Prison, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Deer Park.
Alicia is a t3 ambassador for the state of Victoria, assisting companies to invest in solar through innovative financial modelling and a founding board member of the Australian Centre for Generational Strategy as well as being a Judge for the Telstra Business Awards.
Alicia is a corporate strategist, popular speaker on the topic of Millennials and Generations and specialises in the Cultural Evolution of workforces. -
Danielle Storey
General stream
Danielle has had an extended entrepreneurial career, spanning across 20 years - running businesses, speaking professionally and writing and publishing The Selfish Servant. She loves her current role as the Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Innovation Business Centre (EIBC) and the interaction she has with Ventures, large and small.
As a business mentor professionally she has advised hundreds of small Australian businesses and start-ups who need simple plans and strategies to grow profits and achieve results for the owners. As a business owner that has transformed from struggle to success, Danielle understands the mindsets and processes that businesses and leaders must implement to create change and success.
Danielle is a passionate advocate of innovation and future-focus and believes that Australia is primed to be the place where innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders can thrive and create the success stories of the future.
She believes collaboration will form the foundation of success and is helping to create a place and space at the EIBC where all people will have opportunities to relate and grow. This forms her ethos in her current role as CEO as well as being a champion of innovation on various committees and boards. -
Professor Marc Parlange
Community stream
Professor Marc Parlange is the Provost and Senior Vice-President of Monash University and is Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. Prior to assuming his position at Monash, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia (Canada) and Dean in Switzerland at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) in the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. He was professor and department chair at Johns Hopkins University and Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of California at Davis. He did his MS and PhD at Cornell University and BS at Griffith University.
His research in the broad area of environmental fluid mechanics primarily relates to the measurement and simulation of air and water flows over complex terrain, with a focus on how air turbulence and atmospheric dynamics (atmospheric boundary layer flow) influence urban, agricultural and alpine environments.
He is also active in addressing water resources challenges and environmental change in remote communities (West Africa) through his research on hydrology and climate change. He has received prestigious awards for his academic achievements, including the Macelwane Medal and the Hydrologic Sciences Award of the American Geophysical Union, and the Dalton Medal of the European Geosciences Union. He is Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Geophysical Union.
Professor Parlange is a highly regarded graduate advisor and his numerous PhD students and post-doctoral associates have had much international success in universities and industry. He has received the Agepoly Excellence in Teaching Award from EPFL. He has served as Editor in Chief of Water Resources Research and Editor for Advances in Water Resources. In 2017 he became a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. -
Professor JaneMaree Maher
Community stream
JaneMaree Maher is Professor in the Centre for Women's Studies and Gender Research, Sociology in the School of Social Sciences. JaneMaree’s research is focused in two key areas of gendered social science: women’s work and family, and gendered violences. Her family work critically examines the interactions of families and societies, with an emphasis on how neo-liberal discourses of health and consumption impact on family relationships.
JaneMaree is involved in gendered violence projects focused on how gender impacts on the operation of criminal justice and security. Her key interests are in family violence and gendered patterns. JaneMaree is joint Program Lead in the Monash Gender & Family Violence team, focusing on new frameworks for prevention.
JaneMaree is author of over 60 journal articles. Recent book publications include Policing Hate Crime: Understanding Communities and Prejudice, Routledge: London (2017) (with Gail Mason, Jude McCulloch et al), Consuming Families: Buying, making, producing family life in the 21st century, Routledge, London (2013) (with Jo Lindsay), Vanity: 21st Century Selves Palgrave MacMillan, London (2103) (with Claire Tanner and Suzanne Fraser) and Sex work: Labour, mobility and sexual services Routledge, London (2013) (with Sharon Pickering and Alison Gerard). In 2018, she will be editor of Securing Women’s Lives(Routledge 2018) with Sandra Walklate, Kate Fitz-Gibbon, and Jude McCulloch. -
Andrew Swan
Community stream
Andrew Swan is the Manager of Leadership & Volunteer within Careers, Leadership and Volunteering at Monash University. He has been a White Ribbon Ambassador since 2014 and currently serves on the Victorian White Ribbon Ambassador State Committee and Australian White Ribbon Ambassador Reference Group.
In 2016, Andrew was awarded the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) Tertiary Award & Sponsorship. Eager to develop effective models of student leadership in university halls and colleges, Andrew commenced his PhD on the subject last year.
Andrew is the inaugural College Head of Campbell Hall, where he provides pastoral care for 243 undergraduate and postgraduate students. -
Fiona Marshall
Community stream | Judge
Fiona commenced working with Monash’s Campus Community Division in March 2017, focusing on the Respect.Now.Always. Campaign and helping to forge the development of the Respectful Communities team.
Having been a member of the Monash community for more than 7 years as a student and staff member, Fiona has witnessed a great shift in how Australian universities respond to and educate on sexual assault and sexual harassment. While great work has already occurred in this space, she recognises that there is still a great deal more to be done.
With extensive experience working in higher education, Fiona also has a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts from Monash University. A great deal of her studies focused on human rights law and gender equity, undertaking a volunteer internship during her studies with the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law.
Fiona is excited to be leading this new team, and looks forward to working with students and staff to build trust in our community and also ensure Monash is a place of respect. She is thrilled that the community stream has been included at this year’s Hackamon and can’t wait to see what solutions emerge
Your HackaMon MC
Terence Huynh
Founder, UNIHACK | Software Engineer, Localz
Terence Huynh is the founder of UNIHACK, Australia's premier student hackathon; and a Software Engineer at Localz, a Melbourne-based last mile startup. A former Monash alumnus and active in the tech community, he is passionate about technology and its impact on the world around us.
Follow him on Twitter @terencehuynh.
Meet your mentors
We've selected a group of experienced individuals who are freely available to share their advice, knowledge and expertise with you as you take on HackaMon this year.
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Eric Jiang
General stream
Eric is the current Project Lead for monPlan - a Monash Course Planner for Student, built by Students. monPlan was started off as an Open-Source Project with a fellow student in December 2016 and he was approached by eSolutions to built it with them.
He has also worked off various innovation projects which have impacted the University such as geckoDM - A Chrome Extension used to download lectures off Echo360, MARIE.js - An online c machine architecture and assembly language as well as various concepts at Hackathons. -
Josh Teichman
General stream
Josh joined Monash in 2017 as Group Manager, Digital Transformation leading the University’s central Digital portfolio across key customer-facing platforms and channels including Web, CRM and Mobile. Innovation plays a key role in the Digital portfolio, with the introduction of “Test.Drive” (monash.edu/test-drive) that enables current students and staff to release early stage prototypes via My.Monash to get feedback and access to the right technology stack.
Coming from a technology and corporate strategy consulting background at PwC, Josh’s focus is on identifying and delivering customer-focussed growth strategies by leveraging existing and emerging digital solutions.
Josh places particular emphasis on improving the end-to-end customer experience through the transformation of sales and service functions using social, mobile and cloud technologies. -
Mel Vanroyen
General stream
As a digital evangelist with a passion for storytelling, Mel believes in the power of digital to shape and impact the world around us. Mel works in Digital at Monash University, leading UX, Service Design, and a talented team that delivers new and emerging technology.
Mel has a track record of creating innovative digital solutions within traditional industries, and has worked extensively in the publishing industry.
Active in the start up space over the past five years, Mel is the founder of Vanguard Creative, a start up currently exploring opportunities in the fashion, publishing, and games industries. -
Poonam Nair
General stream
Poonam previously founded and operated her own eCommerce store and tutoring agency, and is currently exploring a new retail venture in Australia, India and the States. She has also worked with a variety of startups and is well-connected across Melbourne’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Poonam believes everyone deserves a chance to run a business and aims to empower others to have fun managing their own projects. She recently joined Monash University as a graduate in the Office of the CIO, where she also works with students to test drive innovation and digital solutions into the university. -
Kate Thomas
Community stream
Kate is currently a research assistant and website manager for the Monash Gender and Family Violence team (MGFV team). She completed her Bachelor Laws/Arts at the University of Queensland in 2014 and has provided research assistance for a number of criminology and law research projects into gender and violence, including the National Domestic and Family Violence Bench Book, and currently, the MGFV team’s Review of the Victorian family violence Information Sharing Scheme.
Her website management role includes supporting ongoing community engagement and outreach on the MGFV team’s website. Kate also has experience working in both policy and government law sections of the Australian Government. -
Bek Weichard
Community stream
Prior to joining Careers, Leadership & Volunteering, Bek dedicated the last eight years to teaching in the Primary School sector across a variety of disciplines. In addition to teaching, Bek held a number of leadership roles leading curriculum development and policy change.
Bek currently juggles two roles - Service Learning Coordinator and Program Coordinator for Sir John Monash Mentoring. As the Service Learning Coordinator, Bek is excited to support the growth of the volunteering community at Monash University.
Through the platform of Service Learning, Bek’s mission is to increase awareness of the benefits of volunteering, be it the desire to create change in the community or to create pathways for future careers. -
Natalie McQuillan
Community stream
Natalie is a Project Officer with the Respectful Communities Team within the Community Campus Division at Monash University, helping to deliver the Respect.Now.Always. Campaign through education and preventative programs targeting sexual assault and harassment. She is also engaged as a Research Assistant with Monash Gender, Peace and Security within the School of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts, contributing to projects related to the gendered politics of armed conflict and the search for peace.
Natalie has a background in social sciences, gender and education, and is currently studying a Masters of International Development Practice with a focus on gender and governance. In addition to her studies, she has volunteered with Save the Children and One Girl organisations in Melbourne, and previously coordinated international community development programs working towards women’s empowerment, health and human rights outcomes.
Natalie is passionate about gender equality, social inclusion and community development, and excited to see what innovative solutions will emerge during Hackamon.
Hack tips
We've put together some useful hack tips from what you need to bring, joining teams, where to park and everything in between.
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Who can attend
All Monash University students, alumni and staff are invited to participate.
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Parking and transport
Parking is at your own cost.
The closest public car park to the venue is located at 330 Collins Street, Melbourne (Secure Parking).
Shuttle bus to/from campus
Saturday
8am: Robert Blackwood Hall, Clayton campus
8.25am: Building H, Caulfield campus
8pm: 271 Collins Street
Sunday
8am: Robert Blackwood Hall, Clayton campus
6pm: 271 Collins St -
What to bring
Your laptop, ID and whatever else you need to hack.
We'll provide food and coffee. -
Don't have a team?
If you don't have a team you can still attend. Come along to our pre-event mixer and we'll help you find a team.
You'll also meet other hackers and learn some neat hacking skills. -
Don't have a technical background?
You don't need to have a technical background to join HackaMon.
The Community Stream is ideal if you're new to this or if you're not that technical. -
Attendance
If you can't attend both days, don't worry!
We'll find you a team (or perhaps you have one) that you can help out on either of the days. -
What’s in it for you
You get to build your network, learn new skills, have fun and win prizes!
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What's in it for me?
You'll get to win amazing prizes. Winners will walk away with a Google Home mini and a VIP tour of the new Melbourne Google office.
Contact us
Our HackaMon team is always here to help answer any questions you may have.
Email: Hackamon@monash.edu
Call: 99 020 532