MSOE hosted the second annual Hacksgiving: A.I. for Good Hackathon Nov. 21-24 in Diercks Hall. Hacksgiving is a hackathon that offers students an opportunity to use their skillsets to give back to the community by developing an A.I.-driven solution to support a local nonprofit organization.

This year’s nonprofit partner was Discovery World, a science and technology museum and aquarium located in Milwaukee. The problem statement challenged students to develop a solution that enhances visitor interactions with Discovery World exhibits.

Students were presented with the problem statement on Thursday, Nov. 21 at the kickoff celebration, and then they divided into teams or worked individually to solve the problem during work time on Friday and Saturday. They put the finishing touches on their projects Sunday morning and presented their solutions to the judges Sunday afternoon.

This year’s Hacksgiving had double the participation from the inaugural hackathon in 2023 with more than 70 students comprising 10 teams. New this year, students from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School were invited to participated in the final day of the event to get an inside look at a collegiate-level hackathon and watch the final presentations.