Laptops lined every open surface of the Gzowski College atrium as Trent University welcomed over 200 high school and university students from across Canada for the University’s first hackathon, Electric City (EC) Hacks.

Participants had 37 hours to produce an original app or gadget, and the sleepless nights and day-long coding resulted in innovative and dynamic projects ranging from a virtual reality based recycling video game, to a Wi-Fi compatible sandwich maker.

The event was an opportunity for programmers of all skill levels to collaborate and innovate, with Trent Computer Science faculty and students, local business owners, and mentors from some of the world’s leading tech companies onsite to help guide programmers along the way.

"The Hackathon environment was extremely inclusive for coders of all levels,” said participant, Maisie Fichuk, a third-year student at Western University who entered her first solo project at EC Hacks. “Everyone was willing to put their own projects aside every now and then and share their knowledge with other groups who were struggling.”

In the end, first place was awarded to a team of students from the University of Waterloo for their project, the Sign Language Translator, an application that uses motion sensor technology to translate American Sign Language into a Google Text to Speech document.

“I believe Hackathons are about unlocking the creative potential and resourcefulness of people and I believe EC hacks did just that,” praised participant, Mohammed Ridwanul, fourth-year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. “I was surprised to hear that Electric City Hacks was Trent University’s first hackathon! It was so well organized and the folks were so helpful and such a delight to talk to. I am excited to see how this will impact the technology community within Peterborough.”