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The Raccoons is an online community that empowers students who are eager to learn by providing an environment for them to explore, build, and create. With the sudden changes our world is facing, now it is more important than ever to facilitate a general knowledge of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills, as those are increasingly important to almost all fields. The Raccoons team has decided to bring an online experience aimed at students with any level of experience and tries to foster an environment for curiosity towards tech and exploration by offering workshops and mentors, teaching the basics of coding and technology.

8th of May - 11th of May
ONLINE STEM HACKATHON

As a final stage of the six-week adventure, all the participants will build a creative digital project in teams showing off the skills gathered over the course. The tinkering and hacking will all happen online, encouraging groups to collaborate efficiently using the latest tools for project management and remote work.

STEP 1 - Register and Submit your idea on Devpost Here

STEP 2 - Join Slack and Find a Team Here

STEP 3 - Read the Guidelines

STEP 4 - Follow the Agenda in Devpost + Slack

Here is a rundown of the timeline of the hackathon. We will keep updating it as the event comes closer.

All times shown in the GMT+3 timezone

8th of May

9th of May

10th of May

What is a hackathon?

A hackathon is best described as an “invention marathon”. Anyone who has an

interest in technology attends a hackathon to learn, build & share their creations

over the course of a weekend in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

Who can apply?

It is open to anyone up to the age of 25, from any country, regardless of skills and background. We are beginner-friendly - all you need is the willingness to learn!

why should i participate?

1. Gain and improve programming skills and challenge yourself creatively.

2. Meet new like-minded people and learn to collaborate online.

3. Work on projects that you can add to your portfolio that showcase your talent when applying to positions at companies.

how does an online hackathon work?

The communication and the organisation of the event happens by the use of online tools. You can register for the event and share ideas in Devpost, brainstorm with others, communicate with your team, ask for help in Slack, attend opening ceremonies, workshops and entertainment activities such as games or film screenings via Zoom or Twitch and work on your projects using Miro, Git or other team collaboration tools at hand.

Great, how do i join in?

What are tracks?

Tracks are kinds of themes that we have defined within the hackathon, that should inspire you and help you to define an idea that you can work on. It will also help us to judge different projects according to their goal and take different criteria and intentions for each one in mind.

what if I don't have a team?

Not to worry - we will have online team building activities to help you find a suitable team. They will be announced in Slack and will take place from the 7th till the 9th of May. Plus the hackathon requirements are that you must work on an idea within a team from 1 to max 6 people, so you can also work alone in case you feel like it.

What is the

end result?

At The Racoons, the goal is to encourage learning, digital skills and freedom

to experiment and make mistakes, as well as build new things and ideas. Therefore,

participants are free to choose whether to present their projects and be eligible for

the prizes!

All teams will be encouraged to choose one of the tracks and build their projects within one of the tracks with the help

of mentors. Sponsors and partners have the opportunity to add their own challenge.

Think outside the box of the most common outlets of computer science and find a creative use for the technologies at hand. This can vary from creating computer music to digital art and games to hacking old school toys.

Work on an idea of your own, a project that you have always thought about starting or even a university task that you just can't seem to finish. Get help from the mentors on the spot and compete against others.

Create a game, app or website with Virtual or Augmented Reality. The only rule here is that you need to use the Echo AR platform(https://www.echoar.xyz/) to build your idea and to qualify for the prizes. During the event there will be a workshop and mentor to help you along the way!

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The hackathon ambassadors and mentors during the event are themselves young coders and entrepreneurs to look up

to. They bring experience in startups, mentoring, and hacking,host workshops and offer help throughout.

JĀNIS

VEĢIS

Specialising in UX/ Product design, Hackathon veteran.

Founder at Finch.

AUSTRIS

CĪRULNIEKS

Full stack developer,
Software Engineer at Alta Flora &

Engineering Student at Aalto University.

AIVA

STAŅĒVIČA

Front-end, HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Senator at the

University of Latvia.

EMILS

SYUNDYUKOV

Computer Scientist.

Lecturer at University of Latvia & Co-founder at Koatum.

ELVISS

STRAZDIŅŠ

Game design, C++.

Board Member at

GameDev & Engineer at Sonarworks.

LĪNA
MARTA SARMA

Computer Scientist and Creative Coder, member of Riga Tech Girls and CEO at The Raccoons.

RIHARDS GRĀVIS

Full stack developer,
Junction hack veteran, Software Engineer at RoboCorp.

OSKARS CIRSIS

Creative Director & Partner at WRONG. Universal digital craftsman - mastering from GIFs to 3D.

CLAUDIO

RIVERA

Baccalaureate Programs (BBA and BITL)Director.

Co-founder of GoBeyond.

GEORGIJS
PLISKA

Computer Scientist, Full stack developer, Technical Director at OrglabMedia.

KRIŠS
PUJATS

CoFounder at SSS, Full Stack Developer.

ANTON
YAKUTOVICH

Testing, particularly back-end services and API's for web. Uses Python/Java for test automation.

MAZEN
ZIBARA

Mobile App development, Swift in React Native.

LEO
SELAVO

Co-director of Content and Lecturer (Computer Science) at Riga
Business School

JĀNIS
GRĒVIŅŠ

Director of Riga Business School at Riga Technical University

8th of May - 11th of May ONLINE STEM HACKATHON