October 18th, 2025
As part of Wisconsin Tech Month, Mitobyte, Latinos in Tech, and Milky Way Tech Hub are teaming up to bring you Hackreation 2025 – a one-day hackathon full of collaboration, creativity, and community.
We use simple tools every day, calendars, to-do lists, weather apps, but what if we reimagined them in bold, creative ways?
Challenge & Voting
- Idea Voting: Starts at Code & Coffee (Oct 4) and closes at Code + Brews (Oct 8). For inspiration, view some examples here.
- Winning Idea: The top-voted idea becomes the main hackathon challenge.
- Teams: Formed on arrival, no pre-made teams required. You’ll join others based on skills and project interest.
- Main Certificate: Teams working on the winning idea will compete for The Golden Byte, awarded to the best implementation.
- Other Projects: You may also build from the idea board. These won’t qualify for the main certificate but are eligible for recognition:
- People’s Choice
- Best in Design
- Best in Innovation
- Best in Teamwork
Bonus twist: A special engineering team from (to be announced soon!) will also build their version of the winning idea and help judge the best implementation.
Hackathon Schedule
8 AM – Doors Open
Check in, grab coffee, and settle in.
8:30 – 9 AM – Team Formation
Fuel up, meet participants, and join a team. Organizers will help match skills and interests.
9 – 9:20 AM – Kickoff & Announcements
Rules, agenda, and team registration.
9:20 AM – 12 PM – Hacking Time
Start building! Floating mentors available for support.
12 – 12:45 PM – Lunch Break
Recharge and brainstorm with your team.
12:45 – 4 PM – Hacking Time (Continued)
Push your project forward.
4 – 5 PM – Presentations & Awards
- Teams present to judges and the community.
- The Golden Byte goes to the best implementation of the winning idea.
- Other projects receive certificates & recognition.
Why Join?
- Shape the main challenge through idea submission + voting.
- Reimagine everyday tools in creative ways.
- Collaborate with developers, designers, and innovators.
- Compete for recognition and bragging rights.
- Learn from or mentor fellow technologists.
NRC’s Technology Solutions Group Lead, Chris Pluta, will be acting as a special judge.
Sponsor: NRC
