At the suggestion of a professor, Mohamed Langi and a group of friends attended a hackathon while he was an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The hackathon – where teams use technology to solve a problem – provided a chance for Langi to get to know his friends better, learn more about the St. Louis technology sector and hone his own technical skills.
“What we got out of that event was so meaningful to us that we came back in 2017 and said, ‘College students should at least experience this one in their college life,’” Langi said.
That spurred the creation of UMSL Hack, an annual hackathon that launched in 2017 initially for UMSL students and later including college students from across the St. Louis region. Those hackathons drew more than 350 participants, providing more than $20,000 in prize money.
Langi wants to have a bigger impact, launching a new nonprofit, STL|Hack, that plans to stage hackathon events locally, beginning this spring. He said STL|Hack hopes to create a talent pipeline for local companies through its hackathon events, which include teams working together to solve "industry oriented problem statements.”
STL|Hack plans to host its first hackathon April 26-28 at UMSL, with the event open to college students and focused on financial technology. STL|Hack also plans to host a social event, bootcamp and additional hackathon this year. While its first hackathon will be geared toward college students, Langi said STL|Hack plans to host future hackathons that will be open as well to high school students, professionals and community members.
Langi is operating STL|Hack in addition to being a senior principal consultant at consulting firm Slalom and an adjunct professor at UMSL, where he teaches software development. He said his goal with STL|Hack is for the nonprofit to collaborate with the business community, provide networking opportunities and increase technical education.
Langi said STL|Hack’s operations will be funded through sponsorships and donations. The nonprofit is offering three tiers of sponsorships for its upcoming hackathon, with packages ranging from $1,000 to $6,000. Langi estimated it will cost roughly $15,000 to stage the first hackathon, which will be free for participants. STL|Hack’s sponsors currently include Slalom and UMSL.
