by Library News
UTA Libraries Celebrates Open Data Day with Second Annual Hackathon Event
The clock strikes 10:00 AM on a Saturday morning. The air is cold despite the sun, and yet, teams of students congregate at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries for their second annual hackathon.
The event was hosted at UTA’s Central Library in honor of Open Data Day, a global celebration encouraging the use of open data and adoption of open data policies—and promised the top three teams enticing prizes.
As early as 9:30, students had already staked out their spots in the sixth floor Atrium, claiming whiteboards and power strips. Angel Salgado, a sophomore Aerospace Engineering major, carefully tucked his sleeping bag under his chair as he waited to join a team.
“I’ve never been to a hackathon before,” Salgado said. “I just wanted to experience it for myself…I came over here without a group, so I hope to maybe join a group and then we can talk about what we want to tackle.”
As the three sets of elevator doors opened and more students filled the room, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Communication Kelly Visnak admired the unfolding scene.
“This is a great opportunity for students to be a part of a group and gain that sense of belonging around data science,” Visnak said. “We believe it is important to give our students a chance to work with open data in a creatively challenging environment to push the boundaries of what is possible. And they always surprise us!”
Williams (left) and Ossom Williamson (second from left) help Salgado (center) find a team with two others who came to the event alone. The trio would eventually take third prize in the 2020 Hackathon.
The hours ticked by. Salgado found his team, a pair of young men who had also come alone—but not without ideas. They attacked the theme—movement—from a dozen angles, bantering with excitement and connection.
By noon, the throngs of college students were itching for a break. Thankfully, the organizers of the event— Peace Ossom Williamson, Director for Research Data Services, and Isaac Williams, Data Visualization Librarian—had planned ahead. Lunch was delivered by Jason’s Deli, while dinner and the next morning’s breakfast were served by UTA Catering services.
The reprieve of sandwiches and water reenergized the teams, who quickly returned to their keyboards to resume their work, which continued into the night and next morning. Williams and Ossom Williamson traded off shifts, offering support when needed and live-tweeting the overnight workings to keep the students motivated.
“Our participants come from disciplines across campus—engineering, data science, marketing,” Ossom Williamson said. “We are proud to host events like the hackathon that promote a unique sense of community around the common goal of open access and experiential learning.”
UTA Libraries saw dozens of teams register for the event, and despite fears over COVID-19 and the promise of Spring Break, nearly 60 participants soldiered through the twenty-three-hour event (thanks to Daylight Savings). Eight teams comprised of 27 participants submitted work to be reviewed for the hackathon prizes.
“I can’t wait to see what they’re working on,” Williams said. “These students, many of whom have never participated in a hackathon before, are exploring open data in a way that hasn’t been done before. That is the whole point—and it’s inspiring to watch.”
Salgado’s team ultimately decided to resolve concerns related to travel, specifically the need to easily access multiple identifying documents. His team developed a 3D printed card that stores all of a user’s important personal information. Salgado supplied his photo and name for the example, using open data to source the rest of the information on the group’s website.
“We had a brainstorming session for a couple hours trying to decide what to do,” Salgado said. “We decided to tackle the questions very directly, and eventually we decided that easy access to healthcare was a good idea to start with.”
To his surprise, his team and their project took third place in the event, winning prizes totaling $300.
“It was terrific [to find out]!” Salgado said. “I was very happy, and I messaged my team members right away.”
The first prize winners developed a COVID-19 Tracking System that aims to visualize and track reported cases of coronavirus in real time.
Dongchen Ye (left) and Dongqing Ye (right) mav up as they work on their Hackathon project. Their COVID-19 tracking system took first place in the 2020 event.
See more of Hackathon, and learn about how UTA Libraries is reimagining data, in this video:
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