There are only limited spots still available to participate in this October’s Food Hackathon. Join the more than 90 Cornell students already registered who will be tackling a variety of food innovation challenges and competing for cash prizes generously provided by our event sponsors.

No team? No problem. Kinda nervous? No worries, most students are. We’re here to support you every step of the way. It’s fun, memorable, and you’ll meet new people, make new friends, and increase your confidence.

For more information, including the weekend schedule and registration link, see https://foodhackathon.splashthat.com/.

See how synergistic thinking can drive innovative solutions. Pitch an idea or join a team Wednesday and Thursday October 18&19, then participate in the Hackathon Friday evening October 20 starting at 5pm, continuing Saturday and Sunday October 21-22, all in Stocking Hall.

A hackathon acts as a catalyst to spur innovation, collaboration, and discovery through a highly facilitated event that enables teams to design and prototype solutions. Over the course of a weekend, approximately 150 Cornell undergraduate and graduate students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds will develop a broad range of ideas and skills as they address challenges in the hackathon’s focal areas in food innovation and sustainability.

We help you find a team, come up with an idea, and support you with mentorship, workshops, food, swag, and more.

About the food hackathon

Food systems, safety, upcycling, waste reduction, nutrition, CPG. The world population is expected to exceed 9 billion by the middle of this century. Nearly a billion people around the world still suffer from hunger and poor nutrition. Major changes to food production, processing, and distribution systems are needed to ensure people everywhere have access to safe, sufficient, affordable, and nutritious food.

The transformation of global food systems will rely on the combined expertise, vision, experience, and commitment of researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, and consumers as well as industry practitioners working collectively to catalyze new ideas, drive innovation, and motivate change.  Skills and knowledge from food scientists, nutritionists, engineers, social scientists, manufacturers, and more are needed to foster solution-oriented scientific discoveries to advance our transformative goals.

With the resources and mentors we gathered, it’s your opportunity to explore the impact you can make in food innovation and sustainability. It’s time to take your ideas from concept to reality. Workshops, speakers, sponsors, mentors, networking, cash prizes, and more!
150 students + 50 mentors + $10,000 in cash prizes = 1 life changing weekend Join us for ~36 hours to cook up your food innovation! From a previous Hackathon student participant:

“A HACKATHON IS RUNNING A MARATHON AND THEN A MENTOR COMES ALONG AND GIVES YOU A BICYCLE”

The schedule

October 18 – Wednesday  

7:30 – 9:00PM Team Formation Session I (in-person)
Attend if you are interested in pitching an idea or challenge and discussing it to recruit prospective teammates. Those without an idea who prefer in-person discussion with potential teammates should attend. Slack and the Google Sheet are used to facilitate meeting other hackathon participants.
You will have 90 seconds to pitch an idea, after which participants can approach the person(s) whose idea they’re interested in.

October 19 – Thursday  

6:00 – 7:30PM Team Formation Session II (via Zoom)
Those who were not able to attend Wednesday’s session should attend this one. If you are interested in pitching an idea or challenge, you will have 90 seconds to do so. Those without an idea or team should join this session to meet with other participants to form a team. You may continue to use Slack and the Google Sheet to facilitate meeting other hackathon participants. Jump into breakout rooms of your choice based on which idea or challenge you’re interested in.

October 20 – Friday

5:00 PM  Welcome & Kick-Off
Rajni Aneja MS ’85 MBA, Managing Director, CIFS-IPP, Food Science
Hackathon introduction with Ami Stuart ’10, MS ’23 – Director-Hackathons, Entrepreneurship at Cornell
6:00 PM Dinner
Teams bond over the dinner hour
7:15 PM Fast Start Workshop
Teams participate in this interactive workshop. We run through a series of sprint exercises for teams to complete. This design-driven workshop sets teams up to successfully dive into solution development and effective teamwork over the weekend.

October 21 – Saturday

9:00 AM Breakfast, Hacking Starts, Team Registration Due
Pick up your swag! Breakfast is available to participants, mentors, sponsors, and invited guests
Student teams work in reserved spaces in Stocking Hall, Atrium, and surrounding classrooms
Each team must complete this form by 9am
10:00 AM Mentor Training
Mentors join this training session to review guidelines, process, and expectations.
Delivering feedback: There are countless ways to make a point. But being a logic bully is going to shut down the receiver. We need empathy to realize the other person doesn’t know what you know, believe what you believe, or want what you want. When we make a point, we establish our power in one way or another, but we probably don’t change very much. If all you do is make a point, you’ve handed them a story about yourself. When you make a change, you’ve helped them embrace a new story about themselves.
10:30 AM – 12:30 PMTeam Updates & Mentoring
One member of every team reports to an audience of mentors their teams: Progress, Needs, and Goals. This session creates efficiency in the mentorship process. After the updates, mentors visit teams to provide 1-on-1 guidance.
12:30 PM Lunch
Available to participants, mentors, sponsors, and invited guests.
2:00 – 2:30 PM Mentor Training
Mentors join this training session to review guidelines, process, and expectations.
2:30 – 4:30 PM Team Updates & Mentoring
One Member of every team reports to an audience of mentors their teams: Progress, Needs, and Goals. This session creates efficiency in the mentorship process. After the updates, mentors visit teams to provide 1-on-1 guidance.
4:30 – 6:00 PM Networking Break
Grab a drink, mix and mingle with students, sponsors, faculty, and mentors.
6:30 PM Dinner
Available to participants, mentors, sponsors, and invited guests
6:45 – 7:15 PM Pitch Workshop
Grab dinner and join this 20 minute session for best practices to narrate your solution, create your slides, and prepare a compelling four minute demo.

October 22 – Sunday

9:00 AM Breakfast & Team Submissions
Teams MUST complete their final project submission by 9am. One submission per team.
9:30 – 11:30 AM Team Demos
Teams are sorted into one of four rooms to pitch live to a panel of judges. Pitches are 4 minutes, followed by 4 minutes of Q&A.  Judges are assigned to each room.
11:30 AM Lunch & Retrospective
Participants, mentors, sponsors, and judges – grab lunch and join us for the interactive retrospective.
12:15 – 2:30 PM Finalist Demos
The highest scoring teams from the morning, present again during this final round
2:45 PM Conclusion
Winners announced and prizes awarded