On October 21-22, 2022, University Honors student Rutba Khan, majoring in Communication Dosorders joined students from six colleges across the U.S.A. in an Honors Hackathon on Food Insecurity. Her team of four students from three universities who dubbed themselves the “Fabulous Four” were awarded 1st place in the Affordability category. NIU Anthropology instructor Dr. Kristin Borre served as a judge.
Hackathons are quickly becoming an important educational tool that can promote and accelerate innovation. The Honors Hackathon on Food Insecurity was designed to engage students across the U.S.A. from all academic disciplines to collaborate on a systems approach to solving one of the grand challenges facing our world. Students engaged in an intense, virtual 30-hour experience through which they learned about food insecurity, systems thinking/design, and collaborating as a part of a multidisciplinary team. They were organized into teams with other participants they had never met prior to the Hackathon and presented with a challenge. Teams then had 24 hours to develop their solution(s) before presenting to a group of distinguished judges. Hackathon mentors were available for optional consultations. Teams were evaluated on the affordability, accessibility, availability, and sustainability of their solution(s). As Rutba says of her experience: “I learned about poverty and unemployment in two cities in Ohio and Indiana. This food insecurity project led me to a conclusion on how to decrease the food insecurity in these cities. I enjoyed doing this hackathon a lot.”
The event was hosted by the Student Engagement Committee of the Council on Honors Education affiliate group of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (CoHE-APLU). This is an active collaborative of Honors professionals who have worked together since 2020 on various grants, presentations, and publications and are currently piloting several cross-institutional and interdisciplinary educational opportunities for students. NIU’s Honors director, Dr. Andrea Radasanu is an active member of this group.
