Since launching in 2013, Philly Codefest has welcomed hundreds of software and hardware hackers – made up of professionals, educators, and students alike – to Drexel University’s University City campus in Philadelphia each year.
One of CCI's signature annual events, Philly Codefest continues to grow, attracting new participants and partners. "Codefest is a great opportunity to not only showcase the talent and creativity of our exceptional and innovative CCI students, but also to bring together students and professionals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences who are all interested in technology and driven to make our world a better place," says Dean and Isaac L. Auerbach Professor Yi Deng, PhD.
Philly Codefest 2021 will focus on generating real world artificial intelligence innovations to positively impact society.
Previous Drexel Hackathons
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Philly Codefest 2020: A Virtual Hackathon Presented by American Water
Read more about 2020 winning teams and their innovative projects.
Watch recordings of our virtual workshops.
Watch our 2020 virtual kick-off event.
Philly Codefest 2020 Theme: Environmental Sustainability: Sustainability isn’t just an environmental issue, but it’s also a human issue that affects everyone. As climate change makes Philadelphia hotter and wetter, and sea level rise threatens our waterfronts and low-lying communities, Mayor Jim Kenney and the City of Philadelphia have committed to reducing Philly’s citywide carbon pollution by 80 percent and achieving a 100 percent carbon-free electricity grid by 2050. In its eighth year, Philly Codefest 2020 brought together students and professionals from all backgrounds to develop novel, creative solutions to support the region’s sustainability and climate goals and help make our region a safer, healthier place to be for generations to come. Suggested areas of focus for hacks included:
- Water (e.g., clean water access, wastewater management, stormwater/flood management)
- Agriculture & Food (e.g., agricultural pollution/runoff management, green farming, food security)
- Transportation (e.g., green transportation technology and incentives, reducing emissions, public transportation infrastructure)
- Waste (e.g., litter, trash and recycling management, composting)
- Energy (e.g., renewable energy, energy consumption reduction technology, clean air)
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Philly Codefest 2019
View a Video Recap of Philly Codefest 2019
Philly Codefest 2019, presented by Comcast NBCUniversal, helped to generate real-world, scalable solutions to help end economic inequality in Philadelphia. According to a 2018 report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, more than a quarter of Philadelphians — about 400,000 people — live below the poverty line, with Philadelphia's poverty rate ranking among the highest of the nation's largest cities. Codefest 2019 was the first hackathon in the city of Philadelphia to address economic inequality head on, with projects and challenges centering around the following categories:
- Financial literacy and security
- Food insecurity
- Environmental safety
- Digital divide
- Healthcare access and the opioid epidemic
- Affordable housing and homelessness
- Voter access
- Employment equity