Ten teams comprised of students and professionals took home awards at the 10th annual Philly Codefest (March 11 and 12), presented by Comcast and hosted by Drexel’s College of Computing & Informatics (CCI).
This year’s theme, “AI Everywhere,” focused exclusively on developing novel hardware and software solutions to ensure AI’s safety and positive impacts on society, including in focus areas such as fintech, cryptocurrency & blockchain; cybersecurity; bias and ethical implications of AI; healthcare; accessibility; and environmental impact.
Participants quickly formed teams and worked on software and hardware hacks in CCI’s space at 3675 Market Street on March 11, and finally presented their projects to judges in the Quorum at 3675 Market Street on March 12.
The event culminated with remarks from CCI Dean and Isaac L. Auerbach Professor Yi Deng, PhD, followed by a keynote speech from Executive Vice President, CTO & CIO of Comcast Cable Rick Rioboli to more than 415 attendees. The event also included a gaming tournament hosted by the Drexel Gaming Association, sponsor booths, networking opportunities for participants as well as a Comcast Lounge.
In addition to presenting sponsor Comcast, Philly Codefest 2023 was made possible by Fincons Group, BrickSimple, CIC, Technical.ly, the Phillies, Lutron, Bloomberg, SAP, Put Nature Back, and Monster Energy.
View photos of the event on Drexel CCI's Facebook page.
A panel of judges – comprised of Drexel faculty and professional staff, Comcast representatives and tech community leaders – selected the following projects as winners of Philly Codefest 2023 (demos/descriptions are linked within project names):
Donator Pro (Philly Codefest 2023 Student Team award)
Members: Alex Zavalny, Richard Briggs, Shehryar Usman, Mustafa Eren, Vatsal Jain
What it is: An app that encourages donators to give and give more efficiently, helps people in need get food and clothing as fast as possible, and helps donation centers properly manage inventory and not waste supplies.
Meddibia (Philly Codefest 2023 Collaborative Team award)
Members: Dishika Goel, Ebubechukwu Enwerem, Tony Okeke, Dalu Okonkwo, Michael Moemeke, Victor Uzo
What it is: A tool that uses AI to help people in rural communities with healthcare.
TALK2ME (Philly Codefest 2023 Best Hack for Social Good award)
Members: Kaidarov Amir, Nathan Xaysena, Channacy Un
What it is: An app that uses AI to help language learners practice their skills.
ColourfulCounseling 2 (Philly Codefest 2023 Freshmen Challenge award)
Members: Celine Pham, Sylvie Danes
What it is: a website that uses art to help users process their emotions.
Easy Mail (Philly Codefest 2023 Most Innovative Hack and Comcast’s Use AI to Make My Meeting More Efficient Challenge)
Members: Maryann Okolo, Gerald Okolo, Lida Susan Sabu
What it is: An AI productivity tool that scans, sorts, summarizes, and categorizes email.
Lighthouse (Philly Codefest 2023 Best Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - DEI Hack)
Members: Sabine Mejia, Trinity Kleckner, Kai Britt, Ahmed Haj Ahmed
What it is: An app to help refugees in the United States find resources to meet immediate needs and work towards long-term goals.
Mock&Roll (Philly Codefest 2023 Most Creative Hack and Fincons Group Finding Trusted Sources Challenge)
Members: Nam Dao, Nom Phan, Hieu Dang, Tung Tran, Sam Nguyen, Tri Truong
What it is: An app that prepares mock job interviews.
Apple Juice (Comcast Applied AI Challenge)
Members: Ryan Brosius, William Dorman, Abby Hatcher, Cameron Romero, Seth Richards
What it is: A website that uses ChatGPT and DALL-E to troubleshoot any prompt or issue you put into it.
Retained (Comcast Build and AI-ML Model for Customer Journey Optimization Challenge)
Members: Amadin Ahmed, Amin Ahmed
What it is: A tool to predict if customers will stay on your platform.
AR Troubleshooter (Comcast AR Challenge)
Members: Jay Lee, Jeesung Ahn, Mahima Modi
What it is: An AR application to troubleshoot internet issues.
Read more about the winners and the event on Technical.ly’s website.