2 UBC CS students were on the winning team in a Rogers-hosted hackathon
In a splendid display of innovation and collaboration, nine student teams from the University of British Columbia (UBC) competed at a Rogers Hackathon, Oct. 4-6.
The event, which took place on UBC’s home turf, was part of an exciting initiative to showcase the potential of 5G technology and was sponsored by Rogers, Ericsson, GSMA, the UBC Bookstore, and UBC itself.
The hackathon was a part of the 5G Partnership between Rogers and UBC and focused on exploring the transformative capabilities of 5G through Network APIs, with an emphasis on solving real-world challenges related to identity, fraud prevention, and privacy. Students were tasked with developing applications that harness the power of 5G, presenting their solutions to a distinguished panel of judges after 48 hours of intense collaboration.
The hackathon saw participation from students from multiple departments within UBC, such as Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Commerce, Engineering Physics, and the Sauder business school. The top three teams ranked very closely, and the fourth-place team received an honourable mention. Among the winning team members were UBC Computer Science students Mohit Bhagchandani and Connor Won. Their innovative solution impressed both judges and participants, demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary teamwork.
Aastha Mehta, a UBC Computer Science professor and one of the hackathon’s panel judges, spoke highly of the event and the creativity displayed by the student teams. “It was truly inspiring to see the diversity of ideas and the innovative use of 5G technology,” Aastha remarked. “It was a fascinating experience to see diverse perspectives from industry, business, and CS folks on the 5G application scenarios pitched by all the teams. I was extremely impressed with the energetic and enthusiastic students from multiple departments within UBC working collaboratively.” Aastha, who has a research background in networking, systems, and security, was a natural fit for the panel.
The Rogers Innovation and Partnership Team, who also served as event judges, echoed this sentiment: “We are super excited for the world of APIs. The students at UBC never cease to amaze me. Such creative ideas for new applications enabled by our network APIs—all in less than 48 hours!”
When asked about the significance of participating in such hackathons, Aastha expressed how much value she believes it can add for students, “Hackathons are great opportunities for generating new ideas. While it’s possible to create small prototypes in a short span of time like in a hackathon, scaling the ideas require a dedicated and much more long-term effort with solid grounding in technical knowledge. Fortunately, there are ample opportunities within the university to seek out mentoring to bring ideas like these to life.”
The Rogers Hackathon was not only a celebration of technological innovation but also a testament to the strength of collaboration between UBC and industry. The competition highlights how combining the knowledge of students from various disciplines—computer science, engineering, and business—can lead to solutions that are both technically advanced and commercially viable. It also highlights the university’s thriving innovation ecosystem and the opportunities available for those willing to jump in and push the boundaries of what’s possible.