Hack-A-House 2021

Hack-A-House is a 24-hour live, online, “hackathon”-style competition, hosted by Ivory Innovations, a center created to tackle the affordable housing crisis that the United States currently faces, based at the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. Students will be given a prompt at 12 pm MT on September 24th and will have 24 hours to complete and submit their project. Teams may consist of one student and have a maximum of five students. The contestants must provide the judges with an innovative solution to a problem that directly affects housing affordability. Through innovation, participants can help solidify economic opportunity for vulnerable populations in their communities and beyond.

Entities at seven leading universities are co-sponsoring the competition: The University of Utah, UC Berkeley, The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, Washington State University, The University of Denver, Howard University, and The University of Miami. There is no limit to the number of student teams able to participate from each University and students from all accredited colleges and universities are encouraged to participate as well.

Students must select one of three categories to compete in: Finance, Policy & Regulatory Reform, or Construction & Design. Teams will tailor their solutions to fit whichever category they have selected, although students are encouraged to have elements of multiple categories as part of their solution. The competition will be judged by members of the Ivory Prize Advisory Board, faculty from all participating universities, and industry experts. Judges will be assigned to specific categories based on their particular field of expertise. Ideas will be judged first on the feasibility of the solution and second on the uniqueness of the proposal. Teams are encouraged to pursue innovative and scalable solutions which cross sectors and can be applied broadly to a segment of the housing market in addition to fitting the parameters provided the day of the competition. All students are encouraged to apply no matter their experience or background!

Four prizes will be awarded, totaling $10,000:

• First place in Finance - $3,000
• First place in Policy & Regulatory Reform - $3,000
• First place in Construction & Design - $3,000
• People’s Choice Award - $1,000

Once the competition begins, participants can access a wide array of online resources that will help them tackle the issue and prepare their presentations. These will include links to informative articles and short videos featuring expert practitioners and faculty discussing key issues.

Now accepting registrations: https://ivory-innovations.org/hackahouse

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