Media Contact
Jennifer Ellen French
Public Relations Manager
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
[email protected]
ATLANTA — Georgia State’s Social Action Alliance (SAA) invites students from all disciplines to participate in a weekend-long, multidisciplinary hackathon during which they will work in teams to develop solutions to metro Atlanta transportation and mobility issues. Registration closes Sept. 21.
Hack 4 Good, which is focused on pedestrian safety, safe streets, green spaces, and equity and infrastructure, will be held Sept. 23-25 at multiple campus locations, including the University Library’s Collaborative University Research and Visualization Environment (CURVE), LaunchGSU and the Creative Media Industries Institute EXLAB makerspace.
Up to 50 students will be provided the training and tools they need to compete, along with food and drink to fuel them through the weekend. Junior Achievement of Georgia’s Atlanta Discovery Center at the Georgia World Congress Center will host the awards program on Sunday, Sept. 25.
Hack 4 Good’s transportation sponsors — MARTA, State Farm, PROPEL ATL and others — will serve as advisers and provide data to students as they develop proposals for solutions to issues regarding health, safety, access and accessibility for the area’s transportation network during the event.
The SAA planned for the event with GSU Library’s Research Data Services, modeling one of the alliance’s key themes – collaboration – while infusing it with data literacy. Hack 4 Good has garnered additional support from the Center for Teaching and Online Learning (CETLOE), Robinson School of Business’ Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute and the Multicultural Center.
“It takes a village to solve a problem,” said Tammie Green, program director for the Social Action Alliance. “So, we’re offering our students a new type of hackathon. You don’t have to be an IT whiz to win, although you can be. We can’t wait to see the innovation generated by allowing hackers to propose solutions from a variety of skillsets.
“Our community partners are amazing networking contacts who will model cross-sector collaboration and introduce new ideas to help our students craft socially just solutions,” Green added, “and maybe even open doors for future jobs and internships.”
Hack 4 Good supports the overarching goals of the Social Action Alliance, a two-year program open to all Georgia State University undergraduates which aims to cultivate socially empathetic change makers to activate their strengths for the good of all. SAA is housed in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Applications open Sept. 19 for the next cohort. Click “Learn More” at https://socialaction.gsu.edu/.