CREATE and our partners hold a few hackfests/hackathons each year. These events are intended to be fun, challenging, and accessible opportunities to generate new research ideas, pursue solutions to accessibility problems, work with mentors and peers, and gain new skills.
Upcoming hackfests
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PAST HACKFESTS & HACKATHONS
2026 CREATE Accessibility Hackathon
We are excited to announce the 2026 CREATE Accessibility Hackathon at the UW Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering! Friday, July 31 and Saturday, August 1 Bill and Melinda Gates Center (CSE2) | Directions and Parking Building Accessibility FAQs | Contact Register for this free event Everyone is welcome; Not just for…
Adaptive Solutions Mini-Hackathon: 2026 Recap
February 26, 2026 In January, CREATE and HuskyADAPT teamed up with the King County Library System (KCLS) to host a mini-hackathon to brainstorm and prototype solutions to accessibility problems. After an introduction to five real-world requests submitted by the disability community, participants self-selected their projects and got to work building their prototypes. These diverse teams…
Hackfest project for children with cerebral palsy goes on to win design awards
January 29, 2026 Internationally recognized research to address a real-world need got its start at a CREATE hackfest. In 2024, students Lige Yang and Richard Li teamed up at the CREATE AI+Accessibility Hackfest to explore the concept of an AI tool that could monitor a person’s seated position, identify when they are in a posture…
HuskyADAPT Mini Hackathon: Adaptive Solutions
November 18, 2024 This month, CREATE's ARRT postdocs and HuskyADAPT students collaborated to put on an impressive and successful hackathon. The team worked with our partners King County Library Systems and Washington Assistive Technology Act Program on the event where teams designed adaptations to everyday challenges for people with disabilities. All six teams came up with…
CREATE AI+Accessibility Hackfest - Winter '24
March 6, 2024 In March 2024, CREATE students gathered with industry and community partners for a hackfest to explore and invent the future of AI and Accessibility. The event featured invited speakers Heather Nolis, Ian Stenseng, and Shaun Kane and exciting workshops on building custom GPT and creating accessible Jupyter notebooks. Attendees brainstormed on ideas submitted…