A hackathon is a technology-focused event where individuals and teams work on new projects in a short period of time. You can build anything you want. An app, a robot, a website. The only limit is your imagination!

People of a variety of genders are underrepresented in the tech world, and it’s up to everyone to change that! Technica’s goal is to create a welcoming environment where people from underrepresented genders can build cool projects and share their stories! You can learn more about gender diversity here.

No, you don’t need ANY coding experience to participate! If you do, that’s great! If you don’t, that’s also great! Students of all skill levels are encouraged to attend, even if you’ve never written a line of code. We’re very beginner friendly and are prepared to teach you everything you need to learn right here. We also have a beginners track to further help beginner coders start their tech journey!

Technica will be held from November 13-14th 2021 over a 24 hour period.

This year Technica will be integrating a hybrid model as we continue adapting through the pandemic. This means Technica will be held both online and in-person - not just at UMD!

If you attend UMD, UMBC, Towson, or any other University of Maryland System school, you can attend Technica in-person. This decision was made per UMD guidelines to ensure the health and safety of our participants. All participants will have the opportunity to hack virtually!

A hybrid hackathon is a hackathon that provides the ability to attend both in-person and virtually. This year, Technica is pioneering the concept of a hybrid hackathon in order to maintain the electric atmosphere of an in-person hackathon that our community knows and loves, but also expand the ability to participate to hackers regardless of location.

Anyone who identifies as a marginalized gender including, but not limited to, cisgender women, transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals, gender neutral individuals, genderqueer individuals, agender individuals, pangender individuals, or a gender who are otherwise underrepresented in tech may register as a hacker! All ages are welcome. Additionally, all participants must follow the MLH code of conduct and Technica code of conduct.

All in-person attendees must be vaccinated without exception. The event will be following University of Maryland and Maryland state social distancing and mask mandates active at the time of the event.

Technica is FREE for all participants, thanks to our amazing sponsors! Participation includes a lot of free gear and swag!

If you attend a University of Maryland System school (e.g. UMD, UMBC, Towson, Bowie State, Morgan State, etc), you are eligible to attend Technica in-person and therefore be reimbursed for travel to and from Technica!

Technica will not be sending buses to schools this year due to COVID but instead offering ground travel (i.e. Uber/Lyft rides, Amtrak tickets, Metro, gas) reimbursements of up to $100 per hacker. If your travel costs more than $100, we will review it on a case-by-case basis.

Technica in-person is being held at the Reckord Armory at 4490 Rossborough Ln, College Park, MD 20742. Doors open for check-in at 8 AM!

You may park in Lot 1 on the University of Maryland campus for free on both Saturday and Sunday! You can find the campus parking map here.

Please keep in mind that you must be a University of Maryland System student to attend Technica in-person.

Under 18 and still want to code with us? Don’t worry! Technica is very minor friendly; we have accommodations for participants under 18!

You can work on a project on your own, or you can work with a team. Teams can be formed prior to the day of the hackathon with other participants, or at the team formation event before official hacking begins.

You can meet other hackers in the Technica 2021 Slack workspace. Weekend-of, we'll offer a team formation event in which you can use gotechnica.org/teamformationform to list your preferences and gotechnica.org/teamformationsheet to view potential team members.

Team size must not exceed four members, per MLH rules.

In-person hackers will receive swag at UMD, and US-based virtual hackers will be sent swag after Technica if they attend 2 or more workshops. You can earn additional items by attending more workshops!

If you have any special needs you feel our organizers should be aware of or other questions or concerns, please chat with us in the bottom right-hand corner or email hello@gotechnica.org.

Registration for Technica 2021 is closed as of November 12, 2021 EST! Happy hacking!