CONESTOGA COLLEGE
Hackathon challenges students to develop apps that promote sustainability

Over 100 students participated in Conhacks, an annual hackathon that took place February 28 to March 2 at the college's Waterloo campus. Participants were organized into more than 20 teams and given 36 hours to develop an application that addressed one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Participants gather at the opening ceremony of Conhacks, and event that drew over 100 participants tasked with creating apps that promote sustainability.

The United Nations 17 SDGs are an urgent call for action to solve social and economic inequalities while tackling climate change and preservation of our oceans and forests. Conhacks focused on three SDGs (3: Good Health and Well-Being, 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) with a winning team named for each goal.  

"This event is focused on students of the School of Applied Computer Science & Information Technology. They have to build a project. They'll be given a theme. If they win, they get a $200 gift card but more importantly, it's about networking and building a community of like-minded people and applying the concepts they learn in class to real projects," said Anish Reddy, president of ConHacks and third-year Bachelor of Computer Science student who helped organize the event.

Team MRI of Rikhi Singh and Merrick Pilon, both second-year Computer Programming students, won in the Good Health and Well-Being category by developing CanHealth, a prototype application that sends a preliminary health plan to a health service provider based on user inputs of needs.

"This event provided a fantastic opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and receive valuable feedback from professors and industry experts. Conestoga has allowed us to create meaningful projects, such as our mental health initiative, which has the potential to benefit society," said Pilon. 

The Long Doubles, comprised of Sébastien Violette, Vraj Joshi, Maksym Sovyk and Daniel Peleg, all second-year IT Innovation and Design students, was the winner for Responsible Consumption and Production. The team developed MindSetGo, a web browser extension that estimates the environmental impact of purchases from eCommerce sites and recommends alternatives that are more environmentally friendly.

"This experience reinforced what we've always believed: with the right team and determination, MindSetGo can transcend just being a project -- it can become a vision for a sustainable future, empowering individuals to make eco-conscious choices that shape a better world," said Violette.

Team Bugs and Coders, which included second-year Computer Programming and Analysis students  Jacob Macphail-Mcaughey, Josh Proper, Paulo Medeiros and Aden Hirdes, won under the Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions goal. The group created PhiloCivil, which takes the user on a journey through the civil lives of countries around the world and promotes knowledge of world institutions and cultures through a series of Kahoot-like quizzes.

"Our 2025 Conhacks was a great kick-off for Conestoga's SDG Week. This event highlighted the importance of innovation, collaboration and hands-on learning while empowering students to create solutions that move us closer to achieving the United Nations SDGs," said David Allison, chair, School of Applied Computer Science & Information Technology.

"Students participating in this weekend event expanded their knowledge and technical skills. They built confidence, resilience, teamwork and problem-solving skills that prepare them for success in the tech industry."

The college's SDG week featured workshops, panels and other interactive programming to showcase commitment to a sustainable future, mobilize knowledge and encourage collaboration.

Conestoga's School of Applied Computer Science & Information Technology offers a 21st-century education that prepares graduates for exciting careers in the innovative world of information and communications technology. Project-based and work-integrated learning enables students to solve real-world problems and engage in new technologies that empower a professional journey in a rapidly growing sector.