Behind cmd-f 2021
Interested in knowing what fun sheenagians took place at the largest all-women* hackathon in British Columbia? Read on to find out!
From March 6–7, 2021, nwPlus launched its third iteration of cmd-f, a hackathon for young women* of all skill levels, abilities and ages (woman* identifying university, high school students, and recent graduates (within one year of graduation) from all schools and backgrounds)!
Hackers from all across the globe joined us for a fun-filled weekend centred around growth, wellness and learning! We had informative workshops, self-care mini activities, enlightening panels and so many incredible opportunities to connect with like-minded, supportive women* in technology!
The nwPlus team acknowledges that “female” or “women” is not an accurate description for many people and it may make some feel unwelcome. We use * to specifically and intentionally include cis and trans women, as well as women-identifying non-binary, agender, or intersex people and other gender minorities.
What’s new about cmd-f this year?
Platform:
We launched cmd-f using Discord as our main communication platform this year, as unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we weren’t able to gather in person. Nevertheless, thanks to the help of many nwPlus members who dedicated hours of their time to creating various Discord bots, we were able to pull off a successful and organized event!
Learn weekend:
This year, cmd-f launched cmd-f learn a week before the hackathon, an event focused on building skills and introducing new concepts in technology to women* of all skill levels!
We were ecstatic to have 123+ verified learners from 50+ different schools, 79% of which were first time nwPlus workshop attendees!
A full recap of the workshops is below!
Prizes → Donations:
Instead of awarding prizes for winning projects and a placing system, we wanted to further our hackathon’s goal of learning and growth by implementing a donation for every submitted project to Devpost, regardless of completion. Hackers were able to choose from a curated list of charities to donate $50 to, for a total of $2350 towards all these notable causes!
Canadian Mental Health Association — $650
BC Children’s Hospital — $550
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre — $400
Girls Who Code — $300
Black Girls Code — $100
Malala Fund — $100
Sunrise Movement — $50
Food Bank NYC — $50
Equal Opportunity Schools — $50
Canadian Centre for Child Protection — $50
Thorn -$50
Focus on wellness and growth!
Although our annual event always strives to put the health and safety of our participants as first priority, hence the virtual event this year to comply with Government of British Columbia mandated guidelines, we added a little extra emphasis by making cmd-f 2021 wellness-themed!
We did this through:
- Implementation of a self-care Discord bot that sent messages periodically encouraging hackers to take care of themselves (e.g. hydration reminders, stretch break initiatives, etc.)
- Keynote panels and open discussion themed around wellness in technology with superstar advocates in technology!
- Various mini activities or events themed around wellness (e.g. Bullet journaling, stretching sessions, paint night)
- Donation-based prizing system as mentioned above, to celebrate the action of beginning a project, not necessarily the completion of one!
- Beginner friendly or all-levels workshops by the enthusiastic nwPlus team and our generous sponsors!
Let’s reminisce about cmd-f learn!
cmd-f Learn (February 27, 2021)
We kicked things off at Learn with an enlightening panel and launched into 5 awesome workshops on topics ranging from Git to Web Dev! Check out some of the events on our Youtube channel here.
9:00 AM PST: Opening Ceremonies
9:15 AM PST: Wellness in Technology Panel
Missed out on this discussion with our amazing panelists Juyoung, Isabel and Sarina in real time? Check it out here!
10:30 AM PST: Hackathons 101/ How To (Not) Hack At A Hackathon
11:30 AM PST: LUNCH BREAK
12:00 PM PST: Intro to Web Development
1:30 PM PST: Debugging
2:30 PM PST: Intro to Prototyping w/ UBC UX HUB
3:30 PM PST: Intro to Git
4:45 PM PST: Closing Ceremonies
What happened at cmd-f? (March 6–7, 2021)
The numbers behind cmd-f 2021:
250+ verified hackers!
110+ different schools!
48.9% first time hackers!
53% studying a non-CS field!
41 projects submitted!
9:30 AM PST: Opening Ceremonies
10:00 AM PST: Women* in Technology Panel
Aerica Shimizu Banks, Founder and Principal of Shiso and Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur, Jean Yang, founder and CEO of Akita Software, and Cinda Heeren, Associate Professor of Teaching at UBC’s Department of Computer Science, our moderator, came together for this engaging discussion covering a range of topics from imposter syndrome to the power of having a tribe of women* in technology! Give this inspirational panel a listen on Youtube here!
11:00 AM PST: Hacking Commences!!
11:00 AM — 12:30 PM PST: Sponsor Keynotes and Boothing
Our hackers were able to interact with sponsors in small group settings over Zoom!
A fun boothing session with BGC Engineering! We are so grateful for them and all other amazing companies from Skybox Labs, SAP, Groundswell Cloud Solutions and more, for taking time out of their day to chat with our attendees!
12:30 PM- 7:00 PM PST: Sponsored Workshops + Q&As!
We had a wealth of informative, educational workshops and q&as hosted by our sponsors throughout this time.
They included:
- Introduction to Working with Climate Change Data w/ BGC Engineering
- Apply Digital Talk
- CockroachDB API Workshop w/ Cockroach Labs
- How to Land Your Dream Job! w/ Scotiabank
- React/NodeJS Bootcamp w/ Telus
- The Anatomy of a Game w/ Kabam
- My First Job in Tech Workshop w/ Hootsuite
and more!
7:30 PM PST (SAT)- 12:30 PM PST (SUN): Mini Activities and more!
There were many fun events for hackers to take part in and we loved that attendees were able to chill and work on their wellness this weekend!
Some highlights:
- nwPlus Home Cafe Stream w/ Suzanne
- Interactive Discussion on Wellness in Tech w/ Ami and Medha — Sponsored by Kabam
- Guided Stretching w/ Elaine
- nwWoofs stream w/ Teddy, Teddy, Anita and Kevin!
- Bullet Journaling w/ Alex and Carmen
11:00 AM PST: Hacking Ends!
3:30 PM PST: Closing Ceremonies!
Our list of winners (in no particular order and everyone is a winner at cmd-f!) below + links to their projects on Devpost:
Best Domain Registered with Domain.com: A Toasty Space
Teck Resources: Best 1-Minute Pitch: Penny
Best Use of CockroachDB: FinWhiz
BGC Engineering — Computing for Climate: WaveNation
Arista — Human Connection: A Toasty Space
Skybox Labs — Celebrating women* in STEM: W*-apleStory
SAP — The Museum of Awesome Women
Kabam — Best UX/UI Design: ME2U
Best use of Google Cloud:
- 1st place winner — Food Baby
- 2nd place winner — Trash Talk
Scotiabank — Finwhiz
Telus — Women’s Health:
Groundswell — WeSPEAK
Hootsuite — Sharity
Apply Digital — Data-First Award: Kaizen
Pinnacle Prize: Sharity
One of our main initiatives for cmd-f this year was the increased intentional integration of Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of our events. We poured hours of thought, discussion and research to ensure women* feel welcome, supported, confident and that they belong in and are completely capable of shaping the future of this industry. With charity donations per project and a focus on wellness/self-care, cmd-f 2021 shifted away from the traditional pressures of hackathon completion. As a result, we saw an incredible increase in beginners and STEM newcomers stepping out to learn, network and grow. Whether you came as a hacker, mentor or supporter, thank you for joining us in a celebration of women*, we feel the impact you've contributed! — Shu Ting, Outgoing cmd-f Logistics Coordinator, Incoming President 2021
A BILLION THANKS to everyone who had a hand in making this event the success that it was!
- Our hackers!!! You are the reason why we do this, why the event is held, and why it brings us tremendous joy each and every year. We couldn’t thank you enough for taking time out of your weekend(s) to learn, create and grow with us!
- Our most incredible sponsors, for which we couldn’t have been able to hold the event without. Thank you for your tireless effort in helping us nurture and create a welcoming space for women-identifying individuals in technology.
- Our mentors, for being so eager and dedicated to help our hackers reach their full potential with all their amazing projects. Thank you for going above and beyond!
- Our panelists- Juyoung Song, Isabel Abonitalla and Sarina Abrishamcar from Learn. Aerica Shimizu Banks, Jean Yang and our terrific moderator, Cinda Heeren from cmd-f! Thank you for sparking such intentional, inspiring dialogue.
- All the incredible workshop hosts at Learn and cmd-f, such as UBC UX Hub, for putting on such engaging presentations!
- The rest of the cmd-f logistics team, the fearless, inspiring women* that I had the amazing privilege of working with: Joice, Christy, Shu Ting and Steph ❤
- The entire nwPlus team. It truly does take a village and I cannot thank each and everyone of you enough for all your hard work, dedication and effort into making cmd-f such an exhilarating experience for everyone!
the best team on the planet→ the faces behind cmd-f 2021!!
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