Hacker Academy

Hacker Academy is a group of students who are passionate about technology, sharing of information within a community, and hands-on learning. We hold weekly NET talks (News, Engineering, and Technology) in which our members or guest speakers can give a short presentation on a technical subject (typically related to computer engineering). Each semester, we hold two Dojos, where our members compete in a timed programming contest against each other. We also hold a yearly web/mobile app building Hackathon event.

We encourage our members to attend events that are of interest to them, and we try to create a club that does not require a strict commitment from its members. We have a core group of 30 'regular members' who attend most of our NET talks throughout the year. Typically, 15-30 people attend each of our NET talks, with 20-45 attending each Dojo. Our Hackathons have had roughly 100 attendees each year.

Hacker Academy’s weekly NET talks (News, Engineering, and Technology) expose our members to a wide variety of technical subjects related to computer engineering, ranging from mobile software development to optimization of computer hardware. This also provides an environment in which our members can develop their ability to explain technical subjects, as well as their public speaking skills. Hacker Academy also encourages its members to work on side projects (typically in software development); the initiative required to start and finish projects independently is a valuable asset in engineering leadership.

Our monthly Dojo programming competitions and Hackathon event allows our members to apply their software engineering and problem solving skills in a competitive environment. It also allows our members to experience time-limited software development, something quite common in the software industry.