Diversity Hackathon
The Diversity Hackathon (DivHack) is an interdisciplinary, 24-hour event that challenges students to come up with creative solutions to problems related to diversity and inclusion. The mission of the event is to stimulate dialogue on the Texas A&M University campus and beyond among students, faculty and staff in a creative, collaborative and interdisciplinary environment.
DivHack challenges participants to imagine a future campus without physical, technological, digital, cultural, or psychological barriers. We want to peek into the future through the imagination and innovation of our participants.
The School of Architecture Diversity Council has partnered with multiple campus units and student organizations over since 2014 to host hackathons, including:
- College of Education and Human Development
- College of Engineering
- Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES)
- College of Geosciences
- Department of Geography
- School of Architecture ITS
- TAMU Libraries, GIS & Maps
- Department of Multicultural Services
- Office of Sustainability
- The 12th Can
- Matthew Gaines Initiative
- Latinx Graduate Student Association
- Persian Student Association
- Student Government Association – Disability Subcommission
- Cultural Awareness and Diversity Expansion Team (C.A.D.E.T. – a leadership program of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets)
Past Events
DivHack 2021: Inclusion in the Virtual Era
In 2020, the way we interacted with the world radically changed as we reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, DivHack ’21 asked participants to address inclusion issues in digital and virtual spaces.
DivHack 2020: 50 Years of Building Inclusive Communities
The 2019-2020 academic year marked the 50th anniversary of the Texas A&M School of Architecture. As part of this celebration, the DivHack 2020 involved multiple campus units and student organizations to raise challenges to participants on topics related to diversity and inclusion.
DivHack ‘19: Bridging Differences
In February 2019, Div Hack ‘19 asked participants “how could we better learn and appreciate the differences within our campus and communities, including social, cultural, physical, political, and religious differences?” Challengers from 2019 include University Libraries, Corps of Cadets’ Cultural Awareness and Diversity Expansion Team, Class of 2019 President, students from Visualization department, and the Matthew Gaines Initiative.
DivHack ‘18: Diversifying Space & Place
In February 2018, the Hackathon asked for innovative ideas on how to creatively diversify spaces on the Texas A&M campus. Students were challenged to use the skills and knowledge of their disciplines to imagine the Texas A&M campus of the future, where accommodations are not add-ons and after-thoughts, but integral to the physical and digital fabric of the university.
TAMU Diversity Accessibility Hackathon 2017
The third Hackathon focused on accessibility on the TAMU campus. The Diversity Council, the College of Education and Human Development, and TAMU Libraries joined forces to hold the event. Students were challenged to imagine a future campus without physical, technological, digital, cultural or psychological barriers.
B/CS Diversity Open Data Build Day: 2016
The first event was a success, so in 2016 the partners organized a second iteration: Bryan/College Station Diversity Build Day, rebranded to attract more architecture students. The event challenged students to identify ways to increase inclusion in our community, engaging the City of Bryan, the City of College Station and local stakeholders.
Diversity Open Data Hackathon: 2014
In 2014, a small group of architecture students, led by Bara Safarova, suggested that the college organize a hackathon to visualize publicly-available data related to diversity that are held by TAMU. The Diversity Council together with the Center for the Study of Digital Libraries provided funding for prizes and other resources to deliver the first Diversity Hackathon. The event challenged student teams to produce visualizations of publicly available datasets collected by Texas A&M’s Data and Research Services.