Keep Calm and Hackathon
AI continues to transform how we work, teach, and learn. After introducing Zoom Companion AI and PhoenixAI (a secure, in-house ChatGPT system) to our campus, UChicago IT Services set out to expand our use of AI in our organization, foster confidence in AI coding to tackle real-world problems, and explore the art of the possible. Most of us in ITS are not developers. With that in mind, the ITS Hackathon team designed an event that explicitly includes people who have never written a line of code, allowing them to focus on what they do best: solve problems. Participants received pre-hackathon guidance on applying the software development life cycle and installing and using Claude Code as a guide. During the hackathon, mentors provided guidance to teams for how to get past roadblocks and introduce options for expanding prototype functionality. A post-hackathon survey allowed respondents to request a Claude Code license, supporting AI exploration after the event. This session is designed for IT leaders, instructional technologists, and anyone looking to host inclusive AI events. We will cover why and how we organized the hackathon, share the tools we used, highlight some of the prototypes that were created, and reflect on what we learned along the way. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for organizing inclusive AI events, building confidence in non-developers, and encouraging collaboration.
Presenters
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Val Archambeau
Director of Communication Technology Services,
University of Chicago
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Astrid Fingerhut
IAM Solutions & Operations Manager,
University of Chicago
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Tom Kompare
Manager of Application Development,
University of Chicago
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Arjun Lagisetty
It manager,
University of Chicago