Photos

Slides for the day

Wes Turner's slides

Playlist

Winners and Judges (full announcement can be seen here https://hvtechfest.com/open-data-ai-hackathon-winners)

1. GoTo (FIRST PLACE) - Eric Lin, Matthew Lin, Zachary Lin, Weihao Wu (recording)

2. Apollo (SECOND PLACE) - Alissa Ye, @Sreeja Barua, @Haasini Potluri, Peter Fraser, Michael Opoku Adomfeh (recording)

3. Budget IQ / Vision Track (THIRD PLACE) - @Prem kumar Talamanchipatnam Prem Kumar, Kevin George (recording)

4. Latis - Honorable mentions - @Dakshesh Amaram, @David Zhao, @Priscilla Wong, Kaeshev Alapati, Rijul Verma (recording)

5. Redroute - Honorable mentions -  Tazeem Mahashin (recording)

Innovating. Collaborating. Making A Difference.

April 4th, 2026 | RPI Campus

• Participants Sign Up

• Join HVTechFest Slack channel

Two Ways to Make an Impact

Tech Community: Sharpen your tech talent on real world problems that affect our region

Come for a fun day of problem-solving innovation and collaboration that also looks great on your resume.

PSA: This is a unique opportunity to create your dream job. Pick the problem you want to solve, and let your vision and pitch prove that you’re the one to hire. Or sweet twist… Catalyze your pitch and team into a startup and get hired to solve the problem as an outside vendor.

Government Agencies & Municipalities: Bring us your toughest civic challenges and get ready to think outside of the box, hiring the next generation of genius.

This is where public sector problems meet innovative minds. One day. Real challenges. Implementable solutions.

Theme: From Data to Action

We're generating data. We're collecting data. How can we USE this data with the power of AI in innovative ways to benefit our community?

For Government Agencies & Municipalities

Pitch Your Challenge. Get Solutions. Recognize the winners

Drowning in data but starving for insights? Sitting on spreadsheets that could save money, improve services, or transform how residents interact with government? It's time to turn that data into action with the power of AI and the creativity of the Hudson Valley tech community.

What You Get:

• Multiple solution approaches developed in a single day

• Diverse teams combining AI expertise, professional experience, and youthful innovation

• Direct collaboration with teams who understand civic tech

• Connection to talent who care about public service

• Implementable prototypes with real community impact

What We Need From You:

• A clearly defined civic challenge (5-minute pitch)

• Relevant data or guidance on accessing it

• Your expertise and feedback throughout the day

• Openness to unexpected solutions

Example Challenges: Traffic data → safer streets. Budget spreadsheets → transparent visualizations. Environmental sensors → predictive prevention. Service requests → optimized delivery. Constituent feedback → actionable insights. Departmental silos → connected intelligence.

For the Tech Community

Solve Real Problems. Build Your Portfolio. Launch Your Impact.

Choose a challenge that matters. Work with government partners who need your skills. Create solutions that could actually be implemented.

What You Get:

• Real-world experience solving authentic civic challenges

• Cross-generational teams blending professionals with students

• Direct access to government stakeholders and decision-makers

• Hands-on workshops on AI integration and civic tech

• Recognition and prizes plus implementation pathways

• Informal networking that leads to jobs, internships, and partnerships

Who You Are: Developers • Data Scientists • Designers • Students • Recent Grads • Product Managers • Civic Tech Enthusiasts • All Skill Levels Welcome

A Day of Intensive Innovation

• 9:00 AM | Registration & Networking: Teams form and stakeholders arrive.

• 9:30 AM | Opening session: Intro to The Challenge

• 10:00 AM | Challenge Pitches: Government and partners present real-world civic problems.

• 10:30 AM | Teams formation / Recruiting

• 11:00 AM | Hacking Begins: Intensive building supported by AI workshops and technical mentors.

• 4:00 PM | Solution Presentations: Teams pitch their prototypes to a panel of experts.

• 5:00 PM | Judging & Awards: Recognizing solutions that are innovative and, most importantly, implementable.

• 6:00 PM | Reception: A focus on networking, hiring, and long-term partnerships.

Our Proven Formula

🔧 Hi-Tech Meets Low-Tech

• Google Gemini and AI tools alongside whiteboards and practical prototyping. The best solution is the one that works.

🤝 Professionals + Youth + Government

• Experience meets fresh perspective meets real-world context. This is three-way collaboration at its best.

💼 Gateway to Opportunities

• Youth demonstrate skills organically. Professionals expand networks. Agencies discover talent. Authentic connections, no stiff interviews.

🚀 Entrepreneurial Mindset

• From prototype to implementation. The best projects could become real startup initiatives serving the Hudson Valley.

🌟 Collaborative Problem-Solving

• Government and YOU—that's who defines the need. Tech builds the solution. Together, you create civic innovation. You are welcome to pitch the challenge... If you see something, say something.

The event will take place on April 4th, 2026 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. This is an event hosted by GDG Hudson Valley, GDG Capital Region and GDG on Campus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Google Women Techmakers.

We are expecting approximately 250+ attendees from local colleges, universities and the tech community in Hudson Valley, NY.

• Participants Sign Up

• Mentors, Judges and Volunteers Sign Up

• Call for Speakers for 2026 (all events)

• Sponsorship opportunities and Sponsors Sign-Up

• Join HVTechFest Slack channel
  

* * *

For the purpose of the Hackathon preparation we are going to introduce a few Watch-at-Your-Own-Pace tutorials:

• Logan Kilpatrick, lead PM for Google's AI Studio, providing a demonstration of Google's AI capabilities.

• DevFest Troy '25: Allen Firstenberg: Unleash your AI Canvas Creations with Google's Nano Banana

• DevFest Troy '25: Christopher Smith: LLMs from the command line, A simple, ugly, overpowered tool

• DevFest Troy '25: Alice Keeler: Extending Google Workspace with Gemini API,

• DevFest Troy '25: Roman Jaquez: Beyond Chatbots: Unlocking Gemini's Potential through Flutter,

• DevFest Troy '25: Ed Pollack: How Analytic Data is Stored in Google BigQuery and Everywhere Else

• DevFest Troy '25:  Alice Keeler: Using Gemini with AppSheet,

• DevFest Troy '25: Karthigayan Devan:  Building Production Ready AI Agent with Vertex AI Agent Builder,

In addition we are share several AI specific talks from our DevFest 2024  - you might find these useful for the Hackathon or your ongoing AI journey.

• DevFest Troy '24 - Alice Keeler: Gemini Your Data: Ignite AI insights in Google Workspace 

• DevFest Troy '24 - Joe Spiro: Beyond "Set and Forget". Advanced Debugging with Firebase Crashlytics

• DevFest Troy '24 - Joe Kovach: Gen AI as a Hilarious Horror Adventure Film with Alternative Outcome

• DevFest Troy '24 - Jennifer Sertl: Communication as Competitive Advantage

• DevFest Troy '24 - Alice Keeler: AppSheet & Gemini: AI-powered Duo for Next-Level No-Code App Dev

• DevFest Troy '24 - Alice Keeler: Building Custom Solutions with Google Apps Script and Gemini

• DevFest Troy '24 - Ajeeb George: How LLMs Work

• DevFest Troy '24 - Deepa Subramanian: TenzorFlow.js: The JavaScript Jed's Guide to ML

• DevFest Troy '24 - Deepa Subramanian: Building Angular-Gemini AI Chatbot for Customer Interactions

• DevFest Troy '24 - Christopher Smith: Enterprise-grade evals in 15 minutes with open-source tools

FREE PARKING: By default everyone can park in the parking garage just off of College Avenue. It's a short walk to the Darrin Communications Center. 
Parking Address: 59 College Ave, Troy, NY 12180.

Be sure to check-in with our organizers at the organizing team table in the front of the DCC. Participants will be given a wrist band at check-in which will grant access to food, and activities. Check-in is open throughout the event!