UBC students organize gender-inclusive hackathon for third year in a row

On an Easter long weekend, over a hundred students gathered in a large, sun-lit room on campus. Rows of white foldable tables were arranged with just enough space for them to squeeze through and rejoin their small group. Laptop keyboards clacked away and iced lattes were consumed at a leisurely pace.  

Even though students were typing out lines of code in hopes of building something functional by the end of the 24 hours, this wasn’t a typical hackathon — this was a student-led hackathon that aimed to empower women and gender minorities.  

“Our goal is to build an inclusive space for students who are underrepresented in tech,” says Lucy Lu, a UBC Bachelor in Computer Science student and Co-Lead of this year’s youCode hackathon. “For people who are new to computer science, attending your first hackathon can be intimidating, so we wanted to create an event that allows students to work on a project and build experiences.” 

Nearly 80% of participants were women or gender diverse students, and many of them have never attended a hackathon before. In the week prior to the event, youCode organizers hosted various pre-hackathon workshops to help students, particularly those who are new to coding or hackathons, navigate the event. Volunteer mentors taught various topics such as using the collaborative interface design tool Figma, developing pitches, and doing front end and back end development. 

“Many hackathons don’t give beginners the opportunity to test things out and learn what they’re doing,” says Amara Oriaku, a UBC Sauder student in Business Technology Management and Co-Lead of youCode 2026. “What makes our hackathon unique is the growth aspect — we help provide resources so any student can build a minimally viable product.” 

As with youCode events in prior years, wellness was a central focus of this year’s hackathon. During the main event, participants could also join various activities to de-stress and connect with others, such as yoga breaks, a henna workshop, a clothing drive, a glitter tattoo station and a midnight run. 

Since 2024, UBC youCode has been an annual event in the spring, bringing together students from diverse backgrounds for a weekend of coding, teamwork, networking and fun. Supported by UBC’s Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism Enhancement (StEAR) Fund and various sponsors, this year’s hackathon had the theme of “Innovation for Equity and Community,” encouraging students to design technology that uplifts underrepresented groups. Hackathon participants chose from two challenges to build their projects around: technology for women’s wellbeing in shelters (in collaboration with Community Women’s Initiative) and strengthening BC’s nonprofit workforce (in partnership with SAP).  

This year, a total of 35 projects were completed. Winning projects included a nonprofit volunteer scheduling system, a multilingual communication tool for shelter workers and residents, and a discovery tool for low-cost or free children’s programs. Around a third of the projects will be further developed over the summer through the Diversity in CS Project Hub, an incubation program that provides student teams with additional resources and an industry mentor. 

“Seeing everything come together, with everyone hacking away and building and organizing in one big room, is really special,” says Lucy. “It was such a great way for people to get their foot in the door, learn how to network in tech spaces and meet mentors that can help them down the road. We all have to start somewhere — and having done one hackathon, the rest comes more easily.” 

“As a woman in computer science, sometimes I’m in spaces where I’m the only woman and I feel like I shouldn’t be there,” says Amara. “youCode opens up a new learning space for diverse groups of people and provides them with opportunity and support. We want to build for the greater good and to give back to the community that we are a part of.”