One Purpose
Come in with an idea or find a team here, spend the day building, and leave with something you can actually show off.
About
305 HackShells is a Swift Club at FIU hackathon built for ambitious student makers.
Hosted by Swift Club at FIU, 305 HackShells brings together students who want to build real products in a focused, high-energy format. The event is especially strong for students interested in Swift, iOS, Android, Xcode, Google tools, Amazon technologies, UI and UX design, design systems, app prototyping, frontend, backend, and polished demos. Students are also encouraged to use AI tools and vibe-coding workflows to move faster while still building thoughtful, creative, and working products.
Hack Structure
On the day of the hackathon, you will know what to build, how the day flows, and where to go when you need help.
Hackathon Prompt
Build for law, compliance, and cybersecurity.
Start building from one of these competition tracks. Your project can be an app, website, AI helper, dashboard, prototype, or workflow tool, as long as your demo clearly shows the problem and how your solution works.
The check-mark ideas below are sample starter projects and directions to help you get started building. You do not need to follow every example exactly.
Competition 1 - 305 LawTech & Compliance Build Hackathon
Build a simple app, website, AI helper, or secure workflow tool that solves a law, compliance, privacy, or policy-related problem.
Sample starter project ideas
Create a product that helps users understand rules, complete forms, track requirements, or stay organized with important legal or compliance steps.
Design a beginner-friendly system that improves trust, accountability, documentation, or responsible decision-making.
Turn the idea into a working demo that clearly shows how the solution helps people navigate law, compliance, or institutional processes more easily.
Competition 2 - 305 Cybersecurity & Digital Trust Challenge
Build a tool, dashboard, assistant, or prototype that helps protect users, devices, accounts, or data from digital threats.
Sample starter project ideas
Create a solution focused on phishing awareness, identity protection, secure access, privacy controls, threat alerts, or safer online behavior.
Design a beginner-friendly cybersecurity project with one strong core feature that improves digital safety for students, schools, teams, or communities.
Show a working demo that clearly explains the problem, the security risk, and how your solution helps reduce it.
Competition 3 - 305 Risk, Compliance Analytics / Data Science
Create a dashboard that explains patterns in compliance status, security incidents, privacy risks, audit readiness, or policy-related trends.
Sample starter project ideas
Analyze a public, institutional, or business dataset and turn it into clear charts, findings, and recommendations related to law, compliance, or cybersecurity.
Build a beginner-friendly data project that compares risks across time, categories, departments, or user behavior.
Show how data can help a school, team, business, or organization make smarter decisions about safety, compliance, and operational risk.
How to start
Pick one competition, define one real problem, and focus on one strong core feature. Your project can be code-heavy, prototype-driven, AI-assisted, design-forward, or data-centered, but it should clearly demonstrate the value of the idea and how a real user would benefit from it.
Experience
The 305 HackShells experience is built to help students connect quickly, build confidently, and demo something real by the end of the day.
Team Formation
Students should be able to join solo, meet others quickly, and find collaborators across Swift, design, and product roles.
Build Support
Mentor sessions, beginner pathways, and technical checkpoints make the event feel welcoming to both iOS-curious students and experienced builders.
Demo Focus
The page should signal that the end goal is a real app concept, a polished demo, and something worth showing by the end of the day.
12-Hour Flow
You will know where to be, what to work on, and what comes next throughout the day.
7:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Check-in, opening announcements, prompts, team formation, mentor check-ins, and early building
Participants arrive in designated reserved spaces to meet and build with their teams, check in starting at 7 AM and continuing through the day, get settled, review the kickoff details unveiled on this page, explore the hackathon prompts, form teams quickly, connect with mentors, and begin building with momentum.
11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Focused build blocks, mentor check-ins, fast iteration, project polish, submissions, and lunch at 2 PM
Teams spend most of the day prototyping, debugging, and improving their project with mentor support, then use the later part of the block for project polish and submissions. Lunch is provided at 2 PM.
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Judging, closing recognition, networking, dinner, and snacks
The final stretch focuses on judging, recognition, networking time, dinner, and snacks as the event wraps up.
Judge Evaluation Timeline
Important judging, submission, and winner announcement dates for 305 HackShells.
Judges, participants, and organizers should use these dates to track when evaluation opens, when Session B closes, when live demos are available, and when winners will be announced.
Evaluation Form Window
The judge evaluation will be open from April 25, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST through May 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.
Session B Submission Deadline
Session B (in-person with a $500 USD prize) submissions via the Devpost submission portal will close on April 10, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST. You are not required to build your project at the venue, but you may build it anywhere on the FIU campus. Attendance will be taken on April 10, 2026 from 2:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST to be eligible to participate for the $500 USD prize. Your live demo presentation is required. If you need accommodations, please reach out to the organizer team.
Session A Submission Deadline
Session A submissions via the Devpost submission portal will close on April 29, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST.
Live Demo Window
Live demos for Sessions A and B will be available only on April 10, 2026 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EST.
Winner Announcement
Winners for Sessions A and B will be announced on May 6, 2026.
Session A and B 305 HackShells Apr '26 Live Demo Results
Watch live demo results and judging scores once the April 2026 review window opens.
Open Live Demo ResultsAvailable once evaluation opens on April 25, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST. Scores will update regularly until May 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST. Final scores will appear after that.
Meet The Organizers
Meet the team helping 305 HackShells run smoothly.
Santiago Morales
VP of Swift Club at FIU and event operations lead
Santiago Morales, VP of Swift Club at FIU, helps guide the overall vision, structure, and operations of 305 HackShells so the event feels organized, welcoming, and aligned with the club's student community.
Jaed Pizarro
VP of Swift Club at FIU, Technical Lead, and Program Manager
Jaed Pizarro, VP of Swift Club at FIU, leads the technical experience and program coordination, helping shape workshops, mentor support, build guidance, and the overall flow that keeps participants moving forward.
Alfredo Ibanez
Onboarding, outreach, and participant support
Alfredo Ibanez helps create a friendlier participant experience through outreach, onboarding, and student support so more people feel comfortable joining, connecting, and building at 305 HackShells.
Ela Cingir
Student Ambassador
Ela Cingir helps represent the student community, build awareness around 305 HackShells, and support stronger engagement across the Swift Club at FIU experience.
Sponsored By
Sponsor space helps position 305 HackShells as a real Swift Club event.
Primary Sponsors
Partners help 305 HackShells create a stronger participant experience through mentorship, prizes, resources, and visibility.
Cloud Partner
Education Partner
Community Sponsor
Community Partners
Community partners help bring in students, mentors, technical support, and campus energy across the event.
Student Clubs
Campus Partners
Mentor Network
Swift Club at FIU
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
You are welcome even if you are not planning to submit a project and just want to learn from sessions, explore tools, or meet new people.
Do I need prior hackathon experience?
No. 305 HackShells is designed to be welcoming for first-time participants as well as returning builders.
Can I join without a team?
Yes. You can join solo and form a team at the event. Teams can have 1 to 4 people max.
Is there a prize for the winning team?
Yes. Only in-person participants are eligible for the $500 Amazon prize of choice, value includes taxes. Restrictions apply, and the project must meet all project submission requirements to be selected as the winner.
What kinds of projects fit 305 HackShells?
Apps, prototypes, startup concepts, creative software, and student-focused tools are all a strong fit, especially ideas with thoughtful UX, a clear user need, and a compelling demo. We want 305 HackShells to feel like a launchpad for future tech entrepreneurs, not just a coding competition.
How will projects be evaluated?
Projects will be evaluated based on the strength of the idea, the quality of the delivery, and the level of innovation. A fully coded product is not required, but every team should present something that makes the concept feel real, such as a strong prototype, product flow, demo, or experience that clearly shows how it would work in practice. Winners will be selected based on how convincingly the team brings the concept to life and how much potential the project shows.
What happens at the end of the 12 hours?
Teams polish their project, submit their work, and present during the closing showcase and judging session.
Where will live event updates and resources be posted?
Organizers will use the 305 HackShells GitHub event page to share live information, resources, and event updates.
Final Call
Build something bold in 12 hours with Swift Club at FIU.
305 HackShells is built to give students one focused day to meet collaborators, sharpen ideas, and leave with a real demo. Join the event, connect with the Swift Club community, and turn a fast idea into something worth showing.