Idea to Prototype: A Civics and Elections Hackathon

Interested in using AI to solve a real world/life problem? Come find out. Let’s do it together.

This Hackathon is a fast-paced, one-day event where you'll go from idea to working prototype — with real teammates, real tools, and a real plan to test what you build.

The event builds on civics and elections challenges inspired by the Upskilling Labs' “Build Cycle,” a thematic 12-week program where participants work on real-world problems and build practical solutions. No previous involvement or AI-capacity required.

*Note: This is a non-partisan, non-political event.

If you are a Newcomer: Welcome! Join a beginner-friendly morning track where you'll get hands-on with AI tools and learn how to turn an idea into something you can actually show someone. In the afternoon, you'll get a look inside what the pods are building and get to:

• See a real project up close and ask every "dumb question" you've been holding
• Learn by doing — you'll leave with something you actually built
• No prior experience needed; your outside perspective is genuinely useful here

If you are an Upskiller in the Civics and Elections Build Cycle, join the Pod Sprint: Welcome! You are invited to join a Pod (a small research team focused on a specific civic engagement challenge) in a Pod Sprint (a structured team problem-solving session).

• Shares their perspective on the problem
• Helps identify promising directions with their Pod
• Chooses one idea to explore
• Builds a simple prototype
• Creates a plan to test it with a real user

By the end of the day, everyone leaves with a prototype and a plan to test it in the real world.