‘Hack the University’ – inaugural event seeks to change the future

Published On Tue 27 Jan 2015 by Grant Hill

Students from all corners of the University of Dundee are being called upon to help improve the institution at its inaugural ‘Hack the University’ session.

The event takes place over Thursday 29th and Friday 30th January at Matthew Building, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), part of the University.

Using skills and perspectives from different disciplines, students will come together to develop and build services for several University services, including Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA), Library & Learning Centre, IT and the Institute for Sport and Exercise. They will also be asked to help rethink the way the curriculum is developed and delivered.

Hack days derive from events in which computer programmers and others involved in software development collaborate intensively on software projects. The concept has subsequently been widened to new areas and the University’s talented designers, writer, coders, filmmakers, artists, engineer, historian, playwrights, scientists and others will have the chance to tackle challenges set by the Student and Academic Support Services teams and DUSA.

Event sponsors RS Components have donated over £1000-worth of computer hardware prizes for the top performing students at the event.

Event organiser Ali Napier said, “The world is waking up to grass-roots change. We know this through our work with organising collaborative making events - or hackathons - with our friends at NASA, Mozilla, the BBC, the Met Office and many more. And now we want an interdisciplinary group of students to remake/rethink/hack, the services provided for them and their peers.

“Participating students will have the chance to be a part of the future direction of their University. They will get to work with students and staff from across the University and compete for some amazing prizes while taking part in something that may well change how this University works for this and future generations.”

More information is available from http://www.eventbrite.com/e/hack-the-university-tickets-15372492539.  

RS Components can be found at http://uk.rs-online.com.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277