ANova’s annual hackathon for beginner hackers

ANova Hacks

April 12 - April 13, 2025

📍 Trellis SF (981 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103)

Applications for ANova Hacks 2025 are now open!

Apply Here!

What is ANova Hacks?

ANova Hacks is ANova’s annual free-of-charge hackathon for high school students from underserved communities. We imagine a diverse tech environment where age, gender, and background do not limit one’s ability to pursue computer science — ANova Hacks aims to make that a reality. We want to give students the skills and experience necessary to achieve their career aspirations, and spread their ideas to the world through technology.

ANova Hacks 2022

The Hackathon Experience

Throughout the hackathon, experienced ANova mentors and industry professionals provide mentorship to hackers — from project ideation, design, and implementation, to polishing the final product that will be showcased during the judging process. Prizes will be awarded to the top teams in each category.

This is a great opportunity for our students to not only apply what they have been learning in the classroom, but also be exposed to crucial skills used in industry and have a better understanding of life after high school.

Our students

ANova Hacks welcomes students who have little to no programming experience. Computer science has always been more prevalent in communities with consistent access to computers and the tech industry. ANova Hacks aims to empower our students despite the limits of their circumstance — it is catered towards students from under-resourced schools to instill in them the belief that every one of them can change the world through a college education and the power of technology.

We hope to provide the unique opportunity for students to meet and connect with others while being exposed to cutting-edge technologies used in both industry and academia.

Workshops and Panels

ANova Hacks provides beginner-friendly workshops over the course of the hackathon, ranging from general informational college workshops, web and app development, game design, and introductions to programming languages such as Python. With Facebook’s support in 2019, we offered an Oculus Virtual Reality demo and intro to security workshop.

ANova Hacks aims to cater to each student's needs regardless of their experience, so that by the end of the day, they will have a finished product to show-off to their friends and family.