A Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) employee resource group called S.W.A.G. (Supporting Women’s Aspirations Group) is hosting a hackathon for middle school students in the San Jose area on May 4th, 2023. Working in partnership with Curated Pathways to Innovation™ (CPI), they are expected to deliver an exceptional experience to around 100 students. The day will be filled with fun activities meant to raise students’ awareness of the latest advancements in technology and their potential in playing a part in its development. Many volunteers will be helping with the planning and execution of this hackathon, and a fun time is expected to be had by all.

As a part of the hackathon, students will be required to address a specific community issue and present their solution to the problem. Children will collaborate with one another, looking at community issues such as homelessness, domestic violence and teen depression/suicide and find ways to leverage technology to address them. They will do so using a hackathon platform developed by Curated Pathways to Innovation in conjunction with HPE. This platform forms the foundation of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum followed by the schools participating in this event. Their students already use this platform in their school, so they’re very familiar with how to work with it.

A day filled with activities

Upon arrival at the facility, students will be greeted by S.W.A.G. team members along with HPE executives, Manju Abraham, Praveena Patchipulusu, and Lloyd Santy. They’ll then be given a brief overview of the process, including the schedule, logistics, and judging criteria. Once complete, the students will be divided into teams to begin work on their chosen topic. Between 10 and 12pm students will rotate between taking a tour of the HPE Customer Innovation Center (CIC) and working on their community problem, breaking it down into solvable pieces, coming up with solutions, and preparing their presentations.

As a part of their tour of the HPE CIC, students will be introduced to many of the amazing products HPE produces and how they probably already experience these products as part of their everyday activities – from bringing real-time location context to mobile apps in stores to immersive and connected experiences at theme parks.

A special focal point of the CIC tour will be at a kiosk housing a model of a Galactic Starcruiser where the students will learn about HPE's partnership with Disney to bring about one of the most immersive experiences ever at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at the Walt Disney World Resort. Considering the date of this event, it certainly seems to be an appropriate tour stop. We can already imagine students calling out greetings of "May the 4th be with you". In the CIC, students will also learn about our work with auto manufacturers to bring greater safety to vehicles and how supercomputers are used to help unlock unlimited supplies of clean energy, potentially sparking some ideas for their projects. (Learn more about the HPE Customer Innovation Center.)

From 12-1:30pm the teams will present their solutions, have lunch, and participate in some fun activities that include games and a movie. Afterwards, the finalists will be selected and students will move to the outdoor lawn for the Award Ceremony.

Hackathon organizers hope that the event will help students recognize the importance of giving back to your community as well as the fun involved in technology development. And perhaps, given a memorable experience, they may even consider working for HPE someday.

Meet the organizers and the technology behind it all

S.W.A.G. (Supporting Women’s Aspirations Group) is a group of HPE employees who volunteer to make a difference in the lives of women in technology. HPE employee resource groups, like S.W.A.G., contribute to making HPE an employer of choice by supporting the company’s inclusion, equity, and diversity goals of hiring and supporting the best talent, providing a workplace that values the unique contributions of its people, and fostering an inclusive mindset that drives innovation, building a strong reputation in the marketplace. For HPE employees interested in participating as a volunteer for this year’s event, please reach out to the S.W.A.G. core team at swag-core@hpe.com.

Curated Pathways to Innovation is a game-changing model that drives an impactful approach to engaging students in STEM education. It was launched as a partnership between YWCA Silicon Valley, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Santa Clara University and Purdue University as an IT solution developed to help young women and underrepresented minorities navigate their educational journey, with an emphasis on computing careers. A web-based app, Curated Pathways acts as a virtual guidance counselor and uses gamification to engage with students.