QHacks 2025: A Showcase of Talent and Innovation in Software Hackathon at Queens University
February 03, 2025 by Emilia Valkonen-Damjanovic | Comments
QHacks, an annual hackathon event hosted by Queens University in Kingston, Canada, brought together 330 talented computer science and engineering students from nearby universities for a weekend of coding. This year, the event, held at the end of January, centered around AI, offering students a chance to showcase their skills in this exciting field. Alongside the main hackathon projects, students had the chance to participate in several smaller challenges, and at the end of the hackathon, each team pitched their project to the judges. The hackathon, sponsored by the Qt Group, was organized by dedicated students who ensured its smooth operation.
Introducing Qt to Students
The hackathon kicked off on Friday evening with an opening ceremony. As one of the main sponsors, Qt Group had the opportunity to talk to the students at the opening ceremony; senior training lead James DeLisle introduced the Qt Group to the students. Soon after the opening ceremony, it was time for the students to form teams and start their projects!
On Saturday, James DeLisle, and a senior technical artist, Peter Rohles, introduced students to Qt by showcasing the workflow from UI design to working application, running on hardware using Qt tools. Throughout the demo, a doorbell camera application, the students learned about Qt Design Studio, Qt Creator, and QML, among other Qt topics. At the end of the session, students saw the doorbell camera application running on Raspberry Pi.
Queen’s University students and educators are among the most active users of Qt’s educational licensing, yet there was still plenty of opportunity to showcase its benefits across various applications. Having a Qt demo on display during the networking event sparked engaging discussions with students, drawing curiosity and enthusiasm. Qt’s delegates connected with many passionate and talented students, sharing insights about the framework, its tools, and what it’s like to work in the tech industry. While many were eager to explore QML and embedded application development, there was additional interest in the design workflow—particularly Qt Design Studio. For those new to Qt, we introduced Qt Academy and the educational licensing opportunities, opening doors for more students to explore and innovate with Qt.
Celebrating the Winning Projects
On Sunday morning, the hacking time finished, and it was time for the students to get ready to pitch the projects to the judges. This was a nerve-racking task, particularly for those who were sleep-deprived! The students worked hard on their projects and presented impressive applications and solutions at the end. All the submitted hackathon projects are resented at Devpost.
The winning project was ‘Luna’ – a device that scans and narrates the world in real-time for people who are blind. Second place went to TLDR.AI, a Google Chrome extension that reads terms of services on account creation pages, locates risky clauses and potential faults, and produces an easily digestible summary of the dangers of signing. NextBid placed in third place. This application takes the outdated process of an auction system and elevates it to focus on streamlining the buyer-seller dynamic while making it more fun and engaging.
Overall, QHacks 2025 showcased the incredible talent and creativity of the next generation of software developers. We look forward to seeing what they will achieve in the future!
Empowered by Qt's University and Talent Network
Qt Group’s partnership with QHacks is part of a larger effort, University and Talent Network, which aims to foster the growth of the next generation of Qt talent. This initiative includes collaborating with universities to support Qt training, organizing coding competitions, and partnering with selected events.
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