Recapping a Weekend of “+ X” – where data science meets everything (and some) at the 2025 BU Spark! DS+X Hackathon

DS+X Hackathon 2025 student teams

By: Shriya Jonnalagadda | November 10, 2025 | Photo: Isabella Boncser

There’s something quite electric about gathering in the early hours of a Saturday morning, laptops in one hand, sleeping bags in the other, brainstorming scribbles on whiteboards, and that kind of buzz that says: we’re about to build something. That was me (and my team) at the DS+X Hackathon this past weekend, sprinting to answer the question: what happens when data science collides with your passion, your discipline, your “X”?

Check-In & Orientation

Saturday morning, as participants began to check in, the Spark! space in CDS was brimming with energy. The check-in was smooth and the organizers had breakfast ready. Orientation covered the tracks:

  • First-Hack: for newcomers, guided, friendly.
  • ArtHack: for the creatives, blending generative art, hardware, design.
  • HackBU: the “DS + AI” track focused on BU-specific data & campus problems.
  • Open DS+X: where your X could be finance, health, policy, climate, music. Whatever you so wish.

Each track promised its own version of challenge, mentorship, prizes, and community.

Team Formation & The Start of The Sprint

I attended with a friend and at the event we met two Master’s students who joined our team. It felt right: mixed expertise, fresh perspectives, and the shared goal of building something meaningful. We locked in on our project fairly early – creating a platform that predicts research trends so BU professors knew where to direct research funding and efforts. As we were brainstorming, we spoke with Phillip Lindsay, the Director of Strategy & Innovation at BU, who served as a mentor in the HackBU track, to refine the problem, set the scope, and define our hack.

With our scope defined and team roles sorted (coding, design, data handling, pitching), we were ready.

Workshops & Events

The weekend’s structure gave us rhythm and real value beyond just “build fast”. For instance:

  • Core skill workshops (AI Ethics, No-Code AI Prototyping, API Crash Course, Intro to Figma) helped with foundations.
  • Deep dives (Art & Hardware Lab, VibeCoding with Replit, Generative Music & Audio Design, Prompt Engineering 101) pushed participants into niche territories.
  • Free build time, mentor stations, networking during meals: each allowed idea iteration and connection.
  • Overnight build time: yes, the “sleepover in the CDS building” was literal. The venue became our workspace, brainstorm zone, and recharge station.

Submission, Judging & Awards

Day 2 looked something like this: breakfast, final submit button pressed, team photo, and a sigh of relief. Then the pitch session: we presented to the judges along with other teams in our track (HackBU). The lunch break was a reset. Then the awards ceremony: celebrating winners, recognizing effort, handing out prizes worth over $5000

Highlights from a conversation with a member of the winning team (RhettSearch, including Khai Pham ’28): they created an “RSTI” test (a personality-type test for research collaborators) and a collaborator-search tool, pitched through a Tinder-style swipe interface. The judges noted they “tackled multiple issues in one singular platform” and that helped them win. Pham says:

“Waking up at 9 am, committing to something, making new connections, and
gaining hackathon experience. My parents are really proud, not gonna lie.”

Victory matters; but he reflected the value of the journey itself.

Reflections: What I Took Away

  • The cross-disciplinary teams were the heart of the weekend. Data science plus art, policy, finance, wellness. It changed “code sprint” into “creative sprint.”
  • The shift from hackathons as output-only to process + product was clear. The event emphasized ethics, data provenance, design intent, cross-disciplinary integration.
  • Speaking with mentors (industry, BU research, design) offered not just technical advice but career insight, which is extremely helpful for someone like me aiming to break into finance and data.
  • Even if you’re new to hacking, there’s a space to jump in and grow.
  • There’s something special about committing a weekend to build something, sleep-optional, team-bound, and idea-fueled. It resets self perception from “what I study” to “what I create”.

Final Thoughts

As the CDS research communications intern, writing this article gives me more than another piece of content; it gives perspective and place to reflect. In just one weekend I saw students lean into uncertainty, pick up new tools, collaborate across disciplines, and walk away with more than a project: connections, confidence, and a piece of something bigger.

For me (and maybe for you reading this), the takeaway isn’t just “we built this app”. It’s that we stepped into a space where data science meets “X” and figured out what we can make of that. That kind of mindset fits not just academic or technical goals, but the bigger “what do I want to contribute to the world” question. If your aim is to break into finance, build entrepreneurial foundations, or simply jumpstart something meaningful, this is exactly the kind of weekend that helps shift perspective.

Here’s to the next big build. The next “+ X”. The next leap.

-- Shriya Jonnalagadda (CDS'28), Data Science Research Communications Intern

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