Hackathon School Event 2025 -

BE SMART HACKATHON 2025

DATE

NOV 5-8, 2025

LOCATION

Sheraton/LeMeridien | Charlotte, NC

The 2025 BE Smart HBCU Hackathon features students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to compete in what some call the new résumé. This group of top talent demonstrated how well they collaborate, how quickly they think, how they fail fast and learn faster, and articulate their ideas in public. Congratulations to our 2024 1st place team, Protégé from Spelman College!

Hackathon Partners

2024 COMPETITORS

ARTICLES

Kimatni Rawlins’ ‘The Driving Force’ Internship Helps HBCU Students Become Automotive Industry Leaders

Sharelle Burt March 2, 2025

The program accepted 18 students from Morgan State in Baltimore and 12 students from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.

Coders from Spelman College at BESmart Hackathon

Spelman Takes Top Prize At 9th Annual Black Enterprise BE Smart Hackathon

Black Enterprise November 18, 2024

Cheers reverberated throughout downtown Charlotte as the team of coders from Spelman College displayed their tech prowess and masterful presentation skills to take the top prize at the 9th Annual

Actress Malinda Williams Amplifies STEM Initiatives For HBCU Women

Jeroslyn JoVonn August 23, 2024

Actress Malinda Williams is opening up about her natural passion for supporting STEM programs for HBCU women.

HBCU, Abbott Scholars Program, Medical student, Meharry Medical College

HBCUs Make Strides In Medical Diversity With Abbott Scholars Programs

Nahlah Abdur-Rahman July 22, 2024

HBCU programs foster generations of Black doctors, but initiatives like Abbott’s will allow more students to take part.

Spelman College, Cosmetic Chemistry, women in STEM

Spelman College First HBCU To Offer Cosmetic Chemistry Program, A Win For Women In STEM

Nahlah Abdur-Rahman March 13, 2024

While noting an increased interest by students to enroll in the online program, the college also wants to help resolve a diversity need in the beauty industry.

The 8th Annual BLACK ENTERPRISE Smart Hackathon Returns

Atiya Jordan November 1, 2023

We can’t wait to see what these dynamic minds have in store!

Problem-solving

(ability to break down complex problems)

A programming language

(i.e., Python, Java, JavaScript, etc.)

APIs

(Creating and consuming web services)

Web development

(i.e., HTML, CSS, Frontend frameworks/libraries)

Version control

(Git/GitHub)