An open-space laser communication system for the high-speed transfer of data won first place at Jerusalem College of Technology’s ninth annual “Great Minds Hackathon,” held in December.
The team Optinet, led by Los Angeles native Matan Yisrael Bergenfeld, came up with the idea for massive events like music festivals, where cellular towers are overwhelmed by user demand. Their challenge, presented by Israeli startup Q.AI, devised a mesh network connected to blimps that would provide supplemental WiFi in addition to the cellular towers. Other team members were native Israelis, including Eitan Klein, Noam Solo, Daniel Maoz, Asaf Klar and Elisha Salab.
The hackathon, organized by the College’s Schreiber LevTech Entrepreneurship Center, brought together 122 Orthodox and haredi students from Israel and worldwide (including from Chile, the United Kingdom, South Africa and the United States) to develop innovative solutions for global challenges for 48 hours. From detecting hostile UAVs to creating a mobile solar panel that identifies the best angles for harnessing sunlight during a camping trip, the event showcased JCT’s dedication to advancing technology for the greater good.
Bergenfeld enjoyed participating in the hackathon, as it allowed him to apply what he’s learned in the classroom in a hands-on and practical way. “I’m so happy to participate in a competition like this where all of our hard work goes from something theoretical you learn in a classroom to something that’s practical and useful for everyday life,” he said.
The second-place team, Mosaic—whose members included international JCT students Yehuda Gurovich (originally from Chile), Eliyahu Masinter (Baltimore), Benji Tusk (Baltimore), Peretz Levin (Bergenfield, N.J.), Ely van Dijk (London) and Zev Tovbin (Passaic, N.J.)—created a wire-tap analysis platform to aid law enforcement in identifying money-laundering patterns. Several members of this team, in addition to their degree studies, are repeat winners and have already turned a project from a previous hackathon into ScheduLearn, a startup providing automated school scheduling software. The company already has clients and continues to grow.
“This has been great fun. While we weren’t expecting to win again, the process of working together and coming up with interesting solutions to complex problems has been really gratifying,” Tovbin said.
The third-place team, ResQDoc, including student Mendel Wagner from Irkutsk, Siberia, tackled a challenge from United Hatzalah and devised a voice-powered data collection tool for first responders. Other team members were native Israelis Meir Crombie, Yedidia Bakuradze, Daniel Pilant, Oriya Hanuka and Moshe Hanau. First responders talk to the app, which, by using real-time voice-to-text technology, streamlines the process of recording patient information during emergencies, saving valuable time and improving efficiency.
Another group of international students won the prize for best presentation. That team, Sunflower Technologies, came up with a handheld device that will be connected to a solar panel, which will transfer energy it collects from the sun into its battery. With a simple flick of a switch, the mechanism will allow a solar panel to identify light and will move telling the user where the sun is the strongest ensuring they get the quickest and most efficient charge. Currently, the device is designed to charge cell phones at least twice but can be eventually scaled to charge any device connected to a USB.
Team members included Illia Polianskyi (Kyiv, Ukraine), Gavi Teller (Atlanta), Adam Marks (Johannesburg, South Africa), Shomron Benyshay (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Elisha Serman (Memphis, Tenn.), Leib Blam (Basel, Switzerland), Gavi Rosenthal ( New York, N.Y.) and Levi Holtzman (Teaneck, N.J.).
“I’ve always liked computers and tinkering with things,” Holtzman said. “When I got to Israel, I really loved it here and felt like I really belonged, so it was a no-brainer to come to JCT. I learned a new development tool just for this hackathon, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
“We are so proud of our students,” said Orlee Guttman, co-founder of the Schreiber LevTech Entrepreneurship Center. “The hackathon provides them with an invaluable opportunity to gain hands-on experience in product development, collaborate with industry professionals and address real-world challenges. We actively encourage our students to leverage the resources of our center to continue refining their projects, bringing their ideas to market and creating solutions that can help countless people.”
The Schreiber LevTech Entrepreneurship Center runs innovation programs throughout the year, ranging from introducing participants to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and offering seminars on emerging technologies, to hosting pre-accelerator and accelerator programs that help innovators bring their ideas to fruition.
JCT’s annual women’s hackathon is scheduled to take place in June.