UMD Students Build 33 Projects at Gemini Hack Night

The Brendan Iribe Center took on the energy of a fast-moving workspace on November 2 as students came together for the University of Maryland’s Gemini Hack Night. For 12 hours, teams shifted between planning sessions, coding sprints and quick tests of emerging ideas as they worked to turn early concepts into working prototypes.

More than 200 students RSVP’d for the event, and 120 participated. The smaller format offered a focused space for students to experiment with AI tools in a setting designed for exploration rather than large-scale competition. 

“We wanted something smaller where people could try things out and get introduced to what's hot in the field today,” said Co-lead Candace Sun, who adapted the event structure after learning about Major League Hacking’s (MLH) Gemini Hack Days model at Bitcamp last spring.

The event was organized by the Google Developer Student Club (GDSC), in collaboration with MLH. Since its launch in fall 2021, the chapter has expanded steadily to 665 registered members and now serves as a hub for students interested in building practical development skills and exploring industry tools beyond what is covered in their courses.

“We are a community of mostly undergraduates,” said Co-lead Sumiran Jaiswal. “We’ve hosted technical workshops, interview preparation sessions and other events based on what students might need.”

Once the event began, teams quickly settled into their workflows. Early hours were spent narrowing problem statements and outlining approaches before transitioning into implementation. Students divided responsibilities, tested different frameworks and adjusted their ideas as the deadline approached.

“Ideation is the part where most of the time is taken,” Jaiswal said. “Students had to divide their time into designing the idea, making a prototype and then working on the final solution.”

By the end of the night, 33 projects had been completed. Submissions included an AI-supported CPR trainer using computer vision to assess technique, a course recommendation system tailored to user interests and a travel-planning app that created itineraries and location-specific details from text or images. Each project represented a different approach to incorporating Gemini tools into a functional system.

The event drew many first-year students, some experiencing their first hack setting at UMD. The hack night also signaled the direction GDSC plans to take in the coming months. 

The club will continue its workshop series on developer tools and technical interview preparation and is exploring collaborations with other student organizations and partners.

“We’re interested in seeing what people want to learn from the club and what we can provide,” Sun said. “That’s the direction we plan to take as we work to involve more students and offer opportunities to learn tools that are essential in today’s tech sector.”

—Story by Samuel Malede Zewdu, CS Communications