TAMPA — More than 300 students converged at the University of South Florida’s Nault Center for Entrepreneurship earlier this year for HackaBull 2025 — the university’s largest hackathon to date.
The 24-hour event, hosted in April through a cross-college partnership among the Muma College of Business, the College of Engineering and the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing, in collaboration with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, invited students to pitch, build and present tech-based solutions to real-world challenges. Over the course of a single weekend, student teams submitted 63 projects across 10 tracks, vying for more than $7,000 in prizes.
“This is hands-on learning at its best,” said Tim Ernest, project manager at the Nault Center for Entrepreneurship. “From ideation to prototype, students applied their classroom knowledge in real-time scenarios, gaining career-ready skills in the process.”
Engineering Meets Entrepreneurship
HackaBull continues to serve as a model for interdisciplinary collaboration at USF. The event brought together budding engineers, designers and entrepreneurs with support from industry leaders including Microsoft, Google, Chase, Pfizer and Slalom. Students had access to technical workshops, including AI and cloud certification sessions, while receiving mentorship from professionals and faculty.
While many students worked straight through the night, HackaBull maintained a vibrant atmosphere fueled by music, mentorship and more than 1,000 cans of Celsius and Monster.
Alves stayed for the entire overnight event she helped organize.
“We wanted HackaBull to feel like an exciting weekend, not just a high-pressure competition,” said Ana Luisa Alves, the event’s design lead. “Coding doesn’t have to be stressful, we made sure the energy stayed upbeat all night.”
An Exciting Element
A capture the flag cybersecurity tournament, co-hosted by USF's Whitehatters Computer Security Club, tested participants’ defensive skills in live-threat simulations.
“What’s exciting about the capture the flag challenge is how it engages students in multiple angles of cybersecurity,” said Ernest. “With the global attention on the field’s role in defense and the economy, it’s more relevant than ever.”
Innovation With Impact
This year’s top projects tackled issues ranging from data privacy to sustainability:
- TokenWhale — A Chrome extension optimizing AI token usage to reduce energy consumption and operational costs.
- MindFree.AI — A secure, AI-enabled therapy platform using blockchain to safeguard mental health data.
- Ride-a-Bull — A carpooling app connecting USF students to reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions.
- CarbonCTRL — A tracker offering personalized insights to help users reduce their daily carbon footprint.
In addition to the cash awards, winning teams also received prizes including Nvidia RTX 5070 GPUs, PlayStation 5s and AirPods Pro. Judges also presented awards in categories such as “Best Beginner Hack,” “Best Use of Gemini API” and “Funniest Hack.”
Powered by Partners
The event was made possible through the support of corporate sponsors such as SolusCode, NextEra Energy, Slalom, Celsius, Monster and 9YAPS.
Yavari, second from left, poses with event organizers and one of the winners.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the sponsors who make this all possible,” said Shane Yavari, one of the event organizers. “Their belief in student innovation is what fuels HackaBull’s success.”
Recognized by Major League Hacking and supported by the United Nations Millennium Fellowship, HackaBull represents more than a competition — it reflects USF’s broader commitment to experiential learning and high-impact student engagement.
“HackaBull is not just a hackathon, it’s an engine for developing the leaders, creators and builders of tomorrow,” Yavari said.
John Licato, with the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing at USF, delivers a keynote lecture on how students can prepare for careers in computer science and use emerging AI tools.
With planning already underway for 2026, HackaBull continues to position USF as a national leader in engineering entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary student innovation.