Building Together in Illinois

StackBlitz recently collaborated with BuildIllinois, a hackathon initiated by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students Aryan Gandhi and Ishan Deshpande, to foster real-world project building opportunities for students. Despite their university's top-ranked computer science program, Aryan observed a lack of such opportunities, prompting Ishan to propose organizing a hackathon. The inaugural event, held just two months later, attracted over 150 participants who developed 36 projects. Notable projects included an AI-enhanced language learning app called Speakeasy and a platform for managing campus club expenses using Venmo's API. StackBlitz, known for facilitating easy project collaboration and sharing, supported the event, highlighting its commitment to empowering community-driven initiatives.