CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (July 3, 2026) – Fifty-two interns and employees from companies based at the University of Illinois Research Park and EnterpriseWorks spent 12 hours building projects for the 2026 Hackathon on Tuesday, June 30. The event is one of several programs Research Park runs each year to bring companies in the UIRP community together.
Nine teams built projects aligned with this year’s theme, “Ship It!”, each one built to “Help People.” The day ended with a science-fair-style exhibition, where judges and guests toured the projects before finalists presented and demonstrated their work. Judges scored entries in three categories: shipped application, data security, and execution and demo clarity.
“Honestly, it’s a way for companies to see what their people can really do,” said Bryan Goode, Talent Manager at the University of Illinois Research Park. “You throw a mechanical engineer into a room with a UX designer for twelve hours, and you see how cross collaboration creates innovation. That’s not something you get running a hackathon on your own. Our hackathon is a playground for ideas not tied company identity. Companies get engaged interns and employees, some real ideas out of it, and a look at the rest of the community they wouldn’t get otherwise.”
For participants, the day offered a rare chance to work in the same room as people from other companies across Research Park, comparing notes and watching how other teams tackled the same challenge.
“I learned that ideation is actually the hardest process while making something, because of the number of people on my team,” said Cindy, a data engineering intern at Dow Delivery Center. “I’ve done hackathons before, but it’s been in teams of three or four. [Task management] took a lot of organization and collaboration among the six of us.”
2026 Research Park Hackathon Winners
Third place went to Dow Delivery Center for “Reci,” a recipe ranking, tiering and sharing platform the team described as “Strava for cooking.” Users can log recipes, discover trending dishes and more.
Second place went to COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab for “Sessio,” a campus-focused, feed-first deep-work app for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students the team described as “Strava for studying.” Users can log focus sessions, browse a 3D map of campus study spots, form groups, share a calendar and give friends gold stars on an activity feed.
First place went to Brunswick Boating Intelligence Design Lab for “Nutrensa,” an AI-assisted platform that guides and coordinates recipients, donors, volunteers and managed inventory for community food banks.
Brunswick Boating Intelligence Design Lab and Rivan also won the “Best User Interface” award for “PillBox,” a medication reminder app managed behind the scenes by a caregiver. Caregivers can set up and monitor patients’ medications in real time.
Mondelēz International Future Lab won the “Most Creative” award for “Wello,” a platform that serves as a companion for caregivers of children with mental and cognitive disabilities. The app features AI-personalized guidance based on the child’s diagnosis, age and more.
Judges were impressed with the finished projects and said several could succeed in production if further developed. The judges included:
Jarai Carter, lecturer, Columbia University
Laura Appenzeller, executive director, University of Illinois Research Park
Gerald Wilson, director of entrepreneurship, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
###
About Research Park at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Research Park at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a technology hub for startup companies and corporate research and development operations. Within Research Park, there are 120 companies employing students and full-time technology professionals. More information at researchpark.illinois.edu.