A team of four students from Morehouse College has won first prize and $20,000 in Zillow’s HBCU Housing Hackathon. Organized in partnership with the United Negro College Fund, Black Tech Ventures, and Amplify 4 Good, the event drew together 49 teams from 17 historically Black colleges and universities to create tech solutions and aids for struggling renters and first-time buyers.
Six of the teams advanced to the final round, where they each had five minutes to present their ideas virtually to a panel of judges. Morehouse College’s Househouse team, which includes Kendall Camp, Grant Commodore, Joshua Curry, and Paul Lockett, presented the “Reliby” app, which uses machine learning to predict future increases in rent and utility costs at a particular address over time.
The program offers users a view of potential future affordability challenges and provides a “stability score” to highlight increases in living expenses that may emerge in coming months or years.
"Computer science departments at HBCUs specialize in developing technically competent students with a sense of mission and purpose that drives them to innovate," says Alfred R. Watkins, Ph.D., academic program director for computer science at Morehouse College. "The success of the winning team from Morehouse is an indication the college is working hard to attract, nurture, support, educate, and challenge young students to become the tech-savvy leaders this world needs today."
Zillow will also donate $25,000 to Morehouse College’s computer science program as part of the first-place prize.
"It's awesome to conceptualize a project that could help a lot of people and not only win this hackathon and receive prizes that are great for my team, but also help earn a donation for our college," says Lockett, a senior computer science student at Morehouse College. "Coming into this, we had a plan, we executed on it, and we are so happy we had this amazing opportunity to work and learn with Zillow."
The second-place team, Team SU of Southern University and A&M College, won $12,000 for its “ZPlan,” which would provide Zillow users, particularly those who aspire to become homeowners, with tailored help, home buying tips, and suggested listings. Team SU includes Rason Irvin, Nicolas Hardin, and Dominique McCraney.
Team Aht Aht of Philander Smith College—including Vanessa Agbugba, Samuel Alake, Lashaun McKenzie, and Sam Davis Omekara—won third place and $6,000 for “Zinvest,” an investment tool that utilizes tokenization and blockchain technology.
All students from the top three teams will receive new laptops, textbook giftcards, and AfroTech World 2021 conference tickets. All eligible participants interested in an internship at Zillow will have an opportunity to interview.
