Hacking & Learning


Learn More About Us

Upcoming & Past events

What is Hacking & Learning?

The Hacking and Learning committee of the Dining Philosophers aims to bring about a culture of creation and innovation within the University of Pennsylvania community and beyond. By focusing on developing high quality educational initiatives and organizing several events throughout the year, we have introduced many to the world of programming and computer science.

Ever had that app, website, or machine you wanted to build but didn't know where to start? Have you ever wanted to jump into the world of programming and show off an awesome product to your friends? Now is your chance. The Hacking and Learning committe organizes dozens of educational initiatives during the year to help you learn how to code and develop your projects. You'll have tons of mentors and like-minded peers to help you through the process of making your dream into a reality.

Code Weekend

A weekend long series of workshops where students teach you how to build a full webapp from scratch

Code Weekend Fall 2018 Code Weekend Fall 2015

500

Attendees

4

Workshops

50

Mentors

54%

First Time Coders

The first ever Code Weekend was held September 6th and 7th, 2014. It attracted unprecedented interest with over 500 students signing up for the weekend's workshops. Split into 4 highly interactive and mentored workshops, Code Weekend teaches students to build a fully functioning Node.JS app that uses 3rd party APIs and a MongoDB database - all over the course of 2 days!
This Spring, Code Weekend was back and we had a huge number of signups! Check out the topics we covered during the workshops online here and feel free to send us feedback about the event!

Why Should I Program?

I think everyone should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think.
- Steve Jobs

The power of computer science in a growing, tech based job market is undeniable. Thousands of college students each year are chosing STEM and programming related degrees to help them make their own apps and products or join companies in profitable software engineering jobs. Why not start learning now?

Code Camps

Workshops to build fundamental coding skills

Code Camp is a workshop series designed to teach from scratch, basic tools and skills that all real-world programmers need. Mentors are around to help students get through the problems they face in these highly interactive workshops.

Code camps are held throughout the year, and we'd love to hear from you if there's something specific you'd like to learn!

Contact Us

Email us at dinphil@gmail.com

We would be happy to respond to any requests or general queries. Don't hesitate to reach out!

Less than 4.9 percent of students graduate with a degree in computer science
Only 28% of computing jobs are filled. By 2020 over 1 million jobs will be unmet.
Only 50% of states give credit for computer science classes.
Computer Science jobs account for 60% of the STEM job-industry
90% of United States high schools do not have an introductory computer science curriculum