MakeOH10

The Ohio State University’s annual makeathon.

In-person at Knowlton Hall and online
COMING SPRING 2025

WELCOME TO MAKEOHI/O

On [TBA], join us at MakeOHI/O—Ohio State University’s largest makeathon—for a weekend of building and creating real projects with awesome people. Over 200 undergraduate and graduate students will design, build, and demonstrate projects to a live audience of students, faculty, and representatives from tech companies. MakeOHI/O is put on by OHI/O, a student-led organization that aims to build and foster the tech community at Ohio State University.

Meet other passionate, fun, and creative students from OSU and universities across the nation. Our industry partners are also sending professional developers, designers, marketers, and hustlers to provide mentorship. If you’re interested in participating, all attendees must adhere to our Code of Conduct.

Mentors and Judges

Mentorship & Judging sign-ups are [coming soon]!

MakeOHI/O 2025 is [TBA]. Join us for our makeathon as we give students the unique opportunity to receive hardware and develop projects from the safety of their homes.

Mentorship

Our mentors, available both online and in-person, offer their expertise to participants throughout the event. They will be on hand in scheduled shifts to answer questions and provide direction, ensuring projects are on the path to success.

Judging

Judging will take place virtually on the final day, from [TBA], via Zoom and Discord. Participants will present their projects to our panel, engaging in feedback and discussion. Access details and presentation guidelines will be provided in advance.

Get Involved

Your expertise can significantly impact our participants’ experience. Sign up as a mentor or judge to help shape the future of innovation at MakeOHI/O 2025. More information, including how to join our event space, will be available to those who register.

Frequently Asked Questions

A makeathon is similar to a hackathon. Both are events where participants build awesome projects from scratch in just a few short hours. The difference between a MAKEathon and a HACKathon is that we are encouraging projects to be maker-oriented, and therefore physically making something!

Anyone who is a student at a university! We encourage all levels of expertise to join. Whether this is your first makeathon, or you’ve been to other make/hackathons across the nation, MakeOHI/O provides an opportunity to collaborate and create something amazing. All participants are expected to follow our Code of Conduct.

MakeOHI/O is free to participate in! We want all students to have an opportunity to work on projects with hardware, which is why we’re also providing free hardware kits for MakeOHI/O.

Registration will be open in Spring 2025! If you want to be eligible to receive a hardware kit, you must register and have a team before the event. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to hackathon@osu.edu.

All participants must be in teams of 2 to 4 to submit a project, but don’t worry if you’re coming in without a team. OHI/O provides opportunities before and during the makeathon to find a team. Team formation will be ongoing in the Discord server up to the event. We will post more information on team formation on our event website and in Discord but step one is to register for participation.

Nope! Many students come up with an idea while at the makeathon or by addressing one of our proposed challenges. By talking to fellow students you’ll find opportunities to brainstorm ideas that pique your interest. you get stuck, we’ll have a nice list of ideas to help you out. This year, we recommend discussing possible ideas with your team before kit pickup opens so that you have a better idea of what hardware to choose for your kit.

Teams make all sorts of things! Previous projects have included mobile apps, websites, smart mirrors, light-up glasses, pancake printers…the possibilities are endless. Hardware will be provided. Please see the hardware page for details on what hardware will be available at the event. Hardware will be available at the event venue during the event.

MakeOHI/O 11 is transforming its project submission and judging process to provide a dynamic and interactive experience for participants and judges alike. This year, teams will present their projects in virtual Zoom breakout rooms, each hosting up to 12 teams for a 4-minute presentation followed by a Q&A session. Whether choosing a live demo or a video demonstration incorporated into presentation slides, each team will have the opportunity to showcase their project’s innovation and impact. On presentation day, Zoom links will be distributed, and teams are required to join their designated breakout room promptly. For more detailed information on the submission process, presentation preparation, and judging criteria, please visit this link [coming soon]. Remember – the competition is only a small part of the event! The most important part is to have fun and build something amazing.

Even something as small as a relay controlling a lamp being on could be hazardous with exposed wires. For safety reasons, projects involving high voltage such as Tesla coils, jacob’s ladders, or plasma speakers are discouraged. If you are unsure if your project will be allowed, please ask! We reserve the right to shut down any projects that we deem as unsafe. We want the event to be awesome and electrocution or other physical injury is not so great. Please bring your own fuses if you intend on working with the mains or otherwise high voltage project. Railguns, coil guns or any other projects with weapons are prohibited. Projects such as an induction furnace are similarly prohibited for an obvious fire hazard. For more information regarding what technical resources are allowed, click here!

Yes! We welcome individuals with knowledge and expertise in various topic areas to help mentor students at MakeOHI/O. If you’re interested, please contact us to find out more information!

MakeOHI/O is hosted by OHI/O and the Electronics Club here at OSU. You can find more information about OHI/O and our other events at https://hack.osu.edu.