Fredrickson Family Innovation Lab to Host Inaugural Vibe Coding Hackathon

The Fredrickson Family Innovation Lab will host its inaugural Vibe Coding Hackathon from 12 pm to 6 pm on April 11, 2026. The event is the finale of the Meditz College Vibe Coding Series, offering students the opportunity to showcase their working prototypes, receive professional feedback from judges, and compete for $2,500 in total prizes.

Thirteen Meditz students representing disciplines as wide-ranging as Sports Media, Neuroscience, Communication, and Physics will take part, a testament to the program's cross-disciplinary reach.

Developed in partnership with the Fredrickson Family Innovation Lab, Fairfield Meditz Career & Professional Development, and Advancement, the initiative addresses a widening AI skill gap in today's job market. Employers are actively seeking graduates who can go beyond passively using AI tools to build and apply them in meaningful ways. By participating, students bridge the gap between the humanities, natural sciences, and technology by exercising the high-level critical thinking required for human-AI collaboration and adding a tangible, portfolio-ready project to their resumes.

The hackathon uses "Vibe Coding," an AI-assisted development practice where individuals build software by describing their goals to an AI in natural language rather than writing traditional coding syntax manually. The process allows students with no prior coding experience or computer science background to create apps and interactive user experiences.

A panel of distinguished alumni and faculty, Scott Fredrickson '82, Stuart McGuigan '82, and Dr. Mehmet Cansoy, will judge the Hackathon.