Servo - December 2016

2015 interview.

Pepper-Kittredge’s comments help to place Hill’s story in the larger context of HackerLab’s educational mission. “HackerLab provides a unique environment where students can mix with people from various industries, and this network accelerates their career path as well as [their] entrepreneurial endeavors,” she said. “Startup Hustle delivers real world experiences to students; it validates the skills they’ve developed on campus, and prepares them for science, technology, engineering, and math ‘STEM’ In less than a year, the partnership between HackerLab and Sierra College delivered an off-campus location in Rocklin, filled with cutting-edge equipment. The new site attracted 140 members — half of them students — and boasted over 1,000 attendees in its first year of classes and events.

HackerLab’s collaboration with Sierra College is only one example of the successful partnerships that the Lab has initiated to expand its offerings and member services. Intel Corporation has been an enthusiastic sponsor and partner of HackerLab for several years now. Thanks to Intel, HackerLab was able to offer an incubatory hackathon — that’s maker for “workshop” — targeted at businesses — (Internet of Things) data and manage it via the cloud.

Participants received Intel’s brand new “Edison module” (designed to be a primary component of new smart devices, such as wearable tech) and a Groove Starter kit; their work had the potential to take them all the way to Intel’s own Developer Forum. Opportunities like this are almost daily occurrences at HackerLab, whose other sponsors include Consolidated Communications (who provide HackerLab’s super high speed Wi-Fi) and the optics giant, VSP Global.

On the webpage announcing HackerLab’s Io T workshop, Nile Mattow wrote that HackerLab staff encourage “interesting uses/misuses of technology.” I want to believe him, but after being a part of the HackerLab community for a month now, I have yet to see anyone misusing technology. Rather, HackerLab is manifestly a place where technology comes into its own, as something accessible, limitless, and personal — all at once. It is a space that empowers members to go the full distance from an idea (“A pineapple!”) to a complete creation.

I originally wrote “to a complete polished creation,” but that’s inaccurate. After all, sometimes the first stab at new tech is distinctly un-polished. There’s room for such ugly ducklings at HackerLab. There is space enough here to innovate. SV