birmingHack 1.0

Welcome to birmingHack! Our goal is to create a hackathon environment where attendees can grow, learn from each other, and have fun; one which is also inclusive, accessible and friendly for everyone, regardless of their gender (identity and expression), age, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, physical appearance, size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices.

This Code of Conduct is intended to help faciliate this, and it should be interpreted with those goals in mind. We expect all attendees to abide by this Code of Conduct, which also includes organisers, sponsors, partners, judges, and any other staff involved with the running of the event.

Aspirations

All attendees, whether hacker or organiser, should aspire to do the following.

Respect each other. Speak kindly, listen actively, and avoid interrupting or dismissing others.

Be thoughtful. Avoid jokes or comments that could make others feel uncomfortable. Respect each others personal boundaries.

Take responsibility. What you say and do matters. You are responsible for your words and actions, including their consequences, whether intended or otherwise.

Collaborate and share knowledge. Help others when you can and be open to learning from different perspectives. Hackathons are naturally competitive, but we are all here to learn from one another.

Look out for each other. Hackathons can be overwhelming. Check in with and support one another.

This isn’t an exhaustive list. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it’s intended: fostering a hackathon environment where attendees can learn and grow.

Unacceptable behaviour

Any of the following behaviour is expressly forbidden.

• Insulting, demeaning, hateful, or threatening remarks.
• Discrimination based on gender (identity and expression), age, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, physical appearance, size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices.
• Bullying or systematic harassment.
• Unwelcome sexual advances, including sexually explicit content.
• Inappropriate physical contact or deliberate intimidation.
• Sustained disruption of the event.

Any attendees observed breaking this Code of Conduct may be asked to leave the event, be barred from all future events, reported to the Guild of Students or School of Computer Science, or reported to local law enforcement as appropriate.

Reporting

If you experience or witness any violations of this Code of Conduct, or wish to make a complaint, please report it via the following channels:

Directly to an organiser. If you are comfortable reaching out directly to an organiser during the event, then please speak to them in-person and they will advise you on next steps.

Online via email. If this behaviour happens online, or you are unable to reach out in-person, then you can email the Computer Science Society directly at css@guild.bham.ac.uk.

To the Guild of Students. If you feel that the organisers have not adequately handled your complaint, your complaint is about the actions of a particular organiser, or if you do not feel comfortable reaching out to the organisers, then you can contact the Guild of Students, of which the Computer Science Society is a member of. (todo: how)

Acknowledgments

This Code of Conduct draws from Go Community Code of Conduct, which itself is adapted from the Contributor Covenant.

birmingHack is organised by the Computer Science Society, which is part of the University of Birmingham Guild of Students. This privacy policy will explain what data we collect from you, how it is collected, how it is used, and how you can submit requests about your data.

What data we collect, and why

We collect and use the following data to enable you to register for birmingHack:

• Name
• Email address
• Pronoun preferences

We collect and use the following data to ensure you meet the eligibility requirements for birmingHack:

• Student ID
• Age

We collect and use the following data for the operation of the birmingHack event itself:

• Accessibility requirements
• Dietary requirements
• Records of consent
• Discord username

We collect and use the following data to pass onto the School of Computer Science for building access:

• Student ID

We collect and use the following data for marketing (if consented to):

• Email address
• Marketing preferences
• Recorded images, such as photos and videos

We collect and use the following data to pass onto our sponsors who may wish to recruit from birmingHack attendees (if consented to):

• Name
• Email address
• Pronoun preferences
• A copy of your CV (if provided)

How we collect your data

You directly provide most of the data we collect, specifically when you:

• Register for a ticket for birmingHack
• Attend birmingHack

How we store your data

We store your data on Tito, where the tickets for birmingHack are registered. We will keep your data for a year, or until the next birmingHack, whichever is sooner. Once this time has passed, we will delete your data by anonymising the event from within our Tito account.

Who we share information with

We share information with the following parties for the following purposes.

Tito. Tito is our events management service and is responsible for processing your registration.

The School of Computer Science. We pass on your registration to the School of Computer Science for access to the building, and if required for conduct and security purposes.

The Guild of Students. If required for conduct and security purposes.

Employers who sponsor birmingHack. If consented to, we may pass on your CV and contact details to our sponsors for recruitment purposes.

Publicly on our website and social media. We may publish photographs taken at birmingHack to our website and social media for marketing purposes.

Your rights

You are entitled to the following:

• The right to access
• The right to rectification
• The right to erasure
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to object to processing
• The right to data portability

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please email us at: css@guild.bham.ac.uk

Changes

This privacy policy was last updated on 7th February 2025.