9/18 @ 12pm – Applied AI
A panel of local AI tinkerers – from startup companies to major utilities providers… even a former comedian.
Macathon
November 7 & 8, 2025
The Entrepreneurship Department is proud to announce the 2024 Macathon winning teams! First Place: Visionary Change Makers – Laurice Jimu ’27, Shakti Palraj ’27, Aditya Choubal ’27, Makol Choul ’27, Maggie Walker ’27, Rocky Slaymaker ’27; Second Place: Gear 5 – Pema Dolkar ‘ 25, Alexis Prathammanon ’25, Elizabeth Zewdu ’26, Isam Hussaini ’26; and Third Place: Pirate Solutions – Aahana Tribrewal ’25, Luke Rowley ’27, Kari Vivar-Cortez ’27, Basir Talayee ‘ 25. Thank you to our supportive and amazing mentor judges for another fabulous year!
Macathon is Macalester’s ultimate 24-hour innovation challenge. Overnight student teams build ground breaking ideas and enhance their liberal arts experience with playful, purposeful, and real-world learning.
Macathon 2025 Finals & Awards Ceremony
Please RSVP & join us on Saturday, November 8th as the final six teams pitch on the big stage! Doors Open 4:15 pm | 4:30 – 6:30 pm Final Presentations & Awards | Location: Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center, John B. Davis Lecture Hall (lower level), 1600 Grand Avenue, St Paul, MN 55105.
Macathon 2025 | Application
Macathon is a twenty-four hour idea-building competition that connects students with alums. All-Nighters, All Innovators: Highlights from Macathon 2024.
Macathon, an overnight innovation and creativity contest, brings student teams of 3-6 participants together to put their liberal arts education into action. Each team develops a unique solution to a real-world problem and competes for over $2,000 in cash prizes. The catch? There is no prep work allowed; everything for the competition must be produced within the 24-hour period.
Each team is provided a space to work, access to a variety of resources, and paired with a group of judges – alumni from around the world bringing unique experience and expertise to the competition as both mentors and evaluators of the teams’ work. The competition culminates with a 7-minute presentation outlining the proposed problem and solution. Teams are assessed based on their identification, understanding, and articulation of a real-world problem, their proposed solution, an early prototype, and the quality of their final presentation.
The three highest-scoring teams in the final will be awarded cash prizes!
- 1st Place: $1,000
- 2nd Place: $750
- 3rd Place: $500
Final Macathon presentations are open to the public! Please join us Saturday, November 8th at 4:30pm in John B. Davis Lecture Hall, Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center.
Important Dates
- Applications Open: 9:00 am Wednesday, September 17, 2025
- Early Application Deadline: 5:00 pm Wednesday, October 1, 2025
- Early Applicant Strategy Session: 12:00-1:00 pm Thursday, October 9, 2025
- Macathon Application Closes: 5:00 pm Wednesday, October 15, 2025
- Macathon Captain Orientation: 12:00-12:45 pm Thursday, October 30, 2025
- Macathon Orientation: 12:00-12:30 pm Wednesday, November 5, 2025
- Macathon Begins! 4:30pm Friday, November 7, 2025
- Macathon Final Team Presentations: 4:30-6:30 pm Saturday, November 8, 2025
Need Inspiration? Good food + Conversation!
Feeding Innovation Series
Pairing good eats with inspiring conversation, the Feeding Innovation Series invites a variety of innovators and changemakers to share their entrepreneurial journeys and the insights they’ve gathered along the way.
10/28 @ 12pm – Social Impact
Changemakers and game changers in farming, upcycling, and impact measurement.
12/04 @ 12pm – Culture, Craft, Community
Connect with Founders working on the celebration and preservation of indigenous language, art, and culture.
Macathon Judges
Each year, Macalester hosts a diverse group of alumni/guest judges from across the US to mentor and evaluate the teams. Macathon thrives because of this group’s passion for entrepreneurship and innovation. They bring enthusiasm, expertise, and encouragement to our students.
A special thank you to Dave’s family for setting up a fund to continue his dedication to Macathon students.
Remembering Judge Dave Mao ’97
Dave brought joy and laughter to this event with his wit and hilarious stories. He was the judge who would stay all night to help the students. In 2023, a special Macathon prize was started in his honor, the Keeping It Real—Dave Mao Special Award.
Photo: At Macathon 2024 the Dave Mao ‘Keeping It Real Prize’ went to “Morbius” for demonstrating a spirit of playfulness, joy, and possibility.
Brainstorm Ideas & Make An Impact.
Belong, Connect & Reach.
Macalester is unique because it has a program like Macathon!
There’s no atmosphere like Macathon—a longstanding Macalester competition that gives teams of students 24 hours to come up with a solution to a problem, prototype a product, and build a convincing presentation for a panel of alumni judges.
Behind the Scenes | Team: The Goonies
Follow a Macathon team through their 24 hour experience. Thank you to The Goonies for capturing the fun and exciting vibe of this incredible Macalester event!
Be Bold. Be Imaginative. And, be too excited to sleep!
The Macathon mission is simple. Working with a team of three to six students, invent a unique and original service or product that solves a real-world problem. The twist? All of your work takes place in twenty-four hours.
PAST MACATHONS
Macathon News & Highlights
Macalester’s most anticipated entrepreneurship events of the year puts the innovation and creativity of students to the test.
A 24-hour competition where teams work to develop and present a product or service that will help solve a real-world problem