Post by Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy

What can a day of vibe coding accomplish? Turns out, a lot. Yesterday, the McCourt School hosted the Tech & Public Policy x Replit Hackathon, bringing together students across Georgetown University to tackle policy challenges with practical tools. Over a single day, students brainstormed, iterated using agentic AI, and by 5 PM had working prototypes ready to demo for judges. Congratulations to our winning team: Claire Wootton (MPP '26) and CJ Larkin (MPP'26), who built "patchwork": a trip planning tool designed to help users understand the complex patchwork of state laws in the United States, keeping them aware of legal changes as they cross state borders. And congratulations to our runner-up Guramrit M. (MPP'27) — and to all of our vibe coding Hoyas! Special thank you to Replit for empowering students with its platform, Asif B. for his mentorship throughout the day, and our incredible judges: Kris R. (Spring'26 TPP VF), Sydney Saubestre (Spring'26 TPP VF), Ashkhen Kazaryan(Fall'24 TPP VF), Victoria Houed (Spring'24 TPP VF), and Joseph Jerome (Spring'24 TPP VF).