The Wrap-Up Way

A roundup of 71 North updates

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71 NORTH
May 05, 2026

The Wrap-Up Way

It has been quite the semester here at 71North; full of new faces and familiar ones, progress, innovation, events, and lots of fun! We are so grateful for all the amazing individuals associated with the Studio, from the members, researchers, presenters, developers, student-workers, interns, and administrators; all of this would not have been possible without all of you. Best of luck with finals this week, and we hope everyone enjoys a restful, well-deserved summer!

❝

“I think that's the most important thing you can do to be a real person - is to be honest with yourself.”

- Mike Dirnt

The Wrap-Up of the 2026 Spring Semester:

Northern Exposure- This semester was chock-full of NIU faculty research presentations. All the presentations and presenters were outstanding! Again, we are so grateful for their time and willingness to share with us; they made our Fridays and filled our minds with knowledge of the work going on around campus.

Huskie Hackers- Our Hacking team had so many amazing opportunities this semester to get hands-on, engaging experience in their field. By far the biggest event for them was Hackillinois 2026, where they traveled to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a weekend to participate in an in-person hackathon. From the winter to now, the Huskie Hackers have grown in both skills and members, and hopefully will continue to do so next year!

Huskie Hackers at UIUC Hackathon

VR- Huskieverse’s hallmark is VR, and this semester we launched 2 VR playlists: the Huskieverse VR Playlist and the Public Health VR Playlist. Both playlists were available to anyone who came in to experience VR for themselves. Needless to say, they were very popular as we had roughly 60 VR bookings throughout the semester.

Huskieverse- Our main hub for extended reality projects and research opportunities really hit its stride this semester. We gained more members, more memories, and more momentum to continue all the amazing projects next year. Huskieverse is all about providing unique learning opportunities to students from all disciplines, and with the help of contributors, we hope to grow and embark on even more. Our campaign can be found at https://lnkd.in/gK349ccQ

Random Hack of Kindness (RHoK)- RHoK this semester tackled food insecurity at NIU, which we had the pleasure of hosting Clinical Assistant Professor of Nutrition and founder of Huskie Harvest Dr. Nancy Prange, Assistant Director of Edible Campus Laura Fehling, and Dean of Students Dr. Kelly Olson to help brainstorm and present innovative solutions to the problems that non-profit initiatives may face. There was a great turnout for this 2-part event, and everyone was really engaged!

Demo Day- We had so many projects worked on at 71North, and our very first Demo Day was the perfect opportunity for everyone to demo their work to each other, share progress, gather feedback, and discover new opportunities for collaboration. We had a mix of posters, tables, and presenters showcasing their work on this occasion. It was so cool to see everyone’s passion projects and their progression.

Innovation Graduation/Celebration- Such an amazing way to end the semester and express our appreciation for all our members, especially those who are graduating this Spring. We wish all the Grads the best and the brightest in their futures!

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