Upcoming Events
Course Night
Oct 29, 2025, 5:30 PM · MH 2532
The Undergraduate Projects Lab and CS Advising are hosting their semesterly Course Night! Join us for FREE PIZZA and to share experiences with favorite computer sciences courses. Perfect for freshmen intending to declare CS, students who've finished the introductory sequence, or anyone curious about hearing other students' first-hand experiences with courses.
UPL Lightning Talks - November
Nov 11, 2025, 7:00 PM · CS 1240 (CS auditorium)
Join the Undergraduate Projects Lab for an evening of rapid-fire 15-minute LIGHTNING TALKS! Each topic covers practical knowledge you'll *actually use* in your career in tech in 2025... (1) Modern Hashmap Design in 2025, (2) Accelerator Design, (3) GraphQL and its use-cases. We'll have a brief period of Q&A after each presentation, so bring a question or two! Come learn something new, get inspired, and spend some time with fellow tech enthusiasts.
MadHacks 2025
Nov 22, 2025, 11:00 AM · Morgridge Hall
Wisconsin's biggest hackathon – meet new people, sharpen your skills, and add a standout project to your resume. Connect with company sponsors and kickstart your career! This beginner-friendly 24-hour event includes workshops, free food, prizes, and swag. Perfect for first-time hackers with day-of-event workshops to help you create a finished project.
UPL Project Showcase
Dec 4, 2025, 7:00 PM · MH 2532
More info soon!
Past Events
Lightning Talks - October
Oct 9, 2025, 6:00 PM · MH 2532
Join us for an evening of rapid-fire 15-minute presentations! UPL members will share their passion for tech and beyond, covering diverse topics from cutting-edge programming techniques to creative projects. Come learn something new, get inspired, and enjoy pizza with fellow tech enthusiasts.
Career Night: How to Get a Tech Internship
Sep 23, 2025, 7:00 PM · MH 2531
Navigate the tech internship application process with confidence! We'll break down each step from finding opportunities to acing interviews, sharing strategies and insights to help you land your dream internship. Learn what recruiters look for and how to stand out in today's competitive market.
Interview Talk & Resume Review Night
Sep 13, 2025, 12:30 PM · MH Undergrad Lounge
Learn important resume building strategies and interview tips from UPL coordinators' experiences. After the presentation, bring your resume for personalized 1-on-1 review and feedback from coordinators, or draft a new one with expert guidance.
UPL Open House
Sep 8, 2025, 6:00 PM · MH 2532
Come by and get an introduction to the UPL, meet new people, and discuss topics like internships, classes, and more in small groups. We hope to see you all there!
UPL Internship Talk
Apr 30, 2025, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
The UPL is once again sharing internship advice! Join us in CS 1240 on April 30th at 6pm. We will describe the current job market, the strategies you can take RIGHT NOW to prepare yourself for the upcoming season, and personal anecdotes about our experiences. See you there! Speaker: Sam Baumohl
Lightning Talks - February
Feb 21, 2025, 5:30 PM · CS 1240
Stop by and listen to UPLers talk about their favorite topics in tech! Pizza will be provided. Talks include: 'Against Software Alchemy: Put The Engineering Back Into Software Engineering', 'Multi-Agent LLM Flows with LangChain/LangGraph', 'Terrible and Not-So-Terrible Ways to Solve Sudoku', and 'How To Make Open Source Maintainers Love You'.
UPL Open House
Jan 27, 2025, 5:30 PM · CS 1240
Whether you're new or returning, come by and get an introduction to this semester's UPL! Meet new people, catch up with friends, and discuss topics like internships, classes, and more in small groups. All are welcome!
Lightning Talks - December
Dec 3, 2024, 7:00 PM · CS 1240
Stop by, grab some pizza and learn about cool topics in tech! Talks include: 'Declaritive Programming', 'Create VR Games with Godot', 'How to Deploy', 'Landing Jobs with Salmon Ladders', and 'OSINTsanity: a PSA on digital footprint'.
MadHacks 2024
Nov 9, 2024, 10:30 AM
Wisconsin's biggest hackathon – meet new people, sharpen your skills, and add a standout project to your resume. Connect with company sponsors and kickstart your career! This beginner-friendly 24-hour event includes workshops, free food, prizes, and swag. Perfect for first-time hackers with day-of-event workshops to help you create a finished project.
UPL Course Preview Night
Oct 28, 2024, 5:30 PM · Computer Sciences Room 1240 (The Big Auditorium Room)
Unsure about which Computer Science classes to take next semester? The UPL will be reviewing all the different Computer Science courses offered for Spring 2025. Get a student inside scoop on the various courses and ask questions! Perfect for learning which classes to pair up or which classes are not required but strongly recommended.
Lightning Talks - October
Oct 4, 2024, 6:00 PM
Ready to learn something new? UPLers share knowledge about their favorite topics in tech. Talks include: 'Sveltekit: Web Dev is actually the easiest thing ever', 'Docker!', 'A Case Study: Making a Passion Project', and 'CLI Productivity (2e)'.
MadHacks Fall 2023
Nov 11, 2023, 10:00 AM
Hackathons are a 24-hour event where teams of up to four have a friendly competition to create the best projects, products, and more. Food, prizes, mentorship, and events are all available. Hackathons give you the environment to make amazing, fulfilling projects in a short amount of time surrounded by driven individuals. Great for adding projects to your resume! Beginner-friendly with mentorship, talks, and workshops available.
UPL Course Night
Apr 6, 2023, 6:30 PM · CS 1240
Curious about which Computer Science classes to take? Come to the UPL Course Night! The UPL is reviewing courses offered for Summer 2022 and Fall 2022. Get a student inside scoop on the various courses and ask questions! For instance, ask about which classes to pair up or which classes are not required but strongly recommend. Pizza will be provided so swing on by! Reservation is required.
MadHacks Spring 2023
Mar 4, 2023, 11:00 AM
Wisconsin's biggest hackathon – meet new people, sharpen your skills, and add a standout project to your resume. Connect with company sponsors and kickstart your career! This beginner-friendly 24-hour event includes workshops, free food, prizes, and swag. Perfect for first-time hackers with day-of-event workshops to help you create a finished project.
UPL Open House
Sep 22, 2022, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
Come by and get an introduction to the UPL, meet new people, and discuss topics like internships, classes, and more in small groups. We hope to see you all there!
UPL Course Night
Mar 28, 2022, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
Curious about which Computer Science classes to take? Come to the UPL Course Night! The UPL is reviewing courses offered for Summer 2022 and Fall 2022. Get a student inside scoop on the various courses and ask questions! For instance, ask about which classes to pair up or which classes are not required but strongly recommend. Pizza will be provided so swing on by! Reservation is required.
UPL Hatathon
Feb 11, 2022, 3:00 PM · CS 1240
The UPL is hosting a Hackathon this semester, from February 11th at 3pm to February 12th at 3pm in CS 1240! Our intent for this event is to provide a space for UW-Madison students to engage in friendly competition and build some cool projects. Also, wearing a fun hat is strongly encouraged! Teams of 1-4 are allowed.
UPL Open House
Jan 31, 2022, 7:00 PM · CS 1240
Come to learn more about what the UPL does, some of our ongoing projects, future events, and how you can get involved. We hope to see you there!
Lightning Talk: Common Pitfalls of Machine Learning in Quantitative Trading
Nov 15, 2021, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
An exploration of the causes of the high rates of failure of machine learning in quantitative trading. A basic understanding of calculus and statistics is recommended. Speaker: Shrey Shah
Lightning Talk: Cache and Memory Friendly Programming
Nov 1, 2021, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
An introduction to improving performance by observing cache and memory locality, as well as techniques and best practices when doing common tasks in C++. No prior knowledge required although an understanding of pointers is recommended. Speaker: Matt Wildman
Lightning Talk: KiCad and Keyboards - a Keynote
Oct 18, 2021, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
Learn the basics of creating simple circuit boards in KiCad through the creation of a UPL themed keyboard! We will be designing a simple keyboard schematic, laying it out in a physical space, and possibly ordering it if time permits. This builds off of the keyboard matrix lightning talk given this summer, but no prior knowledge is required. Speaker: Nick Winans
Lightning Talk: Fundamentals of UI Design
Oct 4, 2021, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
Hey, you're a developer, not a designer. But don't let that stop you from creating beautiful user interfaces! Let's dive into the fundamentals of UI design and learn practical steps for producing apps and websites that look a little bit better. No prior experience necessary. Speaker: Michael Gira
UPL Open House
Sep 20, 2021, 6:00 PM · CS 1240
Come by and get an introduction to the UPL, meet new people, and discuss topics like internships, classes, and more in small groups. We hope to see you all there!
Lightning Talk: Resumes, Interviewing, and Internships - Everything You Need to Know
Aug 18, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
When should you apply for jobs? What should you put on your resume? How do you study for tech interviews? This talk aims to answer those questions and more in an informal and interactive setting with plenty of time for questions. Speaker: Matt Wildman
Lightning Talk: Deploying and Securing Virtualized Self Hosted Servers
Aug 4, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
Learn the basics of self hosting servers using Pfsense and ESXi. This talk delves into how to securely deploy servers on your home network without jeopardizing the security of personal devices using Dynamic DNS, port forwarding, demilitarized zones and subnets. Speaker: Michael Grube
Lightning Talk: A Combinatorial Problem
Jul 21, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
What is the chromatic polynomial of the modified complete graph K2n, which lacks the edges (1, 2), (3, 4), ..., (2n-1, 2n)? To understand and solve this problem, we will discuss several topics from Graph Theory and Combinatorics, such as chromatic numbers, chromatic polynomials, and one important and useful counting principle which justifies this whole talk. Speaker: Reed Nelson
Lightning Talk: Keyboard Matrices and Debouncing
Jul 7, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
How do keyboards work on an electrical side? In this talk we'll learn about how keyboard matrices are designed, ghosting, n-key rollover, and how we deal with the imperfect world we live in through debouncing. Speaker: Nick Winans
Lightning Talk: Travelling salesman problem
Jun 23, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
The travelling salesman problem is a heavily studied problem in theoretical computer science and optimization and has many cool applications. In this talk I will go over the basics of the problem, its formations, and how it is used in various fields of study. Speaker: James Ma
Lightning Talk: Build a computer from logic gates
Jun 9, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
Explain how to build a toy CPU from a pile of logic gates. Show a toy computing machine built in logisim, and talk about how to build a more general computer, whether in silicon or redstone. Speaker: Karl Stephan
Lightning Talk: de Bruijn Sequences
May 26, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
De Bruijn sequences have fun and interesting combinatorial and graph-theoretical properties and a surprising assortment of applications. The info discussed will largely pull from a paper written by an esteemed mathematician. Speaker: Reed Nelson
Lightning Talk: The Web
May 12, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
I will give an over-scoped talk about the history, vision, and particulars of the web. Speaker: Phoenix Kahlo
Lightning Talk: Multi-Armed Bandits
Apr 28, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
An exploration of the multi-armed bandit problem and its applications in machine learning and optimization. Speaker: Will Woods
Lightning Talk: Word Embeddings and Prejudice
Apr 14, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
Let's dive into the world of natural language processing and word embeddings! We will talk about their applications, quirks, and unfortunate prejudices. We'll conclude with ways that researchers are trying to minimize prejudice and make these systems fair for everyone. No former experience necessary. Speaker: Michael Gira
Lightning Talk: Git, code review, and how to actually work in a team
Mar 31, 2021, 7:30 PM · Online (Discord Server)
In this talk I will cover my experiences using version control and other collaboration tools to write and deploy usable services. Topics will include Git, code review, tickets, deployment, and more! This will be geared towards an eager learner who has some knowledge of version control but no formal experience. Speaker: Matt Wildman
UPL Video Lecture Series: Intro to Python
Apr 19, 2016, 5:00 PM · CS 1240
The UPL video lecture series (VLS) will be doing a talk targeted at students to introduce them to Python. The talk will assume completion of 302 and will focus on the syntactic elements of python and introduce some of the strengths and weaknesses of the language. No tools are needed, except for something to take notes with if you're interested. All materials will be posted on our public github repository.
PGP, Tor, and You
Apr 13, 2016, 5:00 PM · CS 1240
Topics will include: High-level crypto overview (public-key/asymmetric, symmetric), PGP and how to actually use it, What Tor is and how to get started using it, and more based on participant suggestions.
UPL Answers: What courses should I take?
Apr 11, 2016, 5:00 PM · CS 1240
The UPL will be walking through the massive collection of computer science courses and providing input on what you're likely to learn in a given course over the course of the semester. This talk will be targeted at freshmen and sophomores who will be jumping into their upper level courses soon and aren't quite sure what to take (although all students are welcome!).
UPL Games II
Apr 1, 2016, 5:00 PM · CS 1240
The second annual UPL Games extravaganza! A fun and engaging hybrid puzzle/trivia/coding event that will test all of your skills! ALL SKILL LEVELS WELCOME! No experience needed!
Perry's Debugging Talk
Mar 28, 2016, 7:00 PM · CS 1240
Perry Kivolowitz, who recently left UW-Madison for Carthage College, is returning to give his famous debugging talk. Perry is a revered teacher and software craftsman, and has contributed much to the areas of graphics and systems. His talk is as entertaining as it is informative. Pizza will be provided!
UPL Interview Prep Night
Jan 28, 2016, 7:00 PM · CS 1240
We'll go over a range of topics, including common and rare algorithm questions, personality questions, and application and design questions.
Intro to Functional Programming with Haskell
Oct 29, 2015, 7:00 PM · CS 1240
The UPL Video Lecture Series will be giving a talk on functional programming and Haskell. Functional programming, and its related concepts, are becoming more prevalent in computation as machines become more powerful, concurrent, and complex. In this talk, we'll briefly go over the paradigm and then dig in with some Haskell, one of the most (in)famous functional programming languages. Attendees should be at the intermediate level (i.e. have completed CS 367), and should come with laptops with the Haskell platform installed.
Intro to Programming with Ruby
Sep 22, 2015, 7:00 PM · CS 1240
Ruby is the only programming language designed for programmer happiness. Made in the 90s, with inspiration from languages such as Perl, Python, Lisp, and Smalltalk, Ruby is a great language to learn for beginners and pros alike. It is not only useful for small scripting jobs, but it also works well for abstracting large systems and powers the ubiquitous Ruby on Rails web framework. In this tutorial, you will learn how to get up and running with Ruby and on your way to programming more happily and productively. The intended audience for this talk is beginners, but anyone is welcome to be there.
