How Hackathon is Organised? Discover Significance, Goals, Types, Characteristics, Rules, Benefits and Much More...!
The main objective is to generate high-value actionable business ideas and product concepts. But a hackathon should also boost the innovation culture and further establish the idea-sharing, effective collaboration and creativeness driven by enthusiasm towards a shared goal.
Employees have a great opportunity to discover technologies, teams and demonstrate their skills and talents outside their typical job description; Corporations have the opportunity to identify talent, experience powerful teams being setup and capture valuable feedback.
Hackathons come in many different shapes and sizes, although their essential elements are the same. The type of hackathon that’s right for your organization largely depends on your goals and budget. Here is an overview of the most common types of hackathons.
The Two Main Types of Hackathons:
Internal and External
Internal Employee Hackathons
An internal hackathon is a hackathon sponsored by the company for its employees. The goal of such a hackathon is to generate fresh thinking, team building, intrapreneurship, and increase employee engagement and retention.
An internal hackathon can help an organization develop a new perspective on existing problems as well as uncover new ideas and opportunities. Employees typically report enjoying the freedom of thinking and creativity that’s encouraged at internal hackathons, resulting in a boost to their job satisfaction.
External Employee Hackathons
External hackathons are intended to enlist the help of outside talent and foster relationships with an external community, such as the developer or data scientist communities. This type of hackathon is frequently used to attract new employees, garner media attention, and build strategic relationships. External hackathons are typically more expensive, more logistically complex, and require more organization, however the net result has the potential to offer significant value since you’re tapping into a broader scope of talent.
Hackathon Subcategories
An offline hackathon is the traditional in-person format. The hackathon takes place in a venue where all participants interact with each other in the same physical location. In-person hackathons are becoming less common in our increasingly virtual world. The strength of an offline hackathon is in the networking potential that naturally arises from collaborating in-person. On the other hand, its weakness is the limitation of participation to individuals within a geographic area. If you’re looking to truly tap into the best and brightest hackers from around the world, you may want to consider a virtual or hybrid hackathon.
An online (or virtual) hackathon is a way to collaborate and compete with experts around the world. It can be done through various communication tools such as Asana, Slack, Zoom, Skype, etc. Internal online hackathons are great for companies that have remote employees in different cities, states, and countries, or for companies looking to find novel solutions by tapping into the global hacker community.
Virtual external hackathons remove geographical and financial (e.g. travel cost) limitations.
Hybrid hackathons are a combination of online and offline events. Participants can choose the most convenient way to join this type of hackathon. If they don’t have an opportunity to participate in the event physically, they can do so online. Hybrid hackathons cater to larger audiences, allowing organizations to leverage the benefits of both virtual and in-person events.
When most people hear the term “hackathon,” a coding hackathon is typically what comes to mind. A coding hackathon is an event where computer programmers, designers, and other tech professionals come together to collaborate on a project. This type of hackathon can be sponsored by a university or an employer, and be either in-person, virtual, or hybrid. Participants work together to build applications or websites, develop algorithms, or create data visualizations. The goal of the hackathon is to create something new, innovative, and functional in a short span of time. Such hackathons are often intended to produce a working prototype.
Industry hackathons
Organizations across many industries run different types of hackathons. Industry hackathons combine technical and non technical talent in solving industry specific challenges. These hackathons can be structured in various ways, either in-person, virtually, or in a hybrid format.
The other types of Hackathon are
Sponsored Hackathon
Social Impact Hackathon
Everyone has their own skills to bring to the table. Try meeting other people with varied skill sets for your team. It's not a great feeling when you realize you're missing someone with design, public speaking or mobile development experience. Having varied inputs also helps with tackling problems, creating ideas and seeing problems in a new light.
. Time management
Having 24+ hours to build an app sometimes seems like a long time, but you'd be surprised at how fast it goes by. Talking with your team about setting up a project plan on how long it will take to develop each part is essential.
. Hackathon must be Fearless
These hackathons are great learning opportunities. Typically corporate sponsors bring mentors in the form of Software Engineers, User Experience Designers and Web Developers to assist in new technologies, bug fixes or problem solving. Employees are a great resource and they are more than happy to lend a hand. Sometimes there are also introduction classes to technologies that you'll be using for your hack.
. Specific Focus on outcomes
Hackathons tend to have a specific focus, which can include the programming language used, the operating system, an application, an API, or the subject and the demographic group of the programmers.
. Team mindset
A team mentality is a group-oriented mindset that focuses on a group's collective goals and objectives. This outlook involves working together toward a common purpose and valuing the contributions and ideas of all team members. A team mentality can be instrumental in helping a team achieve success.
. Innovative Solutions
Innovative solutions are, by definition, using either completely new concepts or finding new ways of using existing concepts and tech to solve a particular business problem.
. Network
Effective networking leads to new career opportunities and new relationships. Here, in this write-up, let us learn the 5 golden rules to network effectively at a hackathon.
Prepare your introductory pitch
Show up early
Show enthusiasm
Start conversations
Follow up
- The team lead must list a mobile phone number on the teams DevPost page (after judging is complete the number may be removed)
- All team members will be listed with brief biographies.
- Short abstract of the project
- The hackathon theme (See https://realityvirtuallyhack.com/about/) and category if applicable
- Team location, floor, and room (We need to find your to judge your project)
- The platform, e.g. HTC Vive, Hololens, etc.
- The development tools used to build the project
- SDKs used in the project, include sponsors WayRay, ESRI, AutoDesk and PTC/Vuforia
- APIs used in the project
- Any assets used in the project
- Any libraries used in the project
- Any components not created at the hackathon
- All projects should be submitted to the hackathon GitHub account (TBA) before judging begins
- All projects submissions will be randomly code-reviewed.
- Applications will be spot checked by code reviewers. All the projects selected by the judges as finalists will be code reviewed to confirm that the code is original work created at the hackathon and all components and assets conform to the licenses allowed in these rules.
- When development ends at least one member from each team will meet with the judging team for a brief review.
Attendee Code of Conduct
- Our hackathon is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, previous hackathon attendance or computing experience (or lack of any of the aforementioned). We do not tolerate harassment of hackathon participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any hackathon venue, including hacks, talks, workshops, parties, social media and other online media. Hackathon participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the hackathon at the discretion of the hackathon organizers.
- Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, photography or audio/video recording against reasonable consent, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Photography is encouraged, but other participants must be given a reasonable chance to opt out from being photographed. If they object to the taking of their photograph, comply with their request. It is inappropriate to take photographs in contexts where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy (in bathrooms or where participants are sleeping).
- Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. As this is a hackathon, we like to explicitly note that the hacks created at our hackathon are equally subject to the anti-harassment policy. Sponsors and partners are also subject to the anti-harassment policy. In particular, sponsors should not use sexualized images, activities, or other material. Sponsor representatives (including volunteers) should not use sexualized clothing/ uniforms/costumes or otherwise, create a sexualized environment. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of hackathon staff immediately. Hackathon staff will be happy to help participants contact any local security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the hackathon. We value your attendance. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the hackathon organizers may take any action they deem appropriate. This includes warning the offender, expulsion from the hackathon with no refund (if applicable), or reporting their behavior to local law enforcement. We expect participants to follow these rules at hackathon and workshop venues and hackathon related social events.
The main benefits that you can enjoy by getting involved in a hackathon are the following:
1. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment
Anyone can get involved in a hackathon, regardless of their skill levels.
Everyone who completes a hackathon always comes out with an immense feeling of accomplishment. Whether you are highly skilled in a particular area or are a complete beginner, you will learn so much throughout the day, and come out of it with a tangible demo that you’ll be showcasing to a room of your peers – it would be hard not to feel proud of yourself after that!
2. You’ll learn new technical skills
There’s no better way to learn new technical skills than by participating in a hackathon. It’s a great opportunity to brush up on your technical knowledge or get to grips with the basics if you’ve never done anything technical before.
You’ll also get support along the way to help you pick up these skills even faster.
3. You’ll get to grips with new technologies
At some higher education institutions, the hackathon team will partner with different tech companies so you can use their systems or technologies.
This helps you to learn about some of the best software in the industry and prepares you for working in one of these companies when you graduate.
Some hackathons are centered on specific new technologies – blockchain or drones, for example – so participants can get a basic understanding of the new technologies that they may need later on in their careers.
4. You’ll get the chance to network
Networking is one of the most important benefits of hackathon. You’re surrounded by a room of like-minded students who all want to learn, collaborate and create the best project possible.
It’s also a good chance to meet mentors, industry professionals and corporate sponsors who may be involved in the event.
5. You’ll improve your CV
When employers are looking at CVs, they’re always looking for things that make a candidate stand out.
By having a hackathon on your CV, employers will see that you are someone who likes to take initiative, be challenged and constantly learn new things – all extremely attractive traits for a potential employee.
6. You’ll enhance your soft skills
In a technical field, you will need a mix of hard and soft skills, and a hackathon will help you develop both.
And even if you’re dreaming of a job in a non-technical field, you’ll learn the essential communication, problem-solving and collaboration skills that will benefit you in any professional sector.
7. You’ll meet experienced industry professionals
Industry professionals are often invited to the hackathon so they can help students get the most out of the event.
They’ll be there to mentor you, give you advice on your ideas and provide tips on the best ways to execute your ideas.
These professionals will give you a chance to get an insight into a potential future career path and learn more about the business concerns and focuses that are affecting different industries today.
8. You’re taking a risk
When you graduate, you will need to learn when and how to take risks in a professional environment, and a hackathon is a perfect environment to start experimenting with this.
Because the hackathon is not a real business scenario, you can afford to take risks that you wouldn’t normally be able to in a real job setting.
It’s a time when you can experiment with new ideas and think outside the box without having to consider any major impacts on your company – so make the most of it!
9. It could lead you to a new startup
Many hackathon teams come up with fantastic ideas that have real-world applications – and, once the hackathon is over, they get to work making their idea happen.
10. You’ll learn team-building skills
The final benefit of participating in a hackathon event is the experience you get working with a team of people from different fields and perspectives.
WHY WOULD SOMEONE PARTICIPATE IN A HACKATHON?
People participate in hackathons for lots of reason: the challenge, the creative outlet, the community collaboration, the networking, the swag…
WHO IS THIS EVENT FOR?
This event is open to both participants and spectators from the community who want to cheer them on and see what the hackathon is all about.
IS THE EVENT OPEN TO ALL AGES?
This event is limited to those 18 and up for participants. Be prepared to show ID to enter. Wristbands will be provided to those of legal drinking age. Spectators of all ages are able to attend the kickoff party Friday and awards ceremony on Saturday.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE? ARE THERE ANY PREREQUISITES OR REQUIRED SKILLS?
Anyone is welcome to participate in this event. While experience coding and programming is a huge plus, teams will also need people with strong presentation skills and brilliant ideas.
WILL THERE BE TRAINING?
There is no pre-event training, but we’ll have Tresata team members on site who will be more than happy to answer your questions throughout the event. There will also be some additional information provided at the pre-event mixer, which we encourage everyone to attend.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I NEED TO PREP?
Other than finding fellow brilliant minds with complimentary skills to team up with, there is nothing that you need to prepare in advance.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
FREE. Free for spectators. Free for participants.
DO I HAVE TO STAY THE WHOLE TIME?
While Spectators can plan to just come for the party and/or judging, Participants must stay overnight to be eligible to win.
WILL THERE BE PRIZES?
Absolutely. Check out our prize page for details.
WILL THERE BE FOOD?
Yes, delicious food and beverages will be provided throughout the event, courtesy of Kroger Tech.
HOW WILL TEAMS BE JUDGED?
- There will be a preliminary round of judging in which teams will present their solution “science fair style.” Only teams that are successful in this preliminary round will present to the larger group in the Award Ceremony.
WHO WILL BE JUDGING?
The judge panel composition will be announced closer to the date of the hackathon.
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