Hackathon

What looks like an e-sport event with a load of gamers, is in reality an event where in­nov­at­ive projects are started, out-of-of-the-box thinking is cul­tiv­ated, and important contacts made: this is a hackathon. It is a pro­duct­ive con­fer­ence for software and hardware de­velopers. In a hackathon, pro­gram­mers work on a problem for a limited time and sometimes achieve as­ton­ish­ing projects and come up with brilliant ideas.

The term hackathon is a blended word – a com­bin­a­tion of “hacking” and “marathon.” However, if broken down in this way, the term could mislead many people, as hacking is usually as­so­ci­ated with de­struct­ive, criminal activ­it­ies. But this is not what is meant with a hackathon. “Hacking” in this context refers to solving technical problems in new and in­nov­at­ive ways. The approach of a hackathon is very con­struct­ive, and pro­gram­mers work to create a useful product during these events.

Applying the term “marathon” to a hackathon is also not quite accurate. Although con­cen­trated pro­gram­ming work is also hard work, generally speaking, software de­vel­op­ment is a time-consuming, drawn-out task. In a hackathon, on the other hand, you get a limited time slot, and the goal is that within a few hours or days, a working program code should be created – a strenuous sprint in ap­plic­a­tion de­vel­op­ment, rather than a marathon.

Hack­a­thons are usually centered around a certain topic, which in turn has an influence on the par­ti­cipants. There are developer con­fer­ences on certain types of ap­plic­a­tions (mobile apps, web ap­plic­a­tions, etc.), on a certain pro­gram­ming language, for the API of a specific service (Facebook, Google), or simply on a general topic (open gov­ern­ment, ac­cess­ib­il­ity, etc.).

Some hack­a­thons also do away with set themes, and the de­vel­op­ment teams can then let their cre­ativ­ity run com­pletely free. Par­ti­cipants are usually software de­velopers – primarily (but by no means ex­clus­ively) pro­gram­mers. Many well-known hack­a­thons are also aimed spe­cific­ally at students or those starting their careers. These con­fer­ences can also be a spring­board for students and new pro­gram­mers in par­tic­u­lar. Big names from the IT industry are often present at these events, who are in­ter­ested in dis­cov­er­ing new talent.

There are other reasons for de­velopers to par­ti­cip­ate in a hackathon. The pos­sib­il­ity of net­work­ing with other spe­cial­ists should not be un­der­es­tim­ated, as well as ex­chan­ging knowledge. Fur­ther­more, projects launched during a hackathon can mark the beginning of a long-term co­oper­a­tion between team members, or other de­velopers.

Last but not least, some or­gan­isers offer prizes – many hack­a­thons are designed as com­pet­i­tions. At these events, a jury selects one or more winners after a present­a­tion of the in­di­vidu­al projects. The prizes may include smaller non-cash prizes, but cash prizes of several hundred thousand dollars are also often offered. Most hack­a­thons do not charge a par­ti­cip­a­tion fee. This is due to the fact that many of these pro­gram­ming events ori­gin­ated from the open source scene, or at least feel committed to it, and are often targeted at students.

There are so many different hack­a­thons, and all of them are char­ac­ter­ised dif­fer­ently. Depending on the topic, duration, and size of the event, what happens and when changes between events. Nev­er­the­less, there are some elements which stay the same.

• Present­a­tion: Almost every hackathon starts with an opening present­a­tion by the or­gan­isers to give an overview of the event. Generally speaking, the main themes of the hackathon are in­tro­duced, as well as the schedule for the whole event.
• Lectures: Some hack­a­thons offer not only the pos­sib­il­ity for joint ap­plic­a­tion de­vel­op­ment, but also typical con­fer­ence elements – such as lectures or workshops. These are mostly topics that fit the main theme of the event, and offer a wealth of in­form­a­tion on it.
• Pitch: After the theme has been announced, par­ti­cipants have the op­por­tun­ity to suggest suitable project ideas to work on with others.
• Team building: Usually the teams are not set up in advance, but are project-oriented and formed re­l­at­ively spon­tan­eously on site. The teams should aim to be as diverse as possible – a team with people with different expertise and from various back­grounds are more likely to have a project that pro­gresses quicker.
• De­vel­op­ment work: After the team has been put together, the actual work begins. Together teams work out their initial idea, then collect possible solution strategies. It is rare that the projects are com­pletely finished within the time period – that is not the aim of a hackathon. It is instead about finding creative solutions and ex­chan­ging ideas.
• Sleeping & eating: At many events, food and sleep are put on the back burner – there isn’t much time for it. Quick snacks here and there, and short nights in sleeping bags are what can be expected. Of course, this does not ne­ces­sar­ily have to be the case, with some event or­gan­isers also offering healthy catering, and a helping hand in searching for overnight ac­com­mod­a­tion.
• Present­a­tion: Es­pe­cially at longer events there are often present­a­tions to break up the schedule, which inform par­ti­cipants about the current status of the projects and highlight chal­lenges. This may also be an op­por­tun­ity to seek advice from other par­ti­cipants. At the end of the hackathon all par­ti­cipants give a present­a­tion. This is not about a finished product, but more im­port­antly, ideas on solving any issues or problems, and a concept to bring the project to a sat­is­fact­ory con­clu­sion.
• Award ceremony: If a hackathon is com­pet­it­ive, the event ends with an award ceremony. Pre­vi­ously, the jury (usually con­sist­ing of or­gan­isers, prominent experts, or selected company rep­res­ent­at­ives) have taken pictures of the projects at the present­a­tions and sub­sequently selected one or more winners – often the par­ti­cipants can apply for different cat­egor­ies with their projects. Depending on the event, the teams can win prize money or non-cash prizes.

Hack­a­thons now exist almost all over the world – and there’s a variety of events all across the UK. New events are added every year. Here is a small selection of hack­a­thons that are def­in­itely worth a visit. Some of the events listed below may not be annual, but all seem to aim to run annually. Check their websites to see when they will next be on!

What? Branded as London Tech Week’s headline event, the HackXLR8 hackathon, started in 2017 and has whopping exposure due to the at­tend­ance of around 15,000 visitors. It is a two day hackathon, with in­ter­est­ing prizes to be won. Where? ExCel London, One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL. Extra in­form­a­tion:

• The theme for 2017 was smart tech­no­logy, with the sub­cat­egor­ies smart home, smart city, smart transport.
• The themes for 2018 are the Internet of Things (IoT), smart mobility and GreenTech.

What?

This weekend long hackathon starts with talks and an in­tro­duc­tion from good speakers from the industry, and then goes on for two intense days of hacking. There are no cash prizes for the Doper Elves’ hackathon but taking part in this hackathon provides good exposure, and the op­por­tun­ity to network. The code used is open source.

Where?

The Gallery, Tileyard Road, London N7 9AH

Extra in­form­a­tion:

• The event was developed by two engineers who organise events for software engineers, and computer sci­ent­ists, as well as designers and creatives. They are both CTO’s of London based start-ups.
• The hackathon is focused on creating real solutions for people and having a mean­ing­ful impact on the world

What?

The Hack24 hackathon runs over a weekend, and is organised by Tech­Not­ting­ham. There is food and en­ter­tain­ment provided (if you dare to take a break), and even an after party.

Where?

Not­ting­ham City Council, Council House, Old Market Square, Not­ting­ham NG1 2DT

Extra In­form­a­tion:

• There was a live stream of the event in early 2018, so if you cannot make it you’ll still be able to tune in! Fur­ther­more, if you cannot attend as a par­ti­cipant, vo­lun­teers are needed very year, which means you can network and join in.
• The 2018 prizes included Amazon Echo devices, Raspberry Pi 3s, Bluetooth keyboards, and other gadgets.