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 or­ga­niz­ers 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 char­ac­ter­ized 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 or­ga­niz­ers 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 or­ga­niz­ers 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 or­ga­niz­ers, 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 huge variety of events all across the USA. New events are added every year. Here is a small selection of hackathons that are def­i­nite­ly worth a visit.

What?

Founded in 2012, this is a student-run annual hackathon, which is known for at­tract­ing the best of the best. HackMIT is not beginner friendly – getting into this hackathon is itself something to be proud of, and com­pe­ti­tion is high. Many par­tic­i­pants will have attended other pres­ti­gious hackathons. At­ten­dance is usually around 1,000 “hackers.”

Where?

Mass­a­chu­setts Institute of Tech­nol­o­gy (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass­a­chu­setts

Projects of note:

• Kinarity (2015) is a project which orig­i­nat­ed at HackMIT and aims to help the blind navigate and discover the world around them.
• LeanOnMe (2015) matches those in need of peer support for their mental health with volunteer peers on campus.
• Pusheats (2016) promotes healthy living by offering users the pos­si­bil­i­ty to improve their eating habits. The animated cat Pusheen is the mascot of the app, and also inspired the name.

What?

A free hackathon for students, HackTech accepts 400 un­der­grad­u­ate and graduate students, and even sometimes high-school students. It lasts for 36 hours and is open to beginners too. Travel costs are re­im­bursed, or in the form of a free bus if you live in Cal­i­for­nia.

Where?

Caltech in Pasadena, Cal­i­for­nia

Projects of note:

• HowAm­Ifeel­ing AR is a project that aims to help children with autism improve their ability to recognize and control their emotions through an in­ter­ac­tive AR game.
• MoodTunes is an extension for the Chrome internet browser, which helps take pre­ven­ta­tive measures for your mental health. It is developed so people who are feeling low can listen to certain music cat­e­gories which stim­u­lates the same musical relief as someone close to them com­fort­ing them.
• Piccoku – much like hackathon, Piccoku is a port­man­teau, blending the words “picture” and “haiku,” and is a program to transform your pictures into haiku poems.

What?

Founded in 2014, this hackathon now focuses mainly on open source pro­gram­ming, and is open to teams and in­di­vid­u­als alike. There are team formation workshops for those who arrive alone, and food and ac­com­mo­da­tion is provided on site. HackIlli­nois runs over an entire weekend, including Friday evening.

Where?

Urbana-Champaign campus, Uni­ver­si­ty of Illinois, Champaign, IL

Projects of note:

• In­tel­li­gent Trans­plants was developed to predict the viability of organ trans­plants using synthetic data based on worldwide organ trans­plant trends. The aim is to improve how organs are used, and to help the decision of when trans­plants can be made.
• FyveBot is an app for the extra five minutes in your day. It collects short articles, similar to snackable content, and based on your interests gives you new concepts and topics to learn about.
• FreeWatch is a project to turn old, unused smart­phones into smart home sur­veil­lance systems – ideal for those who cannot finance an expensive system.

What? Another elite hackathon, PennApps claims to be the world’s largest college hackathon. Founded in 2009, this hackathon lasts 36 hours, and has recently tried to in­cor­po­rate healthy living as part of hacking, with yoga and running offered over the course of the event. “Graduates” of this hackathon have gone on to sell the companies and idea that they come up with at PennApps, and getting into the hackathon is certainly something that will look good on a pro­gram­mer’s resume.

Where?

Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia, Philadel­phia, Penn­syl­va­nia

Projects of note?

• Tacteyele (2017) won the third place prize in the Pen­nApp­sXV hackathon, and was inspired by a team member with Parkinson’s disease, who found it almost im­pos­si­ble to use the computer, as nav­i­gat­ing a cursor requires fine motor skills. Using facial detection tech­nol­o­gy, Tacteyele tracks the movement of your head and facial ex­pres­sions, moving the cursor as you move your head, clicking when you wink, or re­spond­ing to voice commands.
• Mindful (2017) keeps track of your mental health, just by saving data from your iPhone usage. The idea is that your online behavior and com­mu­ni­ca­tion with friends can indicate how you’re feeling, and by tracking what your write using the iOS keyboard, mindful can give you an overview of how you’ve been doing.
• Theia (2016) aims to make eye care ac­ces­si­ble to all by providing low cost care to those in poorer countries, or to those with limited health­care access.