f) Practical tips

MOOC – Virtual Hackathon

Chapter 6 - Practical Tips

Niels Alberts, Science LinX

When organizing a hackathon there are many things to consider and many choices to make for the organizers in order to host a successful event. This is the case for any regular hackathon, but maybe even more so when organizing a hackathon in an educational setting. In this chapter we will provide some practical tips based on lessons learned from the pilot events organized by partners within the Virtual Hackathons project.

This chapter gives an overview of the hackathon format: its origin and concept, its process and the framework and values that underpin a hackathon. The second lesson dives deeper into what the Sustainable Development Goals are about and explains the concept of Just Transition. Both are essential for the virtual hackathon concept.

Lesson 1: Educational hackathons serve a different purpose than traditional hackathons

Hackathons originated as software development events with the ultimate goal of generated functional software by the end of the event. In a broader sense hackathons are events in which (interdisciplinary) groups collaborate to provide a solution to a defined but complex problem. In either case, the goal of the hackathon to provide a prototype, full product or problem solution by the end of the event. When employing the hackathon format as a educational tool, however, the primary goal of the events are the learning outcomes of the participants.

Lesson 2:  Hackathons require a balance between serious and social activities

 By design hackathons are an intensive activity and organizers should take into account the balance between the type of activities that are organized during the events and the time that the teams can spend working on the problem at hand. Activities that can be considered are social activities (dinners/lunches/drinks), team building activities, workshops (either for specific members or the entire team), plenary sessions, peer-to-peer feedback sessions.