Hackathon has been organised by several companies for a long time. In fact it has ceased to be the important domain of almost all the technology companies all around. It is even successfully practised in several other industries all over the globe. In a company, a hackathon event is useful in specific problems quickly and easily. It also provides new solutions that can be implemented at once. Organising such an event like a hackathon in any organisation or company or even if someone wants to become its sponsor then here are certain helpful tips which you should keep in mind to make the event a successful one.
Firstly, you have to focus on setting goals that you want to achieve. Before any hackathon company starts promoting about the hackathon which they are conducting, focus on the fact which is overriding goal. What is it that you want to achieve? What are those main problems that need to be solved? What kind of tool need to be created during the hackathon? Each and every participant has to know all these from earlier to make sure that while suggesting their solutions for a certain problem they are moving in the right direction and also making the right decision. Hackathon generally lasts for a long time. While participating in hackathons all the programmers, designers, testers, and anyone else who devotes their valuable time and weekend to take part in it. Those who are participating in a hackathon are usually a very specific group of people who are very much keen to learn and want to explore new tools, they are also eager to involve in co-operation and also networking. The participants have to show them that they know what they care about and also that they appreciate their presence. Preparing a concept which fits into the politics and philosophy of a business is very crucial and also the setting of a budget, writing regulations, and considering the rules for participating in the hackathon event is very important.
Attracting motivated participants should be the main target of the companies organising a hackathon. The hackathon which the company is deciding to organize should be attended by as many satisfied and motivated participants as possible. There is a strong possibility that the turnout of the hackathon event will be equally successful when the event is held again at other times. To do so, the participants should know how to assess in hackathonand also how to promote it.Reaching the audience, finding relevant groups on social networks, working with schools and universities will help to find appropriate participants for the event. The companies trying to organise a hackathon should try to get information about the qualifications of the participants who might be partakers of the hackathon event. It is important to think about the creation of all the prerequisite tasks before the event starts and these will help the companies to verify the level of knowledge, interests and skills of professionals who are willing to sign up for the hackathon event. The participants need to take the advantage of professional marathon platforms online or onsite which will provide them with the tools that they need for successfully carrying out this event, for example, the application for registering the participants and also for the competition tasks. The final number of participants who decide to arrive at the hackathon is one of the vital issues and another issue is that the participants are fully involved in the event, motivated and curious about the challenges they are about to face in the hackathon event.
Another most important thing to keep in mind is about mentors and sponsors. There are many chief reasons as to why talented programmers take part in hackathon days mostly. Most often it is the desire to build a new tool, for solving a specific problem and also meeting new people. The companies organising a hackathon event will also want to test the skills, gain new business contacts, win awards or find an interesting job. One of the main targets of the organiser is also to broaden the knowledge. Therefore establishing cooperation with valued professionals who are eager to attract even more people to the hackathon event is vital. Be it a blogger, a specialist in a certain field, a successful entrepreneur who also wants to share his success with the audience, a representative of a big technology company who can give an interesting lecture or conduct an additional training can be included among the mentors list. The sponsors will also help the organiser of the hackathon by financing the event by sharing, such as, organizational costs which mainly includes room, meals, gadgets as well as major prizes which can in either cash or in kind. However, for winning valuable sponsors who will attract talented participants and also the media as well as the other partners, there is a crucial need to showcase their values and demonstrate a professional approach in the event.
Sharing the necessary working tools is necessary as well. The place where the hackathon is to be conducted must have a great or strong Wi-Fi connection and this is a must. Putting the information on connecting to the Wi-Fi in a visible and easily accessible place is necessary and also to make sure that the network is secure. There should also be an alternative connection method that needs to be kept ready in case there are problems with the wireless Internet. The organising company needs to inform in advance their ISP of increased user activity during the hackathon event since a large number of IP addresses are being logged in during this time. The computers need to be shared and also it has to be made sure that there are enough socketsat each and every workstation. Hackathon participants tend to bring with them more than one electronic device which would be needed to be recharged somewhere. During the design work carried out in group then certain useful things are needed as well.
