Tips and tricks for a successful hackathon experience
A guide to look to for a successful and enjoyable experience with special examples based off of a hackathon I’m assisting with happening this month, Spectra 3.0. (More details down below). I wish you the best of luck!
So… What is a hackathon?
A hackathon is an opportunity to connect, create, and collaborate with like-minded individuals in all sorts of computer related aspects. Teams formed, either before the hackathon starts or during the hackathon, will spend the day not only creating websites, apps, hardware, and learning how to use many technologies together but also they will learn valuable skills to take from this experience and to put towards the future.
What should I bring with me to a hackathon?
ID cards are absolutely essential and most of the times if you can’t verify who you are you won’t be allowed in, so always make sure to have a student or government issued ID card with you when you arrive to the event!
Comfy clothing and Jackets, Socks, Indoor Slippers… hackathons can range from 12 hours to even 48 hours of just straight up hacking away at your laptops and other gear because of this it would be the best to dress in something you can be comfy in for long periods of time. Jackets and blankets also come highly recommended since large venues can get cold at times. As for the socks and indoor slippers bit, some venues, like Make School, where Spectra Hackathon 3.0 will be held this July, have a no-shoes-inside policy. As for this case you should remember to bring or already wear socks and to bring a bag to place your shoes in.
Electronics (Extension Cords, Chargers, Laptops/Tablets, Hardware). Arguably the most important items to bring with you to a hackathon. Never rely on hackathons to provide what you need when it comes to electronics most of the time there is a limited supply available to borrow or none at all. If you want to hack it or need it to hack with, bring it.
How can I be successful at a hackathon?
Find your definition of successful. Everyone defines success differently so take the time beforehand to map out what exactly you’re trying to get out of this experience and what would you consider a success. Do you want to win a prize, network with a sponsor, or make new friends in the tech community? Having a set goal when going into a hackathon will increase your chances of succeeding greatly.
Research the theme to come up with ideas. Most hackathons will come up with themes for the hackers to create projects around. For example, this year, Spectra Hackathon 3.0’s theme is health. We decided to lead with the question, “how can tech better not only your wellbeing but also the wellbeing of others?” to help others think about the idea as a question that needs answering and solving. If a hackathon doesn’t provide a theme, it’s still good to brainstorm one broad idea ahead of time that you’d like to focus on. This would allow you to narrow your project down to something within that broader idea rather than falling victim to the never-ending blackhole of ideas.
Look up sponsors who will be attending the event, more times than not they will provide you access to their gadgets and api’s for you to hack with. In fact they will also likely be your final judges during the judging round. If you already know what the sponsors are known for you can come prepared with who you want to work with and how to impress them all during judging. Doing this ahead of time will save you a lot of time and effort so that time can be spent hacking rather than researching.
More tips & tricks to make hackathons that much easier for you:
Join any and all groups/social media associated with the event. Organizers of the hackathons post a lot of useful and helpful information in the lead up to the event that will give you more insight into what to look forward too as well as answers to any questions you may have about the event. For Spectra 3.0, we have a Slack with channels to help coordinate team building and carpools, ask staff any questions, and to have introductions to lead to some discussions.
Be nice. Be respectful. Be friendly. Hackathons are attended by hackers of all types of skill level, because so, be friendly and respectful to everyone you meet no matter who they are. This is an opportunity to throw away any biases you may hold on to and to instead be respectful and mindful of where everyone is coming from. Building connections with the other participants can prove to be even more valuable in the future than the hack you made without anyone else. Join in building a community of curiosity and collaboration.
Most importantly, have fun! I hope I don’t have to write an actual description for this :)
Spectra Hackathon is an all women’s bay area hackathon back for its third iteration this year! Spectra is a 12-hour non-competitive hackathon for women and non-binary based in the Bay Area! Join us for workshops, yoga, face masks, food, swag and fun with other amazing women and non-binary learning more about tech! Applications are closed for this year so follow us on social media to learn more about what to expect when you join next year! Follow us @sospectra on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.
All images & artwork are courtesy of Ivy Chen follow her on Instagram @ivavay
