UP Singapore Hackathon 101

The Ultimate Guide to UP Singapore Hackathons

Hackathons are exciting events where people from all walks of life form teams and attempt to find a solution to a particular problem within 48 hours. Before any UP Singapore hackathon, we get a lot of questions about the hackathon process. This is understandable as hackathons are a relatively new phenomenon in Singapore when compared to places like the United States. Also, UP Singapore’s hackathons in particular have a unique structure. That is why we came up with the UP Singapore Hackathon 101, which will act as a general, step-by-step guide for all hackathon newbies.

The Pre-Hackathon Workshop

Each UP Singapore hackathon is preceded by a pre-hackathon workshop, usually held on the Tuesday before the hackathon weekend. During this workshop, we have talks by people who are experts on the hackathon theme and/or industry. We also give instructions on how to access the data we will be releasing during the hackathon during the workshop.

Although attending the workshop is not compulsory if you want to participate in the hackathon, we strongly recommend that all potential participants attend. This is because the talks will give you a good idea about the themes and challenges of the hackathon. In addition, for certain hackathons, we work with niche industries, such as our next hackathon about the Port of Singapore. Unless you are someone who already works in these niche industries, it will really help your hackathon performance if you attend the pre-hackathon workshop.

The Hackathon Weekend

Here are the steps involved at a typical hackathon weekend organized by UP Singapore.

Friday

We usually kickoff the hackathon weekend on Friday evenings. After registration, dinner and some introductory speeches, we dive right into hackathon mode. Here are some things to note during the Friday kickoff:

1. Registration: All hackathon participants have to register at our counters as soon as they come in. The registration involves quite a few steps. Click here to learn more about the hackathon registration.
2. Idea Pitching: The idea pitching session takes place right after the introductory speeches. Click here to learn more about idea pitching.
3. Team Formation: Idea pitching is followed by team formation, where you try to find the people you’ll be spending the next 48 hours with. Click here to learn more about team formation.

When all participating teams have submitted their details to us, we close the venue for the night after making a couple of housekeeping announcements about hackathon weekend.

Saturday

Saturday is a working day when we keep the venue open from 9am to late at night. We usually leave you alone on Saturdays so you have time to work with your teams. However, we do have mentor sessions, which you can register for with UP Singapore team members when you arrive in the morning. These are 15-minute feedback/consulting sessions with tech/data gurus from the UP Singapore community who volunteer their Saturdays to help the hackathon teams with their ideas.

Sunday

Sunday is the big day, when you present your project to the panel of judges. Hopefully, your project should be ready to present by Sunday morning because it is unlikely that you will have time later in the day to work on it. Here is the rundown for hackathon Sundays.

1. Pitch Practice Clinic: The Pitch Practice Clinic take place on Sunday morning. Here, you will get a chance to practice your final presentation in front of the UP Singapore team and representatives from the sponsor organization. Click here to learn more about the pitch practice clinic.
2. Submitting Presentation Slides: If you are using slides during the presentation, we need you to submit them to our AV team at least one hour before the actual presentations start. The slides should preferably be in MS PowerPoint format. You can submit them via email (the email address will be given out during the hackathon) or via thumb drive.
3. Final Presentations: The final presentations are messy affairs and we do our best to make sure everything goes smoothly. However, we do need your help and cooperation during the presentations, whether you are presenting or are in the audience. Click here to learn more about the final presentations.
4. Judging and Feedback Forms: After the final presentations are over, the judges are taken to another room to privately discuss their deliberations. During that time, we will hand out feedback forms and pens to the audience. Please do take the time to complete the forms and return them. We really do value your feedback on how we can make the hackathon experience better.

The hackathon officially ends after the winners have been announced and the group photo has been taken. The UP Singapore team will follow up with the winners in the days following the hackathon.

So, this is what happens in an UP Singapore hackathon. If you are still unclear about something, feel free to email us at hello@upsingapore.com and we will be happy to help you. Your question will also help us update this guide ☺