7 Benefits to Joining deploy(impact) 2022
- You will work on something meaningful and rewarding: Most of the world is driven by profit and many of our professional problems center around return on investment. Yet there are actual issues, global challenges essential to our society and the world we live in, which are comparatively neglected. These are the topics deploy(impact) focuses on. And it will give you a chance to use and develop your skills outside of your job and for a meaningful good.
- You will gain real-life experience in the full life-cycle of software development projects: Unlike most Hackathons, this program is designed to cover the whole product life-cycle. From requirement definition with your client/the product owner all the way to implementation of a first prototype. The ultimate goal is to lay the foundation to implement your solution together with the NGO you work with and realize real positive impact on the world. Register your interest to participate now!
- You will work with, contribute to and learn from people with exceptional skills different from your own: Every discipline needs a seat at the table. Experience and research show that inter-disciplinary teams build better solutions. The inclusion of interdisciplinary teams across the entire product development process is intended to improve collaboration across the disciplines of strategy, design, subject experts and engineering to improve overall project outcomes and learnings for everyone involved. You will form part of such a team.
- You will be part of an inclusive space to ensure a positive experience for everyone (even if you do not have a tech background!): First tech project? We believe that it is imperative to offer a first hands-on experience for those transitioning to tech-related careers, providing the chance to harness skillsets and encouraging participants to continue on that path. We encourage women to set foot in the tech space, no matter their level of expertise. This is why we ensure that every team consists of members with varying degrees of experience, so those with more experience in one field, can help those with less experience, while at the same time developing an area they would like to improve on. Register your interest to participate now!
- You will have access to expert mentors sharing the same values as you: Every participant in this program will get access to exclusive mentorship support from leading companies in the Swiss tech ecosystem. Different sponsoring companies bring diverse mentorship support with their industry know-how in specific areas that will guide participants to successfully develop an MVP solution after 6 sprints.
- You will learn before competing: One of deploy(impact)’s primary goals is to foster learning for participants. We ourselves learned a lot from running this program for the first time last year (Oct 16 — Nov 27, 2021 — see the resulting solutions). This year we are back offering an improved, feedback-driven experience, where participants are presented with the necessary tools, workshops and feedback loops for each sprint, in order to successfully build solutions while emphasizing learning. In addition, we encourage collaboration and exchange between project teams to keep the focus on learning and de-prioritizing winning the final prize. As we like to say, participating is in itself the goal.
- You will grow your network and open new opportunities for yourself: Work with and get to know like-minded professionals, building your network within the industry. Previous participants say it’s the perfect opportunity to create something real, something that you are proud of, something that adds value to your CV and portfolio, increasing the chances for you to land your next job in tech! Not to mention the connections you will build with mentors from the different sponsoring companies. Register your interest to participate now!
What participants say…
In an effort to understand the impact the program has on participants, we asked former participant Fotini Handra, who filled the role of UX designer in her team:
Did deploy(impact) have an impact on your career development? How?
Yes, definitely. After completing the project, I included it in my portfolio and CV. I did a new round of applications, which was really successful. I was invited for a lot more interviews and it was the project I mainly spoke about. Also, it was a real project and not a case study, which helped a lot. Now I have my first full time job in UX so I’m a junior user researcher. — Fotini Handra
Why should anyone join this program?
I mean, why shouldn’t they if this is the way to put it. I think if someone is starting off in UX, Software Development or Project Management, this programme is positive because you meet like-minded people, learn during the process and contribute to a really good cause. If someone is more experienced than you, the experience is still beneficial because of the interactions with people. Also, my team and the rest of the participants had a lot of fun along the way! — Fotini Handra
Register your interest to participate now!
Wish to learn more about deploy(impact)…
deploy(impact) runs from October 8 till November 19, 2022
Applications open from Aug 1 till Sep 10
Register your interest as a participant or as a sponsor now, while there are spaces available, and don’t miss any updates.
