Hackathons are put on across the world for people interested in technology to come together and build unique projects in a short period of time. These events are made to connect people with similar interests through teamwork and competition, and largely deal with Computer Science and coding. Participants brainstorm ideas and spend anywhere from 24-48 hours constructing their idea into a presentable product at a common location. Locations can be found in cities across the globe and are independently proposed and then organized through the MLH or Major League Hacking organization. Through grants and MLH organizers, the chosen location is set up with the best equipment to achieve any project idea, and with all of the necessary amenities for overnight stays.
MLH aims to give people with interest in technology a place to come together, produce ideas, and participate in a unique collaborative computer programming project. With such a small amount of time to achieve a final product, many skip sleep and work nonstop. This has led to the criticism that these events encourage poorly-written/sloppy code and unhealthy sleeping and eating habits. Regardless, the final products of some of these hackathons produce truly innovative things that some use on a daily basis. GroupMe, for example, is a product of a hackathon project.
The skills that students learn at these events are invaluable to careers in Computer Science. At many large companies, particularly Google, being able to work collaboratively and express your ideas to a team is vital to the job. Hackathons expose prospective programmers to their future career environment while allowing them to control the entirety of their project.
If you're looking for a way to get involved, check out the MLH website for a list of hackathons near you! The only requirement is an interest in technology and a willingness to work in a collaborative environment.
Sources
https://mlh.io/
https://medium.com/hackathons-anonymous/wtf-is-a-hackathon-92668579601#.lu7qzfz4e
This is a great post!! There are actually many successful products are the result of Hackathons. As you mentioned in the post, GroupMe is one of them. Facebook strongly supports hackthon and in fact, Facebook holds a hackathon every six weeks, and hundreds of employees will attend. Video, the Like button, Chat, Hip Hop for PHP, and even Timeline were all the products from hackathon. If you are interested: check more here: http://appealingstudio.com/3-products-and-apps-you-didnt-realize-were-born-at-hackathons/
ReplyDeleteThis is very accurate. I actually went to Google's interview workshop and they put extreme emphasis on the ability to collaborate. It makes sense though. Technology and science are at a place where, for a new groundbreaking discovery to be made, one mind is not enough.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good point. Hackathon has created a new chance for students to step into the computing realm and many great ideas, such as Groupme, are pretended through this meeting. Many companies in computing realm need their employees to have the ability of group creations or productions, and many students lack that kind of chance to discuss with others who have the same interests. Hence hackathon provides a very good opportunity for them.
ReplyDeleteShuzhi
I really enjoyed your post. Last summer I attended a Hackathon in Vietnam for the first time, and it was such a good opportunity to meet more people from our fields and gain practical experiences! It was pretty intense since basically we needed to be coding non-stop for 36 hours to come up with a good product. However, hackathons are rewarding and really fun in general!
ReplyDelete