Hackathons (notes)

Day: 2 Session Time/Number:   1 Session Space: D

Convener: Shweta S.
Notetaker: Annamarie R.

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Specific resources to share from session:  (links, books, organizations, articles etc.)
eventbrite.com
hackathon.io
meetup.com
topcoder.com

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Why go?
-Learn
-Meet awesome people
-Accomplish a project with a team
-Experience!! With a team!!
-Mentors: Learning from others
-Prizes

Find out about them from the following:
-Meet ups
-Eventbrites
-AngelHack
-Tech companies
-Topcoder.com
-Check out Hacking Kits, Google.

Hackathons focus on things like:
-UI Challenges
-Writing a mobile app
-Design
-Backend
-Robotics
-Connect Devices, “Internet of Things.”

People who don’t code can contribute by
-sharing Ideas/Opinions
-User Interface (UI) design
-Attend to figure out their strengths and find someone who can code their ideas.

End product is based on the team at the hackathon
some are specific, for example to do with a Raspberry Pi:
-Prompt Example: Implement a system on a Raspberry Pi: a small circuit board that can be connected to a monitor and programmed.

End Product could be:
-A Working piece of code
-Presentation

Languages often used at Hackathons:
-Java (DB, serverside…JavaScript)
-Web UI
-Designer
-Python is becoming more popular as well
-Objective C

Once you’ve found a Hackathon, study the website and the instructions. Learn more about the product and the API’s and be well prepared before the Hackathon.

Format of a Hackathon:

Pro Tip: Try to arrive early to network so that you can build awesome teams. Some people make teams before the day of, but a lot don’t and are excited to build teams.

Note: The most difficult thing will be to agree with a team about what to build during the Hackathon. Once that is taken care of, the team can accomplish anything.

-Registration
-1 Hour Tech Talk
-1 Hour Open Networking
-Announcements of Teams and Team Goals/Ideas

Some people bring sleeping bags to sleep a few hours. Some hackathons have amenities: massages, soft drinks, snacks, sofas to relax on, gaming sessions. Companies want you to be comfortable and enjoy the event.

A couple days in, your team can put the parts together and form a pitch or presentation for the audience and judges. The Designer of the group can help with this and show leadership.

Judges will ask questions and give feedback.

Important: You are supposed to write your code during the Hackathon, not beforehand.

Company hosted Hackathons will judge based on the value that a team’s product holds in the context of their company.

Group Brainstorming at She’s Geeky:
If we had a Silicon Valley Women’s Hackathon
-On the weekend for flexibility
-Childcare
-Make it beginner-friendly
-Pre-event sessions, webinars, how-to sessions
-Match Your Team

-Interesting Topics might be :
-Mobile Apps
-Web
-Robotics
-Different prizes incentivize (ie: Scholarships, devices + gadgets, classes, internships, programming books, Cash is always appreciated)
-Hackathon for Testers
-Mentors
-iWatch, Glass, Fitbit