Attending a hackathon is an amazing way to grow your skills, meet new people, and have fun. It is also a great opportunity to explore something you have always been curious about. You will meet new people and make friends with people who share the same interests that you do. It will give you an opportunity to explore a topic from many different angles which can be both fun and challenging. It will be an experience you will remember for a lifetime. It can also provide you with opportunities for your future career.
It is also an opportunity for you to work with people that can complement your skills and strengths. You will learn how to work as a team and get feedback from the other people on how you can improve in order to be more effective in future endeavours.
Planning for Making the Most Out of Your Hackathon Experience?
Planning helps you make the most out of your time during the event. It also makes it easier to follow through with what you plan on doing. Going into a hackathon without any preparation is like going to a football game without any cheering section. It can be both frustrating and boring. It is also a good idea to plan for the event well in advance of the actual event date. There are some things you should know when you are attending your first online hackathon and these tips will help to maximize your experiences. It can be both challenging and discouraging. It can also be a lot of fun! So make sure to plan ahead!
1. Pick an Interest:
Your first step is to pick something you are interested in. This will make it easier for you to stick with what you are doing. You are participating either because you like the topic and because you want to learn more about something. It can be something that has a personal interest for you and something that is an area of interest from a professional standpoint. It is also helpful if you are in a group that shares an interest. This can help you make friends and it will also allow you to be sidetracked and fall into conversations while working on your project.
2. Know what the Event is all about:
The next step is to know what the event is trying to accomplish before you attend. There are different types of events that each have their own goals and objectives. The goal of most hackathons is to create an opportunity for developers, designers, product managers, marketers, and business people to build any new technology in a timely manner for a specific purpose. In this way, you will be able to come up with creative ideas that work for the intended purpose and in a timely manner.
3. Know Who is Going to the Event:
It is also important to get an understanding of who else is going to participate in the event. The more people who attend the more likely it is that you will make friends and have fun during the experience. The event should provide you with an online forum where you can search for others who are attending as well. This can allow you to find other participants with similar areas of interest and foster ideas from others as well as collaborate on projects and contribute your own ideas during the process.
4. Know What Type of Project You Want to Do:
Knowing what type of project you want to work on ahead of time can help to prepare you for the event. It will also help to keep you motivated and focused during the project. There are many different types of projects that people can participate in during a hackathon and there are many different ways to go with each one. One important thing is that there should be enough time left in the event to allow everyone involved with a project to finish so they can feel like they have accomplished something.
5. Research & Select a Team:
It is also helpful if you research potential teammates ahead of time as it will help to find people who have similar interests and who are likely going to be compatible with your own personal interests. It can also help to find people that have experience in the area that you are interested in and that they are willing to share with you. This is a great way to learn more about something you might not know much about and lead to a more enriching experience.
6. Create a Vision:
A vision is important because it will help the team define what they are all working towards. It can also help the team keep focused and on track as it will keep everyone accountable for their respective tasks and time commitments. A vision also helps to motivate the team members and will make them feel prideful of what they are working on. It also provides a sense of clarity and can give everyone a more focused direction with their tasks.
7. Set Goals:
Having goals makes the experience more rewarding for everyone involved as it will provide the team with specific milestones to reach along the way. The goals will help keep the team on track, working towards common objectives and make it easier to complete what is being worked on. It can also help to keep individual team members in line with regard to meeting deadlines, time commitments, and risks that might be involved in finishing a project successfully during the hackathon process.
8. Pick the right place :
A hackathon can be different depending on the characteristics of the place. It can be a small community centre and a huge convention centre. The type of people present and what kind of atmosphere they have can have an effect on how relaxed everyone gets during the event. It can have an effect on the type of conversations that go on during the event, which in turn affects how creative and fun the event is. It can be a great idea to attend a hackathon judging criteria before participating in any other type of hackathon.
Mercer | Mettl is a platform that facilitates the process of organizing, managing and attending hackathons. The platform includes a searchable directory of hackathon organizers, their experience in organizing hackathons and information on funding. It is an online platform that allows local organizers to share their passion for organizing hackathons and events across the world.