A Hackathon is an event taking place at a premium venue that takes participants on an exciting, intense, and fast-paced journey, giving ample room for them to showcase their skills, passion, and creativity. Likewise, companies can utilize their employees’ unique skill sets and exercise their ability to work under stress.
Hackathons can vary in scope, topic, complexity, number of participants, outcomes, and overall production needs. However, hackathons typically have one of two distinct goals:
- Develop implementable ideas around a pre-defined challenge. During the event, participants develop ideas/basic prototypes and/or services in line with the desired scope. Depending on the scope of the Hackathon, these ideas/prototypes/services may be pitched to a selection of judges, winners selected, and prizes distributed.
- Encourage participants, who would not necessarily work together, to collaborate and forge relationships with one another. Hackathons can weave together cross-functional groups to network and promote a sense of community.
Why SIT?
SIT has substantial experience in creating unique, effective hackathons for organizations around the world. SIT facilitators mentor teams to support ideation, evaluation, and the convergence process. Facilitation skills and project management skills will be applied pre, post, and during the event to ensure the Hackathon results in innovative and implementable ideas.
Unique differentiators:
1) An experienced global team of over 80 innovation consultants worldwide.
2) Strategy, communication, production, facilitation, content, implementation – Full-Service.
3) Experience running internal and external Hackathons.
4) SIT places extensive effort in Hackathon preparations in order to ensure the problem, scope, and goals of the Hackathon are accurately defined. Sufficiently thought-out and well-prepared Hackathons lead to successful events.
5) Participants can be limited by their own ‘Cognitive Fixedness’. Throughout the Hackathon, facilitators ensure SIT thinking tools are properly applied to break fixedness and increase creative thinking.
6) SIT’s experts will ensure that the results are useful both in regards to the challenge AND are in line with the company’s culture.
7) Helping to guide the execution of ideas after the event.
Want to learn more? Contact us to find out how we can design your next Hackathon.