This month has been crazy. I think I've counted at least 10 Hackathons around 7 countries (Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Australia, US, UK, Estonia) which we've helped supported. Normally there is only 1 or 2 Hackathons every weekend in Australia but this world-wide scale has really hit us!! Everyone is rushing to do last minute prep and I can see hundreds of people pre-planning for their next interactive online experiences. So what have I learnt so far? 1.Know exactly your intentions (and others' too!) When it comes to creating an online experience, you need to be intentional, and bring everyone ..read more

Two weeks ago Schneider Electric Pacific launched their internal accelerator program in its 2nd year. Like most programs we changed a lot of our processes this year to ensure it's more effective. The intent of the program is to accelerate growth initiatives for our 2022 strategy. We do this by looking at our strategic goals and determine what we need to invest in to boost growth in our Zone. We’ve had previous success in our program including the birth of our EV segment role now headed by Laetitia Odini. The first stage of the program was to empower our employees to #ActLikeOwners and #DareTo ..read more

Every hackathon I've participated in has been a journey in itself. But there is one element that can make or break your experience. At my first Hackathon experience I had the ideal team: Rachel who was a fresh graduate in Design from the University of Technology Sydney, Trent an 11 year old who came with a couple of friends and was super interested in code, and of course, yours truly. I got to be honest, we didn't have all the technical skills but we had a common interest: to create positive social change for the world. When it comes to Hackathons, many people think the best idea will win. Ye ..read more

Making a big impact on the world is not easy an easy task. Success doesn't just come out of thin air, it's a process of many failures, experiences and learnings. I've been speaking to a lot of people managers in companies who want to empower their people to co-create the future. Trends which I've been noticing is that many people are looking at: Strategic sessions to analyze the direction they are going Forums to allow people to talk about certain topics and identify problems to solve Jams so that people can put their ideas forward and build on each other Online Challenges so people can form ..read more

The dream of landing a career in the field of IT or computer science is a very ambitious but rewarding goal. Here at Hackathons International, we love to help young tech-minded folks grow and hone their skills, so we have created this guide about what you’ll need to learn, how you can apply your education and the secrets to a long-lasting and fruitful career in these exciting fields. Education While you don’t necessarily need to go to college to excel in IT, it doesn’t hurt to get a degree in computer science, as the professors will teach you the basics and give you a good head start. After th ..read more

Before COVID19, I was cynical about virtual Hackathons. The benefit of having in-person events is that it brings people together to socialize and network around a common topic of interest. But how can you translate this experience in an online environment? The real truth is that online Hackathons offer a different experience. For the past 2 months I've been involved in over 20 virtual events and I've learnt to realize the benefits of going online: Opportunities to meet people from all parts of the world, even in countries I have never heard of Hearing from inspirational leaders who we normall ..read more

The power of the people Have you asked yourself why do you want to hold a hackathon? There’s a lot which can be achieved at a hackathon but the secret sauce to holding a successful hackathon is to clearly define your objectives. Here is what we did for GovHack Sydney in 2016. GovHack is about encouraging and celebrating technical and creative capacity, connecting citizens with government for great outcomes, and building upon the social and economic value of open data published by government. Last year it was held at 31 locations in Australia with over 2200 participants. I’ve been participatin ..read more

This month has been crazy. I think I've counted at least 10 Hackathons around 7 countries (Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Australia, US, UK, Estonia) which we've helped supported. Normally there is only 1 or 2 Hackathons every weekend in Australia but this world-wide scale has really hit us!! Everyone is rushing to do last minute prep and I can see hundreds of people pre-planning for their next interactive online experiences. So what have I learnt so far? 1.Know exactly your intentions (and others' too!) When it comes to creating an online experience, you need to be intentional, and bring everyon ..read more

C oronavirus is impacting the way we work, life and play. Every single event that is coming up in the next 2 months is cancelled. Shops have changed operating hours to accommodate the elderly, hot spots are identified and we are now strongly encouraged to work from home.  So where to from here? How can we deliver interactive and engaging experiences to keep our businesses open and create a sense of community? In a hackathon environment, the value that participants get out of them is the networking, learning, creating solutions, and getting industry knowledge and insights.  Here are ..read more

Hackathons. How many of us immediately think... What are all these geeks doing in a room? Did you know that 70-80% of Hackathon go-ers in Australia have never been to a Hackathon? Most people are on the same boat. In this article I’m going to demystify what people actually do in a hackathon… at least at the ones in Australia! As someone who has participated, mentored, judged and supported hundreds of Hackathons over the past 5 years, I can tell you what happens. According to Hackathons Australia, we define hackathons to be a “creative, intensive competition where a diverse group of people sol ..read more