Almost a decade ago, the University of Pennsylvania hosted PennApps, one of the different types of hackathons.
Known for being inclusive, PenApps hackathons encourage a wide range of ideas and creativity.
Students come from different countries and skill levels, making it an event where unconventional and experimental projects emerge and gain attention.
This is why when the event saw an unusual project called “Raspberry Pi-powered Banana Piano,” it captured attention for its bizarre yet creative concept.
You would think it sounds so unserious and unproductive, and what good can possibly come out of such types of hackathons?
Well, you’d be happily surprised to learn that every single type of hackathon has something unique and fresh in store for you.
You learn, unlearn, capture, generate, collaborate, prototype, and whatnot!
We’ll talk about Banana Piano a little more later and show you how it proved to be an amazing hackathon innovation experience.
But first, let’s learn “what’s a hackathon.”
What is the purpose of a Hackathon?
Hackathons aim to bring diverse groups together to tackle real-world challenges using technology.
A 2-3 day immersive experience, hackathons are the best way to join passionate teams, often people you’ve never met, and identify opportunities to address market gaps.
Hackathons are not only a breeding ground for innovative ideas—they are a hub for networking.
Related Read: What is a Hackathon? 2024 Edition
Types of Hackathons
There are a number of hackathon formats and focus areas based on different subcategories, such as technologies, industries, sectors, and objectives.
However, broadly, there are two types of hackathons, and all the other subcategories fall under either of these hackathon types.
#1 Internal Hackathon
Internal hackathons, also known as corporate hackathons, are innovation challenges organized by companies to tap into the creative potential of their in-house teams.
Unlike public hackathons, these events are exclusive to employees and focus on fostering collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving within the organization.
Internal hackathons are not just about coding; they’re about transforming ideas into reality and driving business growth.
Unlocking New Possibilities
Participants in internal hackathons—employees from various departments—come together to brainstorm, prototype, and refine processes, uncovering new ideas and developing existing features or functions.
The objective is to solve challenges and explore new opportunities, whether it’s enhancing a product, streamlining a process, or creating a new service.
Incentivizing Innovation
To encourage out-of-the-box thinking, companies often offer attractive incentives to its employees for sharing innovative ideas.
These rewards can range from tangible incentives like paid lunches, gift cards, and extra vacation days to more experiential ones, such as opportunities for professional development or the chance to work on their winning projects.
Why Internal Hackathons are a No-Brainer for Companies?
Simply put, they are a win-win for everyone involved! Here’s why:
- Empowering Employees: Internal hackathons give employees a platform to voice their ideas, fostering a sense of ownership and pride in their work. This empowerment leads to increased job satisfaction and a more engaged workforce. It proves the best way to nurture the intrapreneurial spirit of its employees.
- Driving Business Success: By bringing together diverse perspectives, internal hackathons can lead to breakthrough innovations that significantly improve products, services, or processes. For example, LinkedIn’s “InDays” hackathons have led to features like “LinkedIn Live” and “LinkedIn Events,” enhancing user engagement and platform functionality.
- Enhancing Collaboration: These events break down silos within the organization, encouraging cross-departmental collaboration. This can lead to better communication and a more cohesive team dynamic.
- Accelerating Innovation: The time-bound nature of hackathons forces teams to work efficiently, often resulting in rapid prototyping and agile development. This can significantly speed up the innovation cycle, allowing companies to quickly test and iterate on new ideas.
- Building a Culture of Experimentation: Companies like Facebook, which coined the motto “Move Fast and Break Things,” use hackathons to instill a culture where experimentation is valued. This mindset encourages employees to take risks and learn from failures, ultimately driving continuous improvement .
#2 Open Hackathon
Open hackathons stand out as vibrant melting pots of creativity and innovation, drawing participants from diverse backgrounds and fields.
Unlike internal hackathons, these external hackathons open their doors to a wide array of people—ranging from seasoned professionals and industry experts to students and community members.
This eclectic mix of perspectives and expertise is what makes external hackathons a fertile ground for groundbreaking solutions.
The beauty of external hackathons lies in the convergence of varied skill sets and experiences—all collaborating towards a common goal.
This diversity not only fosters cross-pollination of ideas but also challenges conventional thinking, leading to innovative solutions that might otherwise be overlooked.
For instance, during the annual “NASA Space Apps Challenge,” participants from around the world come together to tackle real-world space exploration challenges.
This event has sparked innovative projects like the “Drones for Good” initiative, which proposed using drones to support disaster response efforts.
Or how about we take the “Hack the Crisis” event for example. Organized in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it brought together diverse teams to develop solutions for health, education, and business challenges. The result was innovative projects like remote healthcare platforms and educational tools for distance learning .
Beyond the Event: Lasting Impact
Open or external hackathons are more than just a competition; they are catalysts for long-lasting change.
The solutions developed can have far-reaching impacts, from social good initiatives to technological advancements. For instance, the “Global Legal Hackathon” has led to the creation of legal tech solutions that improve access to justice and streamline legal processes for underrepresented communities .
Moreover, the collaborative environment of external hackathons fosters a culture of open innovation, where ideas are freely exchanged and refined. This openness often leads to the development of prototypes and projects that can be further developed into fully-fledged products or services
Now that you know the two key types of hackathons that govern the innovation challenge process. Let’s learn about the different subcategories of hackathons.
Hackathon Different Formats and Focus Areas
Internal or external, they both share the following subcategories of hackathons:
#1 On-Site Collaboration Marathons
Imagine a room buzzing with energy as developers, designers, and innovators huddle around laptops, scribble on whiteboards, and pitch ideas over coffee.
That’s the essence of a traditional on-site collaboration marathon, more commonly known as an in-person hackathon. These events are a fantastic opportunity for participants to brainstorm and build projects in a lively, face-to-face setting.
According to a survey by Devpost, 81% of hackathon participants feel more confident in their technical skills after attending an event.
The spontaneous conversations, quick feedback loops, and the palpable sense of camaraderie supercharge creativity and productivity at the physical location.
One of the biggest draws of these events is the opportunity to network with industry experts, potential employers, or even future business partners.
The connections made during hackathons often lead to job offers, collaborations, or mentorship opportunities.
#2 Remote Innovation Jams
Remote and hybrid work is the new reality! Hence, remote innovation jams are the new frontier for bringing together creative minds from around the globe too.
These virtual gatherings break down geographical barriers, enabling participants from different time zones, cultures, and backgrounds to collaborate on exciting projects without leaving their homes.
The coolest aspect of remote innovation jams is the diversity of talent they attract.
You could be brainstorming with a developer from India, a designer from Brazil, and a data scientist from Canada—all in real-time.
This global mix of perspectives often leads to fresh, innovative solutions that might not emerge in a more homogenous setting.
And, thanks to advances in technology, virtual collaboration has never been easier.
Tools like InspireIP, Slack, Zoom, Miro, and GitHub make it possible to communicate, brainstorm, and build projects together, almost as if everyone were in the same room.
You can simply use InspireIP in integration with MS Teams to capture innovative ideas from across your organization spread across global bases–all in one single platform.
#3 Blended Experience Hackathons
It’s quite literally the combination of the on-site and remote hackathons.
Participants can join either in person or online, making such hackathons accessible and engaging for everyone.
For instance, the “HackZurich” event, one of Europe’s largest hackathons, has successfully adopted a hybrid model. In 2021, it hosted over 1,000 participants, with teams working both on-site in Zurich and online, showing how this format can bring together a global community.
Blended hackathons leverage technology to ensure seamless collaboration between on-site and virtual participants.
Tools like video conferencing, cloud-based innovation software, and real-time collaboration software make it easy for teams to communicate and work together.
Since there is always a risk of participants not feeling equally engaged and included, blended hackathons require due attention.
Organizers often address this issue by live-streaming keynotes, workshops, and presentations, so everyone can access the same content.
Interactive elements, such as virtual networking sessions and online Q&A panels, also help bridge the gap between remote and on-site participants.
#4 Focused Coding Contests
According to HackerEarth, participation in coding contests has surged, with over 1 million developers joining their platform to compete in various coding challenges.
Why so?
Unlike hackathons that might involve a mix of business and creative aspects, focused coding contests are laser-focused on coding prowess. Participants dive into algorithm challenges, debugging tasks, and system design problems.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned developer, these contests provide a great opportunity to learn new algorithms, data structures, and coding techniques.
For instance, the “LeetCode Monthly Coding Challenge” offers a series of problems that help participants improve their coding skills, providing a valuable learning resource alongside the competitive thrill.
While the primary focus is on coding, the skills honed in these contests have real-world applications.
The optimization techniques and problem-solving approaches learned can be directly applied to software development, data science, and other tech fields.
#5 Sector-Specific Showdowns
Sector-specific showdowns are like the ultimate niche hackathons, designed to tackle challenges unique to a particular industry. These industries can be:
- Healthcare
- Education
- Finance
- Legal & Regulatory
- Manufacturing
- Transportation & Logistics
- Agriculture
- Energy & Utilities
- Fashion & Beauty
- Food & Beverage
- Technology
What sets sector-specific showdowns apart is their targeted focus.
Instead of general problem-solving, these events hone in on issues relevant to a particular industry.
For instance, the “HealthTech Hackathon” brings together developers, medical professionals, and designers to work on solutions that improve patient care, streamline medical processes, or enhance telemedicine.
One past project from this event, a wearable device for monitoring chronic conditions, has even moved towards real-world implementation.
#6 Academic Innovation Labs
Academic innovation labs are the breeding grounds for the next generation of tech innovators.
Hosted by universities, these hackathons give students a chance to roll up their sleeves, dive into real-world problems, and show off their skills to industry pros.
It’s a hands-on learning experience that bridges the gap between academia and the tech industry, offering students a taste of the professional world while they’re still in school.
A survey by Devpost found that 70% of students who participate in hackathons feel more prepared for a career in tech, thanks to the hands-on experience and networking opportunities .
With industry professionals often attending as judges or mentors, it’s a golden opportunity to showcase talent. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook often sponsor these events, keeping an eye out for standout participants.
Remember the Banana Piano Project?
Yes, the “Raspberry Pi-powered Banana Piano” project falls into the category of Academic Innovation Labs hackathons.
At PennApps, a team created a fun and interactive project where they used bananas as piano keys.
By using a Raspberry Pi and some basic circuitry, they connected the bananas to the computer, enabling them to play musical notes when touched.
The setup used capacitive sensing to detect the slight electrical charge that humans carry, making the bananas act as capacitive touch sensors.
While the project itself was more of a humorous and creative expression than a practical product, the hackathon environment and the playful nature of the project did foster some productive outcomes.
Here are a few productive aspects that can be drawn from this quirky competition:
- Innovation and Creativity Showcase: The project demonstrated the wide range of possibilities that hackathons can inspire.
- Team Collaboration: The team behind it likely developed strong collaborative skills as they worked together to bring a unique and entertaining concept to life in a short period. This experience is valuable for future projects, regardless of the project’s nature.
- Publicity and Engagement: The project attracted significant attention at the event, creating a memorable experience for attendees and online audiences. It helped increase visibility for the participants and the event itself, sparking discussions and drawing attention to the hackathon’s potential for fun and creativity.
- Exploration: Despite its quirky nature, the project explored technical elements and these components provided a practical learning experience for the developers.
- Encouragement for Diverse Ideas: The success and attention garnered by the project highlighted that hackathons are open platforms for all kinds of ideas, encouraging participants to think outside the box. This can inspire others to bring unconventional and innovative ideas to future hackathons.
#7 Innovation Ecosystem Hackathons
Innovation ecosystem hackathons are like the ultimate matchmaking event for startups, investors, mentors, and other key players in the entrepreneurial world.
Hosted by innovation hubs or accelerators, these hackathons aren’t just about coding or creating; they’re about building connections and launching ideas into the stratosphere.
It’s where fresh ideas meet experienced hands, and new ventures get the push they need to take off.
These events are a golden opportunity for startups to secure funding.
Investors attend innovation ecosystem hackathons not just to see cool projects but to spot potential investment opportunities.
A perfect example is “Slush,” a massive startup event in Helsinki that includes a hackathon where startups pitch their ideas.
In recent years, startups like TransferWise and Wolt, which have now become household names, gained significant traction from participating in Slush.
In Conclusion
Hackathons come in all shapes and sizes, each offering unique opportunities for innovation, learning, and collaboration.
From the intense coding challenges of focused contests to the vibrant networking of innovation ecosystem events, these gatherings provide a platform for diverse minds to come together, solve problems, and create groundbreaking solutions.
Whether you’re a student, a seasoned professional, or a budding entrepreneur, there’s a hackathon out there that’s perfect for you.
However, internal hackathons prove most invaluable for companies focused on idea and innovation management, like ours.
They help harness the creative potential of in-house talent.
By providing a structured platform for ideation and problem-solving, internal hackathons not only drive fresh solutions but also enhance employee engagement and ownership.
So, Happy Hackathon!
