What is a Hackathon? 2024 Edition

A high-energy environment where creativity thrives, ideas flourish, and innovation knows no bounds–that’s what is a hackathon. 

Hackathons are meant to celebrate individuality and the power of collaboration. The participants need not be the next Zuckerberg or Elon Musk to make a difference.

The only requirements are an open mind, a willingness to learn and unlearn, and the aim to innovate.

Let’s dig a little deeper!

What is a hackathon?

The Hackathon meaning and the definition of a Hackathon is pretty straightforward.

It’s where diverse groups come together to tackle real world challenges using technology. 

Usually, hackathon competitions are a 2-3 day immersive experience which can go on for a longer period as per a hackathon organizer’s criteria.

They are far from solo missions; in hackathons, you join a team, often with people you’ve never met, to identify opportunities and address market gaps.

In the vibrant ecosystem of a hackathon, you’ll find the essential roles of strategists, designers, and developers—each bringing unique expertise to the table. 

The strategist connects with customers and communicates solutions, the designer crafts an engaging user experience, and the developer builds the technical solution. 

Together, they create prototypes that can transform industries.

But hackathons are more than just a breeding ground for innovative ideas—they are a hub for networking.

Participants rub shoulders with CEOs, startup founders, business leaders, and even the minds behind unicorn companies. The experience participants and organizers gain and the projects they complete at hackathons open doors to true innovation.

Even failure is considered an important part of the journey, and learning from it is essential. 

Hackathons are intense, but the rewards are worth it. 

The definition of hackathon derives from two different terms, hack and marathon. The term “hack” refers to solving challenges in clever, novel, and unique ways, making it a marathon of solving challenges (hacking).

Let’s discover what are the components of launching it and how do hackathons work.

Hackathon Ideas: How to organize one?

To learn how to organize a hackathon, understand that the core of a hackathon involves an organizer presenting a challenge and participants forming teams to develop innovative solutions.

These participants gather to solve problems across various fields, including technology, arts, education, social issues, and more.

So, these events foster collaboration towards a shared objective. 

Pick the Hackathon Type

Hackathons come in two main forms, each with distinct goals and benefits and both offering unique opportunities for innovation and collaboration.

#1 Internal Employee Hackathons

A study by the University of California, Berkeley, found that hackathons significantly enhance creativity and problem-solving skills. (Reference: “The Impact of Hackathons on Creativity and Problem-Solving,” UC Berkeley, 2020).

Internal hackathons are company-sponsored events aimed at leveraging existing talent and diverse perspectives across the company and company bases.

These events are designed to foster fresh thinking, enhance team building, and promote intrapreneurship, ultimately increasing employee engagement and retention. 

For example, Facebook’s internal hackathons have famously led to the creation of features like the “Like” button and Facebook Messenger, demonstrating the power of giving employees creative freedom.

#2 External Employee Hackathons

In contrast, external hackathons seek to engage outside talent and build connections with broader communities, offering substantial value by leveraging a broader pool of talent. 

A notable example is the NASA Space Apps Challenge, which invites participants worldwide to develop solutions for real-world space exploration problems. This global hackathon not only fosters innovation but also strengthens NASA’s connection with the international tech community.

To decide which type to pick:

• Define the Challenge
  
  • Internal Focus: If the challenge is closely tied to internal processes, culture, or specific organizational challenges, an internal hackathon will be more effective.
  • External Perspective: If the challenge requires broader perspectives or specialized skills not available internally, an external hackathon could be more beneficial.
• Assess Resources

• • Internal Hackathon: Leverage existing resources, lower costs, and simpler logistics.
  • External Hackathon: Be prepared for higher costs, more complex planning, and additional resources for outreach and coordination.
• Determine Goals
  • Innovation from Within: To boost employee morale, intrapreneurship, and engagement, choose an internal hackathon.
  • Broad Talent Pool: To attract new talent, generate buzz, and build external relationships, opt for an external hackathon.
• Consider Outcomes
  • Immediate Application: For solutions that need to be quickly integrated and implemented within the organization, internal hackathons are ideal.
  • Diverse Innovations: For a wide range of innovative solutions and the potential to explore new avenues, external hackathons are more suitable.

Structure of a Hackathon

#1 Announcement and Challenges

The announcement of challenges is a crucial starting point for any hackathon, setting the stage and providing a clear direction for participants. 

This phase involves defining specific, real-world problems that need innovative solutions. 

The clarity and relevance of these challenges are vital as they guide the participants’ efforts and inspire creative problem-solving.

Organizers play a pivotal role in this phase, and they can include a variety of stakeholders:

• Team Managers: Often bring in challenges that are closely related to their team’s ongoing projects or bottlenecks that need fresh perspectives.
• Innovation Managers: Focus on broad, forward-thinking challenges that encourage out-of-the-box solutions and drive the company’s innovation agenda.
• Directors and CEOs: Provide strategic challenges that align with the company’s long-term goals, ensuring that the hackathon’s outcomes can contribute to the organization’s growth.
• Other Stakeholders: Can include product managers, department heads, or even external partners who bring in industry-specific problems needing innovative solutions.

#2 Gathering and Team Formation

Participants arrive and mingle informally, discovering each other’s strengths, skills, and interpersonal abilities. 

When participants first arrive, there is usually a period of informal mingling and networking. This time is essential for several reasons:

• Building Rapport: It allows participants to get to know each other, build rapport, and establish a sense of community.
• Understanding Strengths: Through casual conversations, participants can discover each other’s strengths, skills, and areas of expertise.
• Identifying Interests: Participants can also learn about each other’s interests and passions, which helps in finding common ground for collaboration.

A critical aspect of this phase is the pitching session, where participants present their ideas and seek team members who can help bring those ideas to life. This involves:

• Idea Presentation: Participants get a few minutes to pitch their ideas to the group. This presentation should clearly outline the problem they want to solve, their proposed solution, and the skills they need.
• Recruiting Team Members: After pitching, participants can approach individuals with the required skills and invite them to join their team. This often involves discussions and negotiations to form a balanced team.

A study conducted by the Harvard Business Review highlights the importance of team diversity in innovation. 

The research found that teams composed of individuals with diverse backgrounds and skills are more likely to generate creative solutions and achieve better outcomes (Harvard Business Review, “The Diversity-Innovation Paradox in Science,” 2019).

So, hackathon teams ensure they have diverse skill sets available to solve the challenge.

#3 Tools and Resources

Tools and resources are critical components of a hackathon, enabling participants to bring their ideas to life efficiently and effectively. Organizers usually provide a range of resources, but participants are free to use their own tools as well. This flexibility allows for creativity and innovation.

Organizers typically supply a variety of tools and resources to support participants throughout the hackathon. These can include:

• Software and Platforms: Access to premium software, development platforms, APIs, and cloud services that participants might not have readily available.
• Hardware: Devices such as laptops, tablets, development kits, IoT devices, VR headsets, and other specialized hardware relevant to the hackathon’s theme.
• Data and APIs: Datasets, APIs, and other digital assets that can be crucial for developing solutions. These might include public data, proprietary company data, or specific APIs provided by sponsors.
• Technical Support: On-site technical support to assist with troubleshooting, setting up environments, and solving technical issues that participants might encounter.

In addition to physical tools and software, hackathon organizers often provide workshops and training sessions to help participants get up to speed with new technologies and methodologies. These sessions can include:

• Skill-Building Workshops: Sessions on coding languages, frameworks, design thinking, project management, and other relevant skills.
• Product Demos: Demonstrations of tools and technologies provided by sponsors or organizers.
• Best Practices: Guidance on best practices for coding, design, user experience, and presentation.

#4 The Hacking Begins

Once teams are formed and equipped with the necessary tools and resources, the core phase of the hackathon commences: the hacking. This stage is characterized by intense, focused work where teams bring their ideas to life through brainstorming, coding, designing, and refining their projects to address the presented challenges.

#5 Mentorship

Throughout the hackathon, experts and mentors walk through the venue, offering guidance, advice, and support to the teams. This mentorship is crucial in helping teams overcome obstacles and enhance their projects.
Participants usually have direct access to mentors who guide them through the process, helping them refine their ideas and overcome obstacles. 

Mentors can offer:

1. Technical Guidance: Assistance with coding, debugging, and using specific technologies.
2. Strategic Advice: Insights on project management, business strategy, and market fit.
3. Feedback: Constructive feedback on ideas, prototypes, and presentations.

#6 Demos and Judging

The culmination of a hackathon is the demos and judging phase, where teams present their solutions to their peers and a panel of judges. This phase is crucial as it highlights the hard work, creativity, and innovation that participants have invested in their projects.

In the final hours of the hackathon, teams focus on preparing their presentations. This involves:

• Polishing the Prototype: Ensuring the prototype is functional and visually appealing, fixing any last-minute bugs, and making final adjustments.
• Creating a Presentation: Developing a compelling narrative that clearly explains the problem, solution, and the impact of their project. This often includes using an AI presentation maker, slides, demo videos, and live demonstrations.
• Rehearsing the Pitch: Practicing the presentation to ensure smooth delivery, clear communication, and effective time management.

During the demo session, each team presents their solution to the audience and judges. This typically includes:

• Introduction: Briefly introducing the team members and their roles.
• Problem Statement: Clearly articulating the problem they aimed to solve.
• Solution Overview: Demonstrating the prototype, explaining its features, and showing how it addresses the problem.
• Technical Details: Providing insights into the technologies and methodologies used to develop the solution.
• Impact and Future Plans: Discussing the potential impact of the solution and any plans for further development or implementation.

Judges evaluate the presentations based on various criteria, which can include:

• Innovation: The originality and creativity of the solution.
• Impact: The potential of the solution to solve the problem and create positive change.
• Feasibility: The practicality and viability of implementing the solution.
• Technical Execution: The quality of the coding, design, and overall technical implementation.

#7 Awards and Follow-up

After all the demos are complete, the judges deliberate and select the winning teams. The announcement typically includes:

• Category Awards: Prizes for specific categories such as Best Use of Technology, Most Innovative Solution, Best Design, etc.
• Overall Winners: The top teams that excelled across all judging criteria.
• Prizes and Recognition: Distribution of prizes, which can include cash awards, mentorship opportunities, job offers, or further funding to develop the project.

Often, an incubation process is launched between the organizer and the participants to transform the winning concept into a minimum viable product (MVP). 

This can include follow-on funding to help build projects that have the potential to become startups.

Best Ideas for Hackathons

When conducting hackathons internally within an organization, the focus is often on fostering innovation, improving processes, and boosting employee engagement. Here are some of the best ideas for internal hackathons:

1. Process Improvement Solutions
2. Employee Engagement and Wellness
3. Innovation in Product or Service Development
4. Data Analytics and Business Intelligence
5. Learning and Development
6. Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
7. Internal Communication and Employee Experience
8. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

Best hackathons: Examples

#1 TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon

Held annually alongside the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, this hackathon attracts developers, designers, and entrepreneurs from around the world.

• Focus: Participants innovate new technologies and products over a 24-hour period, showcasing their projects to judges and potential investors.
• Impact: Many startups and innovative products, such as Uber and Dropbox, originated from TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathons.

#2 NASA Space Apps Challenge

Organized by NASA, this global hackathon invites participants to solve challenges related to space exploration and Earth science.

• Focus: Participants collaborate on projects ranging from designing apps for space missions to addressing climate change using satellite data.
• Impact: The challenge fosters collaboration among scientists, engineers, and enthusiasts worldwide, leading to innovative solutions for space and Earth-related issues.

#3 AngelHack

AngelHack organizes hackathons globally, focusing on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

• Focus: Events include both traditional hackathons and specialized challenges, such as the Lady Problems Hackathon addressing issues faced by women in technology.
• Impact: AngelHack’s hackathons have led to the creation of startups and solutions addressing a wide range of societal and business challenges.

#4 HackMIT

Hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), HackMIT is one of the largest and most prestigious college hackathons.

• Focus: Participants tackle challenges spanning technology, healthcare, finance, and more, aiming to create impactful and innovative projects.
• Impact: HackMIT attracts top talent from around the world, fostering collaboration and showcasing cutting-edge innovations.

#5 Facebook Hackathon

Facebook organizes internal hackathons where employees collaborate to develop new features and innovations for the platform.

• Focus: Participants work on projects ranging from enhancing user experience to developing new algorithms and tools.
• Impact: Hackathons at Facebook have led to the creation of features like Facebook Live and significant improvements in the platform’s functionality.

#6 Google Developer Hackathons

Google organizes hackathons globally under various programs like Google Developer Groups (GDG) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

• Focus: Events range from coding challenges to specialized hackathons focusing on Google technologies, fostering innovation in cloud computing, machine learning, and more.
• Impact: Google hackathons support developers in building applications and solutions using Google’s extensive suite of tools and APIs.

Regardless of what industry you’re in, sponsoring a hackathon can enable your organization to gather feedback and ideas for new products, features, or services, promote employee development and retention of top talent, and showcase the organization as invested in innovation.

Hackathon Benefits

One of the coolest things about hackathons is how they break down barriers. In those intense 24 or 48 hours, titles and hierarchies fade away. 

Whether you’re a junior coder or a seasoned project manager, everyone’s ideas carry weight. It’s a level playing field where creativity and problem-solving skills reign supreme.

And the benefits go beyond just the thrill of competition. 

For organizations, hackathons are a goldmine of fresh ideas. 

They’re like fast-forward buttons for innovation, often leading to breakthroughs that might have taken months to surface in a traditional setting. 

But it’s not just about the next big product feature. Hackathons also boost employee morale and foster a sense of belonging. 

When people see their ideas come to life and make a real impact, it’s a huge motivational boost.

Plus, the skills people pick up—whether it’s coding under pressure, pitching ideas, or collaborating across teams—are invaluable in today’s fast-paced work environment.

Research backs this up too. Studies have shown that hackathons not only spur innovation but also enhance learning and skill development. 

Places like MIT and Stanford have done studies on how hackathons accelerate learning and foster creativity in ways that traditional training programs just can’t match.

Shortcomings of Hackathons in 2024

In 2024, hackathons continue to be celebrated as hotbeds of innovation, where diverse talents converge to tackle complex challenges in a short burst of creativity. 

However, there are significant shortcomings that have become more pronounced, especially in a world increasingly reliant on virtual interactions.

One of the primary issues is accessibility and inclusivity. 

Moreover, the collaborative energy and spontaneous ideation that thrive in physical settings can be harder to replicate virtually. Building rapport, reading non-verbal cues, and spontaneous brainstorming sessions often happen more naturally in face-to-face environments. 

In addressing these shortcomings, innovation management software plays a crucial role. 

Platforms designed specifically to facilitate idea generation, collaboration, and project management can provide structured frameworks and tools to overcome virtual barriers. 

They offer features like real-time collaboration, idea tracking, and structured workflows that help teams stay organized and focused on achieving their innovation goals despite virtual challenges.


Furthermore, such software can enhance inclusivity by providing equitable access to information and resources, regardless of physical location. It can foster transparency in idea sharing and decision-making processes, ensuring that diverse voices are heard and valued throughout the hackathon experience.

Ultimately, while virtual hackathons offer flexibility and global reach, they must navigate these challenges to fully harness the potential of diverse skill sets and perspectives. Innovation management tools are instrumental in bridging these gaps, enabling organizations to maximize the impact and creativity of virtual hackathon initiatives in 2024 and beyond.