Case study of a hackathon: An intensive interdisciplinary seminar
What is a Hackathon?
A Hackathon combines the words “hacker” and “marathon.” It is an innovative format where participants come together to brainstorm ideas and create solutions within a short period of time.
Also referred to as an “Innovathon” or “Ideathon,” a hackathon brings people together to use collective creativity to imagine, develop, and build new ideas. This collaborative and intense format is designed to inspire innovation and deliver concrete results quickly.
What is our format about?
Hackathons have become increasingly popular over the past five years. They provide students with an opportunity to showcase their skills, explore new ideas, and collaborate with others from different backgrounds.
For Institutions, hackathons are valuable because they can help students to generate innovative solutions together to address real challenges. It is also an effective way to strengthen the interaction and connections between universities and practice partners such as policy-makers.
In our case, the hackathon format takes place during a week-long seminar dedicated to the theme of public policy design. This seminar option is open to Master’s 2 students from all disciplines at the University, and we expect 15 to 30 students per session.
In just a week, students can develop unique, practical ideas through intensive teamwork. Hackathons also highlight the value of multidisciplinary collaboration and structure the creative process around specific goals, especially in our case, where students from all disciplines at the university meet to work in groups of 4-5 students and combine different approaches to answer complex questions.
How does the format work?
We organise a 5 days hackathon which takes place over a non-working week, dedicated to introductory courses (resulting in ECTS credits) where students from all disciplines can explore topics they have not yet encountered in their studies. Our format is in-person, and involves numerous on-site meetings organized so that students can meet with key players in each year’s thematic area of activity.
The key steps involve:
Step 1: Define the challenge:
It is important to start by selecting a sponsor and working with them to define the theme or the topic and a related challenge. The challenge should be realistic and achievable within the timeframe. Effective communication is also important to attract motivated participants.
Step 2: Event launch
Kick off the hackathon with an opening session. The teacher explains the schedule and objectives for the week. The sponsor presents the challenge, including constraints and key considerations. Additional contributors, like associations or beneficiaries, may provide input to guide the students.
Step 3: Idea generation
Throughout the week, students take part in seminars and workshops led by instructors and experts. These sessions guide them as they brainstorm and refine their ideas.
Step 4: Prototyping
Once the groups have a clear idea, they move to the prototyping phase. This includes expert-led workshops and autonomous teamwork to create a concrete solution.
Step 5: Presentations and feedback
At the end of the week, the groups present their projects to the sponsor. These presentations may be followed by discussions and/or feedback to refine the ideas further.
Step 6: Post-event follow-up
It is important to stay in touch with both the sponsors and the students/participants after the event. This allows for addressing questions and making adjustments along the practical implementation of the developed ideas. This follow-up stage also helps maintain good relationships with the sponsor and sets the stage for future collaboration.
For universities, grading a hackathon can be challenging. Instead, consider evaluating participation and engagement or collecting feedback through a satisfaction survey.
Tasks and resources
A hackathon is a short timed, collaborative experience designed to inspire innovation and work in the field. Resources need to include an adequate assignment for the format and an external sponsor who is available for a few days.
| Hours | Days | Weeks | Months | |
| Researchers’ time for engaging with this activity | x | |||
| Researchers’ time for dealing with organisational issues | x | |||
| Knowledge exchange officers’ time | x | |||
| Policymakers’ time for engaging with this activity | x |
| Low | Medium | High | |
| Required funding for activity | X |
Examples
Sources and further reading