hackathon for problem solving

Hackathon problem statements

hackathon problem statements

What are some effective hackathon problem statements that can inspire innovation and creativity?

Answer: Hackathons are excellent opportunities for individuals and teams to collaborate, innovate, and solve real-world problems. A well-defined problem statement can spark creativity and lead to the development of impactful solutions. Here, we’ll explore several compelling hackathon problem statements across various domains:

1. Healthcare:

Problem Statement: Improving Remote Patient Monitoring

• Develop a solution that enhances remote patient monitoring by using wearable devices, IoT sensors, and data analytics to monitor and manage chronic diseases.

2. Education:

Problem Statement: Personalized Learning Paths

• Create a personalized learning platform utilizing AI and machine learning that tailors educational content and activities to individual learning styles and paces.

3. Environment:

Problem Statement: Reducing Carbon Footprint

• Design an app or platform that helps individuals and companies track, reduce, and offset their carbon emissions through sustainable actions and choices.

4. Urban Planning:

Problem Statement: Smart City Innovations

• Develop a solution that integrates smart technology into urban planning to improve traffic management, reduce energy consumption, and enhance the quality of life for residents.

5. Financial Technology (FinTech):

Problem Statement: Enhanced Financial Inclusion

• Build a solution aimed at increasing financial inclusion for underbanked populations, providing them with access to essential financial services through mobile and online platforms.

6. Cybersecurity:

Problem Statement: Strengthening Data Privacy

• Develop a cybersecurity solution that enhances data protection and privacy for individuals and organizations, leveraging encryption, blockchain, or other advanced technologies.

7. Mental Health:

Problem Statement: Access to Mental Health Resources

• Create a mobile application or virtual platform that provides access to mental health resources, support groups, and teletherapy, making them easily accessible to those in need.

8. Agriculture:

Problem Statement: Smart Farming Solutions

• Develop an IoT-based solution that helps farmers optimize crop yields, reduce waste, and manage resources more efficiently through real-time data analytics and automation.

9. Social Good:

Problem Statement: Bridging the Digital Divide

• Create a platform or service that brings digital literacy and internet access to underserved communities, enabling them to participate fully in the digital economy.

10. Accessibility:

Problem Statement: Improving Accessibility for the Disabled

• Build an innovative solution that enhances accessibility for people with disabilities, providing them with tools and resources to navigate daily life more independently.

Final Answer: Effective hackathon problem statements should be clear, actionable, and inspiring, driving participants to develop innovative and practical solutions. The examples provided span a range of sectors and issues, each offering a meaningful challenge with the potential for significant real-world impact.

What is a Hackathon?

What is a hackathon and how does it work complete guide.

Allowing experts to work together in a fun yet competitive environment is the key to developing top-notch solutions.  

Over the past 20 years, hundreds of organizations have been using hackathons to improve their bottom line. With the power of competition and a limited timeframe pushing them forward, young (and not-so-young) specialists have been coming up with high-quality solutions that drove innovations and kickstarted careers.

What is a hackathon, anyway? Let's take a closer look.

What is a hackathon?

A hackathon is an event that brings together experts and creates a collaborative environment for solving a certain problem. While the majority of hackathons revolve around computer programming and IT, many other industries follow suit. Today, it's possible to find HR hackathons, economics hackathons, music hackathons, and the like.

The word hackathon is a combination of "hack" and "marathon." So, essentially it's a marathon for hackers.  But, in this case, hackers are exploratory computer programmers.

The first hackathon dates back to June 1999 when OpenBSD brought together ten software developers who worked on cryptographic software.

Modern hackathons appeal to sponsors, partners, and recruiters. Besides working on a solution, hackathon participants join workshops, make presentations, interact with sponsors, communicate with recruiters, and much more.

Let's define hackathon in simple terms.

Hackathon definition

A hackathon is an event set up by a company or an organization that wants to get a high-quality solution through collaboration between experts. Hackathon format is often competitive.

For example, an organization wants to design a brand new operating system. It hosts a hackathon that brings together 10 startups or teams of developers.  Each team provides a solution. The jury chooses the best product and hands out a prize.  After the event, the organization may choose to sign a contract with the winning team. 

It's not just the winner, who gets a shot at landing a contract. Many tech companies monitor hackathon activities and buy products or choose new team members on the spot.

Why are hackathons so popular?

The success of the hackathon format stems from creative freedom. Instead of using a specific methodology or following company rules, tech experts are free from typical development constraints.

While there is a time limit, hackathon organizers usually don't impose a strict framework. Such an environment is highly productive.  

In addition to problem-solving, hackathon participants get an opportunity to learn, share their ideas, do effective networking, and enjoy a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere. Meanwhile, organizers gain access to top talent and a chance to find an innovative solution to their problems.

How do hackathons work?

How does a hackathon work? Hackathons are usually theme-based. An organizer chooses a theme that aligns with its business goals and appeals to the right teams, sponsors, and partners. After that, they:

• Set up judging criteria and pick a hackathon jury.
• Decide on the prizes.
• Pick the right venue (it's also possible to organize a virtual hackathon).
• Arrange food and drinks if the hackathon event is offline.
• Set up equipment for offline events and arrange the necessary software (like Slack, Zoom, Crowdcast, etc.) or a platform for the online version.

To bring as many participants to the hackathon as possible, the organizing party can market the upcoming event with press releases, social media posts, email campaigns, and paid ads. The host can also contact incubators, accelerators as well as teaching and administrative staff at universities.   

For participants, both online and offline hackathon structure is usually straightforward. Even when newcomers don't have a clear idea of what happens at a hackathon, they get used to the format quickly.

In short, hackathons work by bringing talent together to work on a mutual problem. The organizer arranges a helpful, relaxing, and productive environment for effective collaboration and competition. Meanwhile, participants take advantage of the format to find solutions, learn, network, and discover better career opportunities.

What do you do at a hackathon?

The main goal of a hackathon is to find an effective solution to a problem. Accordingly, developers, designers, engineers or whoever else participates in the event work toward discovering that solution.

Meanwhile, organizers and sponsors look for collaboration opportunities, attend to organizational aspects of the event, and do networking.

How long do hackathons last?

Hackathons usually last 24 to 72 hours. When teams declare their participation, they usually have a week to prepare. During this time, they decide which team member is responsible for what part of the project.

However, many hackathon participants are individual specialists. New teams form during the first hours of the event, so roles need to be set on the spot.

Types of hackathons

While the main elements of hackathons are similar, these events come in many shapes and sizes. The most common types of hackathons are:

Internal hackathons

An internal hackathon is a hackathon organized by the company for its employees. The goal of such a hackathon is brainstorming, team building, inspiring intrapreneurship, increasing employee engagement, and streamlining awareness.

A hackathon can help an organization understand its talent better while gaining an opportunity to scale. Employees enjoy the freedom of the creative environment and start thinking outside the box.

External hackathons

For an external hackathon, an organization works with both internal and external experts. These hackathons allow companies to find new talent, speed up product development, harvest new ideas, and much more.

External hackathons are usually bigger and more expensive than internal events. However, the outcomes tend to carry significant value.

Coding hackathons

Just like the very first OpenBSD hackathon, coding competitions involve coding experts getting together and creating working software during a set period of time. Such hackathons can last longer than the average 24 – 72 hours and result in one or several finished products.

Industry hackathons

Not all hackathons are arranged by IT companies. Organizations across many industries run different types of hackathons. The most popular examples of industry-specific hackathons are Music Hack Day and Science Hack Day.  

Offline, online, and hybrid hackathons

Hackathons can be arranged in three formats:

Offline hackathon 

An offline hackathon is the traditional format. The event takes place in a venue where all participants interact with each other and organizers personally. 

Online hackathons 

An online (or virtual) hackathon is an excellent way to work with talented experts around the globe. The entire event is arranged online. It can be done through a special platform or by using different collaboration and communication tools like Asana, Slack, Zoom, Skype, etc.

Internal online hackathons are great for companies that have remote employees in different cities, states, and countries. External online hackathons remove geographical and financial (e.g. travel cost) limitations.

Hybrid hackathons 

Hybrid hackathons are a combination of online and offline events. Participants can choose the most suitable way to join this type of hackathon. If they don't have an opportunity to participate in the event physically, they can do it online.

Hybrid hackathons cater to larger audiences, allowing organizations to leverage the benefits of both virtual and in-person events.

Common hackathon structure 

The typical hackathon structure includes:

• Introductions (meet-and-greet).
• Overview of the event (organizers explain hackathon rules and regulations and expectations).
• Project pitches (participants can pitch ideas and form teams).
• Hacking (collaboration on the project in a team format).
• Presenting a finished product or unfinished work (this happens more often due to time constraints).
• The jury decides who the winners are and hands out prizes.

At the end of the event, the organizer usually arranges a closing program that helps participants find networking opportunities and relax after a long and productive event.

Once the hackathon is over, the company follows up with participants, asking for feedback. This information can be valuable for arranging hackathons in the future. Following up also allows organizers and participants to keep in touch for further collaboration opportunities.

Common Hackathon rules and regulations

To ensure a productive environment, each company designs its own set of hackathon rules and regulations that include the code of conduct. The most common points they touch upon include:

• The number of team members.
• A welcoming environment for all minorities.
• The good spirit of the competition.
• Tools that teams can use.
• Time limits.
• The ability to resubmit projects to other hackathons and using previous work on the current hackathon.
• Reporting procedures for violating the code of conduct.

It's also highly important to develop clear judging criteria. Some criteria can be:

• Business value — does the solution have the potential to earn money?
• Impact — can the solution make an impact on the industry, drive innovation, streamline development, etc.?
• Realistic — how realistic is the product? Will it be easy to execute?
• Design — is the product user-friendly and easy to understand?
• Completion — did the team present a completed project, or is it unfinished?

An example would look like this:

"The project will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Business value — 20%
• Design — 30%
• Impact — 30%
• Completion — 20%"

Clear judging criteria make it easy for participants and the panel of judges to keep the focus on the right elements of the project.

Hackathon benefits for companies and participants

The rising popularity of hackathons is caused by an impressive variety of benefits for both organizers and participants.

For companies:

• Healthy collaborative approach — breakthroughs are rarely made by a single mind. They are a team effort. By arranging hackathons, companies inspire a collaborative approach, allowing employees and external talent to come up with something truly useful.
• Diversification — an external hackfest (kw from Clearscope) (especially when conducted online) creates a highly diverse pool of participants, bringing brand-new opinions into the picture. In many cases, cultural and demographic diversity is the key to generating innovative ideas.
• New products — new product development is always complex and costly for companies. Hackathons inspire experts to source new technologies and create innovative products within a short period of time.
• Recruitment opportunities — during a hackathon, companies can watch young talent at work and find new members for their teams.
• Branding — hackathons are a brand awareness opportunity for hosts. These events often create a lot of buzz, keeping the brand on top of the target audience's minds.

For participants:

• Opportunity to learn something new — working with other experts on the same software projects turns a hackathon into a significant learning experience.
• Career opportunities — since many companies and sponsors attend hackathons, participants can land a new contract. For internal hackathons, excellent performance can push a participant up the career ladder. For new coders, participating in a hackathon can be a great career opportunity. High school and college students get a chance to start their careers early.
• Challenge — a hackathon can bring specialists out of their comfort zone and push them to meet people and make new professional discoveries. Collaborating under pressure can help participants examine their abilities from a new angle.
• Breakthroughs — while not all hackathons result in real breakthroughs, they create an excellent environment for them. Each new hackathon gives participants a chance to become part of something special.

Besides being highly beneficial for companies and participants, hackathons are fun and fulfilling. They are an excellent way for experts and managers to spend time together and work toward a common goal in a brand-new environment.  

4 Hackathon examples

Companies of all sizes take advantage of hackathons to reap a variety of benefits. Here are a few popular examples:

1. Facebook -  Internal Hackathon

The social media giant arranged internal hackathons regularly. Since the company launched, it hosted 50 hackathons that have become a part of the company culture. The benefits for the company include improved team collaboration and innovative solutions.

2. Music Hack Day – Industry Hackathon

Music Hack Day is a hackathon that inspires solutions for the music industry. The very first event attracted 200 developers who had only one day to create new web apps using the APIs of participating companies. Today, these hackathons take place all over the world.

3. HackMIT – External Hackathon

This leading MIT hackathon is aimed at providing team building, collaboration, and career opportunities for college students worldwide. Many renowned companies check out HackMIT when hunting for new talent

4. TechCrunch Disrupt – Online Coding Hackathon

This 3 day event is arranged online to give coders an opportunity to showcase their skills. TechCrunch's codefest is an excellent option for coders of all skill levels to make new connections, try working under pressure, and discover new career opportunities.

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What is a Hackathon? Final points

Hackathons are highly popular across many industries. They drive innovations, generate ideas, create networking opportunities, and open new horizons. These events come with many benefits for all participating parties, including sponsors, partners, and hosts.

If you are looking for a way to improve internal team collaboration, drive innovation, develop new products, source new talent, and improve your company's bottom line, a successful hackathon can get the job done.

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How to run a successful Hackathon

A step-by-step guide by Joshua Tauberer based on running and participating in many hackathons.

These notes come from five successful years of Open Data Day DC and other civic hackathons that I’ve run, sponsored, or participated in.

The ideas have been inspired by many individuals, especially including my Open Data Day DC co-organizers Eric Mill, Sam Lee, Katherine Townsend, and Julia Bezgacheva, as well as Justin Grimes, Matt Bailey, Leah Bannon, Laurenellen McCann, and Greg Bloom.

What is a hackathon?

I define “hackathon” very broadly:

• Hacking is creative problem solving. (It does not have to involve technology.)
• A hackathon is any event of any duration where people come together to solve problems. Most hackathons I’ve run also have a parallel track for workshops.

Participants typically form groups of about 2-5 individuals, take out their laptops (if the event is technology themed), and dive into problems. Training workshops are a great parallel track especially for newcomers but also for all participants.

Positive energy

Hackathons have gotten a bad rap because of some that have an unhealthy, competitive structure, and for setting unrealistic expectations. Don’t run a hackathon like that and you’ll be on the right track. Here are the goals I keep in mind:

• Strengthen the community that the hackathon is for.
• Be welcoming to newcomers to the community.
• Provide an opportunity for participants to learn something new.
• Provide a space and a time for participants to make headway on problems they are interested in.

Since you’re not going to solve a problem, don’t put unrealistic (and unhealthy) pressure on your participants. Don’t stay up all night, don’t pump participants with caffeine, and don’t make winners and losers. Just don’t. There has never been beer, competitions, or time pressure at my hackathons. Participants should come energized and be greeted with positive energy.

Wait — maybe a hackathon isn’t the right thing

My notes below are mostly logistical and assume a technology-centric approach. I take it for granted that you want to run a hackathon. But read So You Think You Want to Run a Hackathon? Think Again by Laurenellen McCann for thoughts on other (and sometimes better) ways of engaging a community.

Also consider not calling your event a “hackathon”. Not everyone will know what you mean, and “hacking” might make it less likely that all groups will feel welcome .

If the goal of your hackathon is to market a product, stop here and read a different guide. Your goals and my goals are not the same.

Welcoming newcomers

The hardest thing about running a successful hackathon is being welcoming to newcomers and helping them get involved in an activity.

Newcomers often suffer from “ imposter syndrome ”, the feeling that they don’t belong because they don’t have skills, aren’t smart enough, etc. They’re wrong, of course, but until they feel like they belong they will not be able to have a fulfilling experience. It is the hackathon organizer’s job to help them realize they have something to contribute.

First time hackathon participants are often overwhelmed when it comes time to finding a project to work on. They may not yet know how to relate their own skills to the sorts of projects being worked on. Knowing how to be useful is a skill in itself. You will need to guide them to a project and through a process for them to realize how they can contribute. If you have too many lost participants and not enough help in getting them started on a project, they will leave — try to avoid that.

The hackathon organizer must make sure that everyone has something to do. One way to do this is to have a list of project leaders ahead of time: people you know are coming with particular projects that you can guide other participants to. And you can work to make sure your hacking projects are ready to accept newcomers. You can also hold non-project activities — workshops, described below — which are easier for newcomers to join.

You could also consider pairing newcomers with mentors or holding a pre-event session just for newcomers, as Wikimedia recently did .

The hacking track is for participants to dive into problems. Often groups of 2-5 individuals form around a project, such as building a new data visualization, writing a document, or collaboratively investigating a problem. Participants take out their laptops, connect to power and wifi, and get working.

Hacking begins with project introductions. Participants that bring projects to the event have an opportunity to briefly (1 minute max) explain what they are working on at the very start of the event so that other participants can join that project. At the end of the event, a wrap-up session gives each project a chance to demonstrate some accomplishments.

Cultivating Good Projects

Not every project makes a good hackathon project. It is extremely important to maximize the following qualities in the projects at your event:

• Clearly articulated. Projects should have a clear question or problem they are trying to solve plus a reasonably specific proposed solution.
• Attainable. Most projects will accomplish about 25% of what they think they can accomplish in the limited time they have. Manage each project’s goals so participants are able to feel accomplished at the end of the session, not interrupted.
• Easy to onboard newcomers. Projects should have ready-to-go tasks for newcomers with a variety of skills and at a variety of skill levels. For coding projects, these tasks can’t require an intimate understanding of the code base, and make sure the build environment can be spun up in less than 20 minutes. Make a list of tasks or create github issues ahead of time!
• Led by a stakeholder. A stakeholder (or “subject matter expert”) guides a project to real-world relevance. Projects without a stakeholder can “solve” a problem that doesn’t exist. Ideally the leader (or one of the leaders) is a stakeholder, or a good proxy for a stakeholder. I strongly recommend reviewing Laurenellen McCann’s Build With, Not For series on involving stakeholders in all civic tech work. Additionally, it is never enough for a project leader to just be an ideas person. Beware when the leader is a stakeholder but can’t foresee how he or she might be implementing along with the rest of the team.
• Organized. For projects with four or more members, especially newcomers, the project leader’s role should be to coordinate, ensuring each team member has something to work on and helping to welcome new team members.

Treat these bullets like a checklist. Projects that think about themselves in terms of these qualities tend to be happier and more productive.

If you know what projects are going to be worked on at the event, the earlier you can get those projects thinking about this the better. Meet with project leads and talk about these components of their project ahead of time if possible. As an organizer, having this information about projects can also help you route participants to projects they may want to work on.

At Themed Hackathons

A themed hackathon is one in which the projects are confined to a particular problem: such as food sustainability or returning citizens . Themed hackathons are able to attract subject matter experts (something that open-ended hackathons like Open Data Day DC are not good at), and projects typically revolve around problems that the subject matter experts bring to the table.

When themed hackathons are also technology hackathons, there is a common problem: Subject matter experts can readily identify problems in their field but cannot always turn those problems into workable technology projects. Other participants may be ready to apply their skills but not know anything about the hackathon’s theme. Bridging that gap requires careful planning ahead of time.

What often results is a division of the room into three groups:

• Subject matter experts and other participants successfully working together.
• Subject matter experts working with other subject matter experts on problem investigation but not implementation.
• Other participants struggling to find something relevant to work on / implementing a solution of minimal value to solving the theme’s actual problems.

#1 is great. #2 is fine if the group is happy. But #3 is bad: participants without subject matter guidance will feel lost. To avoid this, make sure you have enough workable projects for everyone ahead of the event. Work with the subject matter experts before the event to turn their problems into projects. See the section Cultivating Good Projects above to ensure there is a coherent question, that the necessary resources exist (e.g. datasets), and that the skills needed for the project match the skills expected to be brought by other participants (and in sufficient quantity).

Additionally, a subject matter expert may propose many ideas but he or she can only effectively participate in a single project during the event, so ensure that there is at least one subject matter expert + workable project for about every four non-expert participants.

Placing Newcomers into New Projects

Onboarding participants onto existing projects can be very difficult. It is one of the hardest parts of hacking. So have ideas for new projects that are especially easy for participants to get started with if they can’t join an existing project. Having project ideas ready is especially important if you do not expect many participants to bring projects! And always be open to project ideas from participants. A project of one, meaning someone working alone, is okay too!

Do not allow anyone to pitch an idea that they will not be working on at the event, unless there really are not enough ideas to go around. Otherwise, this is a waste of everyone’s valuable time.

Once hacking has begun, do not interrupt the hackers except to ensure that the hacking is going smoothly, to check that everyone has something to do, and to keep people on the overall schedule. Mid-day activities such as lunch-time speakers and video calls with people off-site are incredibly distracting for participants who are now eager to get working on a problem.

A successful hackathon might be just hacking, just training, or both hacking and training.

If you have a significant number of newcomers, having training workshops is a great way to give them something to do that they will be more comfortable with than diving into hacking. You can run workshops to introduce participants to the subject of the hackathon or to particular technical skills useful for the hackathon. Workshops can also be places to have a discussion about issues in the field related to the hackathon. Workshops should be interactive as much as possible

Choose your workshop leaders carefully. Ideally the leaders have run the same workshop before so they are well rehearsed. They should also be as diverse as the attendees you would like to see present at the event (gender, race, age, etc.). Read the Hopper Conference Diversity Guide ’s tips on selecting speakers.

Run the workshops in a second room if at all possible. 45-90 minute workshops are a good length. If you have more than one workshop, leave 15-30 minutes free between workshops to allow for the first leader to close up and the second leader to set up.

At Open Data Day DC, we have run six workshops over two days on an introduction to open data and APIs, an introduction to collaboration using github, open mapping, an introduction to Python, and community engagement.

Venue & date

Basic requirements.

Find a venue to host your event and reserve the date. This is the only thing you need to do significantly in advance of the event. The earlier you can reserve space the better.

Find a venue that can provide:

• Proper seating (see below)
• One power strip per table
• Wifi (is it fast and reliable? can it connect all of your participants? does it block any ports?)
• A microphone, at least in large rooms
• Accessible entrances and wheelchair-friendly seating space (and if there is a stage, check if it is accessible, if applicable)
• Gender-neutral, single-occupancy, accessible bathrooms

(If you are running a large event, also read through all of the accessibility concerns listed here .)

Seating requirements are different for hacking and workshops. For hacking, you will want a banquet-style setup with large circular tables that seat about 10 people each. Rooms in banquet-setup hold the fewest number of people compared to other table/chair arrangements, so take that into account when computing capacity. For workshops you will want classroom-style seating, i.e. rectangular tables with chairs on one side.

Choose the date of your event carefully. Avoid the summer, holidays, and other major events in your field. Weekends are hard for people who are attending in their professional capacity. Weeknights are hard for parents.

Ask your venue about permissible start and end times. Set times for when you will arrive/leave and for when participants will arrive/leave. Plan at least 30 minutes before and after the event for you to set up and tear-down/cleanup.

Make sure you can get in and that your participants can get in. If the building’s front door is locked, make sure you have a key and that you have someone posted at the door to let in participants (you may need a team of people to rotate at the front door throughout the day).

Also check...

Check whether the venue permits you to have food in the room.

If holding the event outside of business hours, check that the venue will have air conditioning/heating.

Budgeting your venue

Professional venues charge quite a bit of money, so you will need to find something that fits your budget. Hopefully you can find some free space with good wifi (your local library, a friend’s company, etc.).

For a large, one-full-day event in a major city, expect venues to change in the thousands of dollars per day. It depends on how much space you need, and there is no rhyme or reason to pricing, but it usually comes out to about $10-$30 per person.

Sponsorship

For large events, you will probably need sponsors to help you cover the costs.

Sponsors will give you something — cash, space, food, t-shirts — with the expectation that they get something out of their support for your event. They might be recruiting/hiring and are looking to scout out your attendees, or they might be marketing a product that they want to promote.

Think about what you’re willing to give sponsors in return for their support. You will certainly thank your sponsors, by name, during your opening and closing session, and you will probably want to tweet your thanks too. Beyond that, do you want to give them a time at a podium to speak to your attendees? Or a table in the back to show off their stuff? It’s up to you, and you have to strike the right balance between bringing in enough sponsorships with not interfering with the goals of your event.

Figure out your budget — your venue and food costs, especially — first, so you know how much in sponsorships you need. But then get started on securing sponsors early.

Ideally you should provide coffee and light fare for breakfast and beverages throughout the day (especially water). Food is surprisingly expensive though, so do what you can.

What to buy

If you provide any food, you really must supply vegetarian and dairy-free options because these dietary restrictions are very common. Going all-vegetarian isn’t a bad idea. After that, give consideration to other restrictions your participants may have (vegan, kosher, gluten-free) and do your best.

Be responsible with your food. Think like a parent. Order food that is relatively healthy. Avoid heavy foods that make people sleepy (like bread) or ineffective (like alcohol). Caffeine and sugar are fine (energy is important), but have real nourishment too..

Budgeting and logistics

Figure on $7 to $15 per person. Pizza is the cheapest food to get, but it’s also basically the worst thing you can possibly feed someone (and not everyone eats it) — avoid pizza if you can.

If you are ordering food, you will probably place the order at least three days ahead of the event.

Some events like to provide swag, like t-shirts or stickers. Personally I think there are much better ways to spend your budget, but if you really want to provide swag keep in mind–

Don’t get one-size-fits-all t-shirts because people aren’t all alike. In fact, read Hopper Conference Diversity Guide’s section on t-shirts .

Code of conduct

Technology events have a history of not always being welcoming to women and minorities. We need to change that. You can be a part of that change by adopting a code of conduct for the event. A code of conduct is not just about enforcing rules. It sets community norms and sends a signal to would-be participants that you are trying to create a welcoming environment. And, of course, if there is a problem at your event having a code of conduct ahead of time will help you resolve the issue.

Look for codes of conduct used at events you admire, or copy from Code for DC’s code of conduct or Tech Lady Hackathon + Training Day’s code of conduct . Also read the Hopper Conference Diversity Guide ’s section on this.

Happy hours

A pre-event happy hour the night before helps participants to get to know each other in a relaxing setting. A post-event happy hour the evening after the hackathon wraps up gives participants a chance to socialize now that they know each other.

For large events, pick a bar ahead of time and talk to the bar and make sure it is ok for you to bring a large group. You may want to reserve a section of the bar (they may ask for a payment ahead of time or a guaranteed minimum spend that they will charge you after if your people don’t order enough).

If you are serving alcohol keep in mind: not everyone drinks (those under 21, pregnant women, and many many other people for a variety of reasons); alcohol can lead to an unsafe or uncomfortable environment; those that drink will need public transportation to get home. So therefore: provide non-alcoholic drinks; supervise the environment to ensure it remains professional and comfortable for all; be near public transit.

Registration

Set up an Eventbrite registration form.

Registration Limit

Determine your maximum capacity. For an event with parallel tracks, bear in mind that participants will all gather in one room at the start of the event, so your maximum capacity is a little larger than the capacity of your main room (some people can squeeze/stand at the beginning).

For a free event, about 65% of those who register will actually show up. This number is very consistently seen across events. So cap registration at 150% of your actual maximum capacity.

Gather info

Use the registration form to gather information about participants:

• Name (and possibly other information as required by venue security)
• Email address
• Are they new to hackathons?
• What kind of hacker are they? Examples: Developer. Designer. Data Scientist. Domain Expert. Government Staff. Communicator. Project Manager. Advocate.
• What are they interested in hacking on? (free form question)
• Are they interested in any of the workshops?
• How they heard about the event
• Special needs/requests

The more information you can gather ahead of time the better planning you can do. You can start to think about who will be working on what as soon as registrations start coming. Literally try to imagine how each registered participant will keep occupied at the event based on whatever information you know about them.

Ten days before

Find project leaders.

Look at who is coming and if you know some of those people are coming with particular projects, identify project leaders. You may also want to meet with them at this time to:

• Guide them on how to make progress on their projects
• Identify how they can take on newcomers, what tasks are doable for newcomers
• Identify what sort of help their project needs

See the section Cultivating Good Projects above.

Find helpers

If you are running interactive workshops where the participants are following along on their laptops and expect many participants to attend, you may want to have workshop helpers around to help participants that get stuck. Plan for at least one helper for every 10-20 participants.

Also find helpers to run a registration table and the building’s front door if it is locked, and you can also consider identifying volunteers to take point on photography, managing social media, and documenting what happens at the event for storytelling afterward.

Email attendees

You may want to email the registered attendees at this point with as much of the logistics information as you know, so that they can plan ahead. See “The day before” below for what to include in the email.

Three days before

Set up group communication.

Set up a way for your participants to communicate digitally and stay in touch after the event. Some options are:

• A chat room, like Slack
• A social media channel, like a hashtag on Twitter or a Facebook group
• A shared document space, like Google Docs or Dropbox Paper
• An email list, like a Google Group

Think about how you will tell your story

Part of your event’s lasting impact is in how people will remember it:

• Choose a hashtag.
• Set up a tumblr or other public shared document space (see above) for projects to record progress and post links.
• Think about how to take photos of your hackathon that tell its story.
• Read Nathan Matias and Willow Brugh’s media-making strategies for hackathons.

Acquire supplies

You should bring to the event:

• Paper, markers, and tape to write and post signs with
• Name tag stickers and markers for people to write their names on their name tag
• Note cards, pens, paper and other supplies to facilitate project planning
• Plastic cups, paper plates, and disposable utensils if you are providing food
• Place any food catering orders
• Email any journalists you know who may be interested in the event
• Charge your camera so you are ready to take photos
• Some venues require a list of participants for security. If you need to submit a list, make sure you alphabetize it! Security will probably print whatever you have as-is and things get complicated quickly when the list is not in order.

Email attendees again

You may want to email the registered attendees at this point, again, with as much of the logistics information as you know, so that they can plan ahead. See “The day before” below for what to include in the email.

The day before

Walk-through.

Do a walk-through of your venue. Ensure you have:

• Banquet tables for hacking, rectangular tables for workshops
• Enough chairs (count them!)
• Working WiFi
• Working projector and VGA dongle (maybe even test your computer)

If you have two parallel tracks:

• Go over the list above once for the hacking room and again for the training room
• Ensure you have enough space to hold everyone in one room because participants will gather in one room first for the welcoming session

Email blast

Send out a logistics email to registered participants. Include:

• Your contact information, including your cell phone number so participants can call/text you if they cannot find the venue
• Any pre-event and post-event happy hour information: location, date, and time
• Start and end dates and times of the event
• Location of the event (address and building name), exact location of entrance, directions, and map
• Reminder to bring ID if the venue has a security check-in
• Reminder to bring a laptop and charger
• What food/beverages will be provided and when (breakfast, lunch, dinner?), and what restrictions will be accommodated (vegetarian, etc.)
• Schedule of workshops, if applicable
• Your code of conduct (or a link)
• If there are any disability accessibility issues with the venue, include that
• Any read-ahead materials to prepare them for the topic of the event
• Names of the organizers and acknowledgement/thanks to sponsors

Print handouts for participants that include:

• WiFi info (SSID and password)
• The event’s hashtag and URL
• The schedule (start time, lunch, end time, and workshop schedule if applicable)
• A list of breakout rooms
• Recommend nearby locations for lunch/dinner (and include a map if possible)
• A short URL (e.g. bitly) to the tumblr or hackpad page

Print one copy per table (i.e. one copy for every ~5-10 participants).

• Prepare slides for the welcoming session (if you want)
• Charge your phone. It is going to be a long day tomorrow.

Hackathon schedule

When you arrive early.

• Make sure things are OK: tables/chairs are there, the projector works, restrooms are in working order
• Post signs from the main entrance of the building to where participants should go first
• Post signs to restrooms and any other rooms participants may need to go to
• Lay out the name badges. If they are printed with names, lay them out alphabetically and if there are a lot group them by part of the alphabet and post signs.

Welcoming session

Start with a brief session welcoming everyone and laying out the day:

• Introduce the organizers
• Thank the venue and sponsors (do not forget anyone — this is why they sponsored you)
• Explain the history and purpose of the event
• Mention the code of conduct (again, the point is often to set norms, not merely to enforce rules)
• Ask who has not been to a hackathon before, or to your particular event before; give an applause
• Explain logistics: the Tumblr, the schedule of workshops, lunch, end time
• Encourage people to take and share session notes and to record progress on projects (see the notes above on telling the hackathon’s story)

In a small event (up to about 30 people), you can have all of the participants introduce themselves.

Anyone who has brought a project to work on should then introduce the project to everyone. This is sometimes called “project pitches.” Keep each pitch short: the leader’s name and affiliation, a problem statement, the solution, and the skills/help needed. Project leaders tend to talk for as long as they can, so you may need to cut them off after one minute to be respectful of the audience’s time. Encourage leaders to think of this not as recruiting but as boasting how awesome their day is going to be.

During the day

Have someone managing the hacking room. Go around to check that every project is going smoothly. See if anyone needs anything or can’t find something to work on. Keep people on the overall schedule. Alert everyone when it is time for lunch and one hour before the wrap-up session. Leading up to wrap-up, make sure each project is prepared to explain what they did. Get them to record their progress on the tumblr.

Have someone managing workshops. Make sure workshops stay on schedule, that participants are understanding the leader, can hear the leader from the back of the room, etc. Be around to ensure that the workshop leader doesn’t have any technology problems. An organizer should be on hand at the workshops at all times.

The wrap-up session gives everyone a chance to hear what everyone else worked on during the day. For a small group, ask volunteers to report what they accomplished or what they learned (especially for workshop participants). Give folks rounds of applause.

In large groups, have each project report on its accomplishments. If possible, let them show their work on the projector. But keep things quick. By this point projects may have a lot to say. Keep each project to 1 or 2 minutes, and if they are going to show something on the projector make sure it is ready before the wrap-up session begins.

• Thank the venue and sponsors
• Thank the attendees and co-organizers
• If there is a post-event, direct people to it or ask a volunteer to lead people over

Finally once all of the participants are gone, make sure the venue is returned to its original state:

• Remove signs
• Check for lost items

Post-mortem

After the event:

• Write down everything that went right so you can repeat it next time
• Write down everything that went wrong so you can avoid it next time
• Compute how much the event cost in total and per participant, just to know
• Survey the attendees about what they liked and didn’t like
• Blog about the event

12 Hackathon Ideas for Healthcare

A hackathon for healthcare is a great way to harness the power of multidisciplinary collaboration to create great ideas and products that cater to the needs of healthcare workers and patients alike. 

Start by figuring out what type of project you want to do and your goals for the hackathon. Read on to see some hackathon ideas for healthcare that you can use as a jumping-off point. 

With those ideas, you can create solutions to a variety of challenges. By shaking up your company’s way of doing things for a few days, your company can see long-term benefits. 

What is a Healthcare Hackathon?

A healthcare hackathon brings together several experts in the healthcare field so they can work together to come up with solutions to the issues with healthcare. 

The exact structure and make-up of a hackathon can vary, but the events generally take place over a few days and include participants such as nurses, clinicians, business people, patients, designers, and engineers. 

By having people from different disciplines engage with each other, unique, multidisciplinary solutions are the result. Small groups come up with some hackathon ideas for healthcare, pick one, and execute it. 

12 Cool Hackathon Ideas for Healthcare

Creating a brilliant healthcare hackathon project starts with picking a fantastic, viable hackathon idea for healthcare. 

There are many areas of the healthcare profession that can benefit from tools specifically catered to them. Use these ideas as-is or let them inspire you.

• In-Hospital System Change

While many solutions developed during hackathons are often apps, you can also formulate new structures or systems for a hospital or clinic that are more analog. This can include systems for managing schedules or streamlining patient care.  ‍ ‍

• Pregnancy Symptom Tracker

For many first-time mothers, knowing what is normal can be difficult. A pregnancy symptom tracker can help parents understand what is and is not normal. You can also use this tool to provide parents with comfort and teach them what to expect. This tracker can focus on the mother's health and the baby's health during the fourth trimester.  ‍ ‍

• Communication Aid

Many communities require adjustments for communication to work for them regarding their health. For example, devices and apps exist for non-verbal people, while apps exist that help blind people complete tasks. (https://www.bemyeyes.com/)

Translation services can come in handy for those who speak a different language than their healthcare provider. Consider what groups may require more accessibility in your community and work on ways to turn this hackathon idea for healthcare into reality. ‍ ‍

• Healthcare Provider Relaxation App

Being a healthcare provider can be exhausting, and a tool that specifically catered to the needs of different healthcare providers could be of great benefit. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34679110/)

Allow the tool to be shaped by the various schedules of the healthcare worker who uses it. Provide options for relaxation and refocus or even some fun activities. ‍ ‍

• Pill and Medication Trackers

For many patients, keeping track of all their medications can be difficult. In some cases, failure to take medications properly can put a patient’s life in danger. 

By developing an easy-to-use app, you can help many patients. For patients that are not comfortable with technology, you can also create a paper-based system. ‍ ‍

• Child Health App and/or Activities

Often, when children feel sick they can have trouble communicating what exactly feels off. By creating an app specifically designed with children in mind you can provide a channel of communication between children and adults and teach children about their health. This is another hackathon idea for healthcare that could be made into a more analog set of activities. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23378054/) ‍ ‍

• Mental Health Tool

There are many different angles from which you could approach the development of a mental health tracking tool. You can make a fun app that helps users keep track of their daily emotions, or you could make a curriculum that teaches parents and children about mental health together. 

You may consider including a way to track mental health symptoms with physical symptoms since these two areas are inextricably connected.  ‍ ‍

• Healthcare Knowledge Game

There are a few different audiences that you could pick from when you create a healthcare knowledge game. Children and adults alike may enjoy learning more about their health through fun means. 

For example, you could make a game to teach leukemia patients about how immunotherapy treatments work, or you could create a game that helps adults recognize different skincare illnesses. 

You could even create a trivia game that both providers and patients can enjoy. These games could be apps, card games, or board games. (https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/improve/precautions/tool3d.html) ‍ ‍

• Physical Therapy Booklet

Physical therapy can be a challenging undertaking, and sometimes it can be tough to stick to exercises. Patients may need physical therapy for several reasons, including stroke recovery, sports injuries, and osteoporosis. 

Develop a booklet with physical therapy exercises and designed with accountability and consistency in mind. This hackathon idea for healthcare can also work as an app. (https://guide.apta.org/) ‍ ‍

• Diagnosis Tools

This project will rely on a fair amount of knowledge of diagnosis of whatever condition you choose to make a tool. 

The medical practitioners on the team may have specific equipment they wish was more optimized, so an engineer on the team can help them find a way to change or replace that tool so that an illness or condition can be better diagnosed for patient care.  ‍ ‍

• Donation Aid

Use the hackathon to truly help your community or a community in a different part of the world. Collaborate to create a system that makes it easier to locate and distribute healthcare supplies in the community. 

For example, you could create a database that tracks the availability of face masks and first aid supplies. This database could allow charities to help distribute help to communities in need. ‍ ‍

• Something Company-Specific

Every company has its own unique set of challenges. A hackathon is an opportunity to work hard to find solutions to those challenges. Perhaps your company could use a virtual assistant or a blog. 

A hackathon can be the perfect time to pump out a project like that to ensure that your company operates more smoothly. At the very least, this could be the first step towards better optimization for your company.

Goals of Running a Healthcare Hackathon

While the primary goal of running a healthcare hackathon may seem to be creating solutions, you can approach your hackathon with many additional goals in mind. 

These goals may apply to the final outcomes of the event, or they may be goals for how the event progresses. Many of these goals may impact the activities of the company beyond the event itself. 

Fast Solutions 

Building a great solution, tool, or system is the ultimate goal of a hackathon. The solution does not need to be a finished product, but it must be close to finished. This may be an app, website, curriculum, or streamlining system. 

The beauty of the hackathon is that you can create a product very quickly, so you do not fall into procrastination. 

Collaborative Atmosphere

A vital goal of any hackathon is the creation of an atmosphere that allows everyone to feel welcome and like they can collaborate on their creative ideas. This will set everyone up for successful outcomes and an enjoyable working environment. 

This goal is especially important, given the number of different types of thinkers that participate in a hackathon. 

Conversation Initiation

Even if a final product does not necessarily get produced, the environment of a hackathon can still go a long way towards helping people approach their jobs, still thinking of what they discussed at the hackathon. 

After starting these conversations at the hackathon, many people find they continue discussions at work and in other areas of their lives. 

Different Perspective Comprehension

A hackathon is a wonderful opportunity for people to experience and understand the perspectives of different areas of the healthcare world. By participating in a hackathon, many people come out with a greater appreciation for people in different positions than their own. 

This understanding allows more well-rounded interactions and solutions in their daily lives. This yields better patient outcomes and hopefully ongoing collaboration. 

Community Investment

Hackathons provide participants with the opportunity to make something that truly helps people. A well-done project can develop corporate hackathon ideas for healthcare into viable solutions for real-world problems. 

Hackathon projects can be open-source, which means that they are available to anyone who wants to access them. Use these tools to engage with the community that your company is in. Strong community bonds can help the businesses in that community and the residents. 

Do not underestimate the importance of having fun during a hackathon! While all the other goals are important, it can be hard to be productive if there is not some fun happening at the hackathon. 

Projects that come from people who have fun and are passionate about effective solutions are often very well motivated. What is the point of having an event like this if not for something unique and fun?

Benefits of Hosting a Healthcare Hackathon for Your Company

The most apparent benefit to a hackathon is the products or solutions that a hackathon yields, but there are plenty of other ways that a healthcare hackathon can benefit your company and your employees. 

Many of these benefits seem a bit intangible, however, they can end up helping your business be more successful in very concrete ways. A hackathon can make your company more productive and more tight-knit. 

Creates Functional Solutions

A clear benefit of a hackathon for healthcare is that you can end up with great solutions to various challenges in the healthcare space. These can help the area they aim to fix run more smoothly. 

They can also raise your company’s profile as an agent of problem-solving and optimization in the community and the healthcare sector. Hopefully, as solutions develop, this inspires the development of more problem-solving. 

Encourages Creative Thinking

Those who participate in a hackathon are challenged to think creatively in ways they may not normally explore. Formulating and executing hackathon ideas for healthcare is a great way to practice creativity. 

Exercising creativity makes your employees happy and leads to unique results for your company. Creative problem solving is not only fun, but it is also highly effective at helping you out of a rut. 

If you want that kind of thinking at your company, hosting a hackathon can be a great way to encourage it. 

Promotes a Multidisciplinary Approach

By bringing together many different disciplines to develop solutions to issues in the healthcare industry, your company is encouraging a multidisciplinary way of approaching problems. 

This can help your employees think of issues beyond the hackathon in a similar way. Think of all that your company could accomplish if your employees worked together to consistently solve problems. 

Highlights New Voices

A hackathon is a wonderful opportunity to hear more from people in your company who may not often contribute to decision-making. Employees at all levels may have different perspectives that someone at the top may not see without guidance. 

Take a hackathon as an opportunity to encourage feedback about the company itself and see if solutions can fix issues at various levels of the company. 

Increases Team Building

A strong company atmosphere is vital for productivity and the development of creative solutions. A hackathon can be a great way to encourage team-building among the employees of the company. 

This is because this event helps people experience what it feels like to collaborate with people they do not normally work with in ways that they are perhaps not used to working. 

Final Points

Plan a hackathon soon for a different approach towards making creative solutions. By developing hackathon ideas for healthcare into well-developed solutions, a short event can have long-term results for many groups involved in the healthcare industry. 

From patients to nurses to insurance providers, everyone can benefit from solutions that are created at a hackathon. These events can fulfill many goals, both in terms of creating solutions and building relationships across disciplines. 

Companies that throw a hackathon also find that their employees reap many benefits from these events and these benefits can last far past the short length of the hackathon. 

If you’re ready to get started with organizing your hackathon, contact us . Our team is ready to help you!

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10 Best Project Ideas for Hackathons in 2024

Hackathons are a great way to express your ideas and thoughts and create innovative solutions. They are organized by companies or organizations to extract knowledge from students and see them working. Participants are asked to work on some of the best project ideas.

In this blog, we'll discuss some of the best project ideas for hackathons. These project ideas are implemented with the most innovative solution to a problem. Not only do you build excellent ideas used by big companies, but you also bag exciting prizes. Let's discuss these and try to work on them.

What is a Hackathon?

Hackathon is made with the combination of two words: "hacker" and "marathon." It is a social coding event where techies are asked to work on some creative and functional projects.

Hackathons are usually hosted by a tech company or institution for about 24 hours, during which the participants work on implementing projects for the whole day. Hackathons are organized to bring out the most innovative solution to a problem.

Benefits of participating in Hackathons:

Hackathons help you in your career guidance in a lot of ways. There are a lot of benefits you get from participating in hackathons. Let's talk about a few benefits here:

• Not only do you tend to enhance your technical skills, but you also learn new ones.
• You broaden your thinking ability, leading to innovating new ideas.
• And obviously, you win exciting prizes if your idea is unique and innovative.
• You meet a lot of people and, hence, enhance your communication and interpersonal skills.

10 Best Project Ideas for Hackathons

Upskill yourself with these best top 10 hackathon project ideas ! From cutting-edge fitness trackers to AI-driven personal assistants , make these projects that showcase your skills and leave a lasting impact winning you awards and accolades. Explore now for innovative, hands-on experiences.

1. A Chatbot System

Building a chatbot system can be a great project idea for hackathons where students can add excellent features to it to advance its purpose and usage. To be an effective chatbot system, you need to have a good command over Python , AI , NLP (Natural Language Processing) , and RPA (Robotic Process Automation) tools . And once you build this system, businesses could use it in their websites for customers as a virtual help-desk.

Tech Required:

• HTML , CSS , JavaScript for an interactive user interface.
• Python for backend logic and integration with AI and NLP.
• Implement AI techniques for natural language understanding and context-based responses.
• Utilize frameworks like Dialogflow , Rasa, Botkit, or Microsoft Bot Framework for efficient development.

2. Budget Tracker

Next, consider developing a budget tracker tailored for students, aiding school and college-goers in efficiently managing their monthly expenses. This app will empower students to set budget limits, track expenditures, and establish financial goals for various needs.

• Expert in languages like Python and JavaScript for backend and frontend development.
• Utilize tools such as Pandas and NumPy for effective data processing and analysis.

This hackathon project will not only enhance students' financial literacy but also provide practical skills in programming and data analytics.

3. Fitness Tracker

Another great project idea that participants can try working on for the hackathon is creating a fitness tracke r. Nowadays, you see, everyone is interested in going to the gym and maintaining physical health, so all of us need a device wherein the workout can be planned.

It should help the user monitor their daily activities, set fitness goals, and access guided workout routines.

• Use design tools like Figma , Sketch , or Adobe XD for creating user-friendly interfaces.
• Expertise in Java programming for developing the fitness tracker and workout planner.
• Knowledge of integrating sensors and devices for comprehensive fitness tracking.

This project not only emphasizes UI/UX design and Java programming skills but also introduces participants to the integration of electronic devices and sensors for a comprehensive fitness tracking experience.

4. Mental Health Support Platform

With a lot of chaos going around, mental health is something that no one wants to compromise on. Developing a mental health support platform is of utter importance and use, where users get meditation guides, stress-relief exercises, and online counseling options. You can add interactive features that help users get their doubts cleared in a few steps.

• Natural Language Processing ( NLP )
• Machine Learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow , PyTorch )
• UI/UX Design: Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma
• Front-end Development: HTML, CSS, JavaScrip t
• Testing Frameworks: Selenium for automated testing
• Quality Assurance: Jira for issue tracking and project management

5. Home Automation System

A home automation system is another great project idea for a hackathon that is used by various users to control smart devices in their homes with the help of a centralized app. You can advance your automation system by adding some advanced features to it, like on just a single touch, the light should go off, the security should be highly restricted, and communication and translation features.

• MQTT for communication
• Raspberry Pi or Arduino for device integration
• Python for scripting and automation
• JavaScript for front-end development
• Linux for server management
• Networking protocols (e.g., TCP/IP) for seamless device communication

6. AI-Powered Personal Assistant

Having an AI-powered personal assistant can help users to work with various tasks. These tasks can include setting reminders, answering questions, and managing schedules. You should have good knowledge of AI and ML techniques to develop this project.

• Scikit-learn for implementing ML algorithms
• T ensorFlow or PyTorch for deep learning models
• NLTK or SpaCy for NLP processing
• BERT or GPT for advanced language understanding
• Ensemble learning methods
• Transfer learning for task optimization

7. Career Path Recommender

Designing an app that helps students with recommending a career oath would be of great help to them. This could be a good project idea for hackathons as it helps students with suggesting potential career paths based on a user’s skills, interests, and goals. To build this system, you need to be good at cloud computing, machine learning, and programming skills.

• Utilize cloud services like AWS , Azure , or Google Cloud for scalable and reliable infrastructure.
• Python for machine learning algorithms and backend development.
• JavaScript for interactive front-end elements.
• Pandas and NumPy for data manipulation.
• Scikit-learn for implementing machine learning models

8. Create a Game Using JavaScript

You can create an interesting game for anyone (be they of any age group). Use your JavaScript knowledge to create a simple and enjoyable game. Creating an advanced game with better features that stands out from the competition, will help you to win the hackathon.

• Core web development skills for game structure and styling.
• Utilize HTML5 Canvas for rendering graphics and creating an interactive game environment.
• Implement React for efficient component-based UI development.
• Leverage React state management for game logic and real-time updates.

9. Environmental Monitoring Device

This device can help you monitor the environment's health based on which you can take necessary precautions. This project idea is a good and innovative one for students to work on. It uses data and AI to produce key indicators. It checks the air quality, humidity, moisture, and other factors and helps you set up automated responses through SMS to keep you informed.

• Use of sensors like DHT22 for humidity and temperature
• Employing air quality sensors (e.g., MQ series)
• Predictive modeling for environmental data
• Anomaly detection for identifying unusual patterns
• Connectivity through platforms like Arduino or Raspberry Pi
• MQTT for communication between devices and server

10. Stock Market Analyzer

This platform is a must for stock market enthusiasts which gives you hints and tips on what to buy and sell. Developing such an app would be of great help and is a great idea for hackathons where you can showcase your skills and create cool apps with interactive features.

• Data analysis using tools like Pandas or Excel
• Statistical analysis for trend identification
• Natural Language Processing ( NLP ) for news sentiment analysis
• AI-driven recommendation systems
• Regression models for predicting stock prices
• Classification models for trend analysis

These project ideas for hackathons are the best ones for techies. You must try to work on a few of them and get an idea. Also, you must try to get the project done within 24 hours because that's the time limit you get when you're participating in any hackathon. So, it'll be better if you practice beforehand.

What are good project ideas for the hackathon?

Some of the good project ideas for hackathons are: 1. To-do List Platform 2. Mental Health Support Platform 3. Career Path Recommender 4. Budget Tracker for Students

What are some of the hackathon project ideas for beginners?

Some of the hackathon project ideas for beginners: Build a Chatbot. Autonomous Robot for Fetching Things. Safe Data Management Solution For Hospitals. Smart Assistant For Offices.

Can I earn money from a hackathon?

Rather than money, participants come here for prizes, fun, and competitive spirit. The organizers of the Hackathon take care of food and drinks during the weekend.

How do I find hackathon ideas?

Google is the best option to get hackathon ideas, you see for technological advancements and what all you can do to ease the process. Involve in tech events and communicate with tech giants to explore.

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WHAT IS SIH?

Smart India Hackathon is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving. The last edition of the Hackathon saw over 5 million+ students from various colleges compete for the top prize at 65+ locations.

In SIH 2020, the students would have the opportunity to work on challenges faced within various Ministries, Departments, Industries, PSUs and NGOs to create world-class solutions for some of the top organizations including industries in the world, thus helping the Private sector hire the best minds from across the nation. It can help to:

• Harness creativity & expertise of student
• Spark institute-level hackathons
• Build funnel for Startup India campaign
• Crowd source solutions for improving governance and quality of life
• Provide an opportunity for citizens to provide innovative solutions to India’s daunting problems.

Smart India Hackathon is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving. The first four editions SIH2017, SIH2018, SIH2019, SIH2020, SIH2022 and SIH2023 proved to be extremely successful in promoting innovation out-of-the-box thinking in young minds, especially engineering students from across India.

Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a premier nationwide initiative designed to engage students in solving some of the most pressing challenges faced in everyday life. Launched to foster a culture of innovation and practical problem-solving, SIH provides a dynamic platform for students to develop and showcase their creative solutions to real-world problems. By encouraging participants to think critically and innovatively, the hackathon aims to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical application.

Since its inception, SIH has garnered significant success in promoting out-of-the-box thinking among young minds, particularly engineering students from across India. Each edition has built on the previous one, refining its approach and expanding its impact. The hackathon not only offers students an opportunity to showcase their skills but also encourages collaboration with industry experts, government agencies, and other stakeholders.

The first four editions SIH2017, SIH2018, SIH2019 and 2022 proved to be extremely successful in promoting innovation out-of-the-box thinking in young minds, especially engineering students from across India.

Smart India Hackathon is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem solving.

who can participate?

Class 6th-12th Students

HEI's Students

Shri Narendra Modi

Hon'ble Prime Minister of India

Why join SIH 2024?

Innovative Solutions

Get innovative solutions to your problems in cost effective ways Opportunity to be a part of Nation Building Opportunity to brand your company.

Recognition and visibility

Nationally Recognition and visibility for your company across all premier institutions in India

Out-of-the-box solutions

Talented youngsters from all over the country offer out-of-the-box solutions to your problems

Innovation Movement Opportunity

Be part of World’s biggest Open Innovation Movement Opportunity to work with some of the best talents in the country

Smart India Hackathon

Process flow.

SIH Software & Hardware Edition: Problem statements submission by Central &State Ministries, Departments, PSUs, Industries & NGOs

Submission of Problem Statements (PSs) by Central & State Ministries, PSUs, Industries and NGOs on the SIH portal. Review of Submitted PSs & finalization by concerned committee Publishing finalized PSs

Registration of College SPOCs on SIH portal Blocking published PSs by SPOCs of Colleges or Institutes Internal campus hackathon to be conducted in each college or institute by their SPOCs on their blocked PSs

College SPOC to be responsible to conduct internal hackathon in the campus College to finalise total best 30 teams + 5 waitlisted teams from the internal hackathon. SPOC to recommend the selected teams for Software/Hardware edition at SIH portal.

Team leaders of the selected teams to be registered at the SIH portal to submit ideas Submission of ideas by selected teams against PSs by college SPOC for the SIH Finale Evaluation of submitted ideas

Result Analysis and Result Publication.

What’s New in Smart India Hackathon 2024

SIH brings the next generation evolution by inclusion of new methodology to inculcate the culture of startup and innovation ecosystem across different age groups i.e. are as follows: -

• World's biggest Software and Hardware hackathon conducted nationwide.

• Private sector organizations, NGOs and PSU's to pose challenges to students and get out-of-the-box solutions, thus involving the organizations in a nation building initiative.

• Students across India compete to creatively solve problems and offer technical solutions

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

SIH Junior(Jr)

School students from 6th to 12th class will be able to showcase their talent and generate out-of-the-box open innovation ideas

HEI Students

Regular Students of HEI's pursuing "Graduate/Post-Graduate/Ph.D" will be able to showcase their talent and generate out-of-the-box open innovation ideas

SIH Senior(Sr)

View the problem statements for sih 2022.

Problem Statements recieved so far

As per available data

Problem Statement

Smart India Hackathon's

Smart Automation

Ideas focused on the intelligent use of resources for transforming and advancements of technology with combining the artificial intelligence to explore more various sources and get valuable insights.

Fitness & Sports

Ideas that can boost fitness activities and assist in keeping fit.

Space Technology

For use in travel or activities beyond Earth's atmosphere, for purposes such as spaceflight or space exploration.

Heritage & Culture

Ideas that showcase the rich cultural heritage and traditions of India.

MedTech/BioTech/ HealthTech

Cutting-edge technology in these sectors continues to be in demand. Recent shifts in healthcare trends, growing populations also present an array of opportunities for innovation.

Agriculture, FoodTech & Rural Development

Developing solutions, keeping in mind the need to enhance the primary sector of India - Agriculture and to manage and process our agriculture produce.

Smart Vehicles

Creating intelligent devices to improve commutation sector.

Transportation & Logistics

Submit your ideas to address the growing pressures on the city’s resources, transport networks, and logistic infrastructure.

Robotics and Drones

There is a need to design drones and robots that can solve some of the pressing challenges of India such as handling medical emergencies, search and rescue operations, etc.

Clean & Green Technology

Solutions could be in the form of waste segregation, disposal, and improve sanitization system.

A solution/idea that can boost the current situation of the tourism industries including hotels, travel and others.

Renewable/ sustainable Energy

Innovative ideas that help manage and generate renewable /sustainable sources more efficiently.

Blockchain & Cybersecurity

Provide ideas in a decentralized and distributed ledger technology used to store digital information that powers cryptocurrencies and NFTs and can radically change multiple sectors.

Smart Education

Smart education,a concept that describes learning in digital age. It enables learners to learn more effectively, efficiently, flexibly and comfortably.

Disaster Management

Disaster management includes ideas related to risk mitigation, Planning and management before, after or during a disaster.

Games & Toys

Challenge your creative mind to conceptualize and develop unique toys and games based on our civilization, history, and culture etc.

Miscellaneous

Technology ideas in tertiary sectors like Hospitality, Entertainment and Retail.

Challenges related to the financial services.

SIH 2024 Timeline (To be announced)

Sih 2024 timeline, sih process flow and timeline, launch of smart india hackathon.

23 rd August 2023

Registration & Idea Submission

23 rd August 2023 - 31 st October 2023

Idea Evaluation

16 th October 2023 – 15 th November 2023

Announcement of Finalist (in Batches)

15 th November 2023 – 25 th November 2023

Announcement of the Nodal Center

25 th November 2023

Grand Finale of the Hackathon

19 th December 2024 – 22 nd December 2024 (Tentative)

23 rd August 2023 - 30 th November 2023

1 st December 2023 – 30 th December 2023

15 th December 2023 – 30 th December 2023

30 th December 2023

1 st Week of February 2024

25 th January 2024 – 7 th Feburary 2024 (Tentative)

Why SIH is important for Government department and Corporate department

Harnessing creativity and expertise of students, academicians and visionaries

Sparking institute-level hackathons, fuelling imagination

Building funnel for ‘Start-up India’ campaign

Collaborating

Crowdsourcing intelligence for improving governance and quality of life

Enabling possibilities and enhancing opportunities for citizens to deliver innovative solutions to India’s daunting problems

Timeline of sih 2024

To be announced.

23 rd August 2023 - 30 th September 2023

16 th September 2023 - 15 th October 2023

1 st October 2023 – 16 th October 2023

16 th October 2023

Training of Finalist

21 st October 2023 – 31 st October 2023

3 rd November 2023 - 7 th November 2023 (Tentative)

1 st November 2023 - 20 th November 2023

25 th November 2023 – 30 th November 2023

30 th November 2023

1 st December 2023 – 15 th December 2023

19 th - 20 th December 2023 (S/W EDITION)

19 th - 23 rd December 2023 (H/W EDITION)

Innovation Unlocks Value

• Ministries & PSUs
• Private Organizations

Compete amongst one another as a team, offer technical solutions to real-world problems and get a chance to win prizes worth up to 1,00,000.

Provide problem statements to the participants from all over the country , get optimal solutions for them and also get the opportunity to hire potential future employees.

An additional branding value when students from the institute compete at a national level hackathon with other competitors.

SIH Milestones

Participating Students

SIH Alumni Network

Participating Institutes

Total Problem Statements

Registered Startups

SIH journey so far from 2017

Organizations.

Selected Ideas solutions

• Organizing Committee
• Executive Committee
• Evaluation Committee

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan

Hon'ble Minister of Education

Dr. Sukanta Majumdar

Hon'ble Minister of State for Education

Jayant Chaudhary

Shri K. Sanjay Murthy

Hon'ble Secretary, Higher Education

Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe

Chairman, AICTE

Chairman, Organizing Committee

Smart India Hackathon 2022

Prof. T. G. Sitharam

Co-Chairman, Organizing Committee

Smart India Hackathon 2023

Dr. Abhay Jere

Vice Chairman, AICTE

Member, Organizing Committee

Dr. Anand Deshpande

Chairman and MD, Persistent Systems

Mr. Rakesh Ranjan

Additional Secretary (TE), MoE

Dr. Mohit Gambhir

Director, MoE's Innovation Cell

Secretary, Organizing Committee

Chairman, Executive Committee

CIO,MIC & VCM,AICTE

Prof. Rajive Kumar

Member Secretary, AICTE

Gaurav Singh

Director, MoE

Sh. Yogesh Brahmankar

Innovation Director, MIC

Pratap Sanap

Head of Research & Innovation,Neilsoft

Prof. Puneet Sharma

Anchor- Doordarshan, Media Adviser

Sh. Pradeep Dhage

Assistant Innovation Director

Ankush Sharma

Innovation Officer, MIC-AICTE

Sourabh Nirmale

Regional Consultant , MIC-AICTE

Mr. Sachin Gaur

Director operations, Innovatio Curis

Member, Executive Committee

Dr. Pradyoy Koley

Assistant Director, MoE's Innovation Cell

Convener, Executive Committee

Mr. Sourabh R. Nirmale

Regional Consultant

MoE's Innovation Cell

Mr. Arindam Mandal

Mr. Nitin Kumar

Startup Fellow

Dr. Pratap Sanap

VP and Head Research & Innovation

Mr. Sarim Moin

Innovation Officer

Mr. Nitin Bhide

Co-Founder and CTO

Mrs. Smita Kelkar

Digital & Transformation Head

Mr. Rajesh Shah

Founder & CEO

Ataneo Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Pune

Mr. Yogesh Tople

Associate Vice President (AVP)

LTIMindtree

Aishwarya Patil

Deciphercloud Info Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

The Supporters of SIH 2020

Platinum Partner

Communication Partner

Media Partner

find out what important people have to say about sih

Official Partner

Evaluation Partner

Official Media Partner

Learning Partner

Platform Partner

Participating Central ministries and

Departments

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
• Department of Atomic Energy
• Department of Biotechnology
• Department of Chemical and Petrochemical
• Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry
• Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence
• Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
• Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer affairs, food and public distribution
• Department of Post, Ministry of State(IC) of Communications
• Department of Rural development
• Department of SciTech
• Department of Space (ISRO)
• Department of Telecommunications. Ministry of Communication
• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
• ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
• Ministry of AYUSH
• Ministry of Civil Aviation
• Ministry of Coal
• Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Jal Shakti
• Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
• Ministry of Culture
• Ministry of Earth Sciences
• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY)
• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• Ministry of External Affairs
• Ministry of food processing
• Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
• Ministry of HRD
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• Ministry of Labour
• Ministry of Power
• Ministry of Railways
• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
• Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
• Ministry of steel
• National jute board,Ministry of Textiles
• Ministry of tourism
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs
• Ministry of Urban development
• Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
• Ministry of Women and Child Development
• Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
• Dte of IT & Cyber Security, DRDO
• Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports
• Department of Financial Services
• Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
• National Mission for Clean Ganga, DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti
• BHARAT ELECTRONICS LIMITED
• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd.
• Bureau of police research and development
• Central Warehousing Corporation
• Central Water Commission, Ministry of Jal Shakti
• Airports Authority of india

Participating state ministries and

• Government of Andhra Pradesh
• Government of Arunachal Pradesh
• Government of Assam
• Government of Chandigarh
• Government of Chhattisgarh
• Government of Delhi
• Government of Goa
• Government of Gujarat
• Government of Kerala
• Government of Maharashtra
• Government of Pondicherry
• Government of Punjab
• Government of Rajasthan
• Government of Sikkim
• Government of Tamil Nadu
• Government of Telangana
• Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Government of Bihar(DOA)
• Education department-Gujarat
• Government of madhya pradesh
• Department of Information Technology and Bio Technology, Government of Karnataka
• Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society, ITE&C Department
• Gov of Uttarakhand
• Directorate of Technical Education Chandigarh
• Nagar Nigam Jaipur, Govt. of Rajasthan

Participating industries and

• ABB GIS Pvt Ltd
• Adani Group
• AGR Knowledge Services
• Apollo Hospitals
• Aurbindo Pharma
• Bajaj Electricals Limited
• Adani Port and SEZ Ltd
• Bharat Forge Ltd.
• Bridgestone
• Dalmia Cement
• FIS Solutions (INDIA)
• Forbes Marshall Pvt. Ltd
• Future Generali
• Garden Reach Shipbuilders
• GE Healthcare
• Goa Shipyard Ltd
• GoldmanSachs
• Growtech Innovations
• HCL TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
• Hero Electric Vehicles
• Hindustan Unilever Ltd
• Hughes Systique
• India Health Link Pvt Ltd
• IndiaNeoDesign
• Ingersoll Rand
• ITC Limited
• KG Infosystem Pvt. Ltd.
• Kirloskar Oil Engines
• Kokuyo Camlin
• Kotak Mahindra
• Mahindra Electric
• Mahindra&Mahindra (FarmEq)
• Manipal Health Entreprise
• Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
• Max Healthcare
• Mindtree Ltd.
• P.D Hinduja Hospital
• Robert Bosch Engineering & Business Solutions Private Limited
• Samsung R & D
• SARA SAE PVT LTD
• Schneider Electric
• Shantha - Sanofi
• Shantha Biotechnics Pvt. Ltd
• SKF India Ltd
• SkipperSeil Ltd.
• SSEPL Skills Pvt. Ltd
• Sun Pharmaceuticals
• Tata Motors
• Tata Steel Processing And Distribution Ltd
• Thermo Fisher
• Vanderlande
• VMware Software Services
• Yamaha Motor Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
• Amazon web services
• Gnarus Solutions
• Dr. B R Ambedkar Institute of Technology
• Great Learning
• Bajaj Fin Serv
• Tripura Institute of Technology
• Kisan Forum Pvt. Ltd.

Policy and process

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10 Normal Hackathon Problem You Will Encounter

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In the US, in the last couple of years, a new phenomenon " Hackathon " has been gaining momentum. Every technically advanced and self-respecting company considers it its duty to host such an event. Now hackathons are organized mainly by private companies from a practical point of view: solving certain problems of corporate software, searching for new ideas for developing and improving their own products.

In this article, you can find common 10 hackathon problem statements .

• Part 1: What is Hackathon？
• Part 2: Why participate in a hackathon?
• Part 3: 10 normal hackathon problem statements
• Part 4: The best tool for UI/UX designers

What Is Hackathon?

The hackathon doesn't come together with hackers, but rather the word hack here means researching programming. Young companies with flat hierarchies in particular use hackathons to try out new things. A hackathon is a good opportunity to find creative solutions with other inventors in a short amount of time. The most important things at a glance

Why Participate In a Hackathon?

So, what is a hackathon, we found out. Now let's talk about why choose hackathon and how you can benefit from participation.

Professional Development

For any specialist, participation in a hackathon is an opportunity to test your maximum. This is a challenge and an experiment for which there is not always time at work. Plus, at the hackathon, you can exchange ideas, see how others work, learn about a new way, a method of something - in general, this is definitely an investment in your development as a professional.

Career opportunities

If we are talking about a hackathon for specialists of the same profile, then they are arranged not least in order to gather cool specialists in one place and offer them a job.

Valuable prizes

Everything, of course, depends on the hackathon, but usually, the winners also receive valuable gifts from the organizers, partners, or sponsors of the hackathons.

You May Also Wonder: 5 Must-Knows About MLH Hackathon

And also a hackathon is a lot of high-quality communication and new acquaintances. Even if you came with your team, you will still establish contacts with mentors, juries, or organizers. Each contact has the potential to turn into a benefit - a common project, a job offer, an investment, or just timely advice.

Support for your product/idea

An important part of any hackathon is to support innovative hackathon ideas. Therefore, you can win not only material prizes but also, for example, sponsorship, grant, or training.

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10 Normal Hackathon Problem Statement

The most 10 common problems or mistakes in organizing a hackathon are showing below, read on to avoid facing them.

1. Lack or an insufficient number of experts and consultants

This often leads to participants coming to the hackathon in vain. Not everyone is competent in the causes of the problem. Incompetence can lead developers to a different line of thought and ultimately, they will create something completely different. By inviting a sufficient number of experts, efficiency will increase significantly

The meaning is simple but ingenious. The expert asks questions to the team, answering them, the team comes to the truth or realizes its ignorance. This type of knowledge gained will provide a solid and confident basis for understanding the root of the problem.

2. Sources and data

This topic follows from a previous error. It is important that developers have the maximum possible amount of data, documents, resources (especially if the task of the hackathon is data audit).

3. Venue and technical equipment

An important factor that determines the quality of future products, and the psychological mood of the team, and the pleasure received from work. Agree that it is more pleasant to sit in the forward-center, and not in a mossy house.

If you can still close your eyes to the venue, then not to the technical component. High-speed network access, peripherals, office equipment, presentation capabilities, ports, and adapters - everything you can't do without. Computers that have the ability to work with resource-intensive programs, files, and data will not be superfluous.

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Ui/ux designer & prototype creator >>, 4. clear conditions, deadlines, chat.

Providing support during the hackathon is a must. There should be cognitive and understandable information on the subject matter, types of end products, ways of accepting and sending them, time frames limiting development, chat, and consultation of participants without expectations.

If there is a need to select more qualified developers or specific skills, then a resume is a good opportunity to organize this. There is no doubt that the results of the hackathon are not only creating conditions for developers, but also the developers themselves.

6. Communication Gap

A college student with headphones on, smacking away at his keyboard continuously for 24 hours, completely content in his own little world of linked lists and stacks is an image that always came to mind when I thought of a hackathon participant. After attending a hackathon, I discovered that this is not the case. It is critical to communicate with those around you. Talk to potential end-users of the product to learn about their problems.

You May Also Wonder: Are you Ready for Hackathon Preparation

Include in your product the insights you've gained from talking to all of these people. Talk to your team first and foremost. Before the hackathon, set up a communication channel, such as Slack, and a file-sharing platform, such as Google Drive. Hold short meetings every 3 hours or so to share your progress during the hackathon.

7. Lack of Confidence

One of the most serious hackathon issues is a lack of confidence. Expect to pitch your own project idea to complete strangers (who may or may not be experts) or explain why you are a good candidate for someone else's team. In front of tens or hundreds of people, present your work. It will be scary but exciting, especially if you are shy or introverted.

Hackathons are unquestionably beneficial to one's career. They will make you more aware of your own abilities and thus boost your confidence, which is especially important for female students who tend to undervalue their own skills or achievements more than male students.

8. Look Elsewhere

While some hackathons release their problem statements weeks in advance, others only release them during the hack. If your next hackathon is similar to the first, sit down with your team and research previous hackathon winners, projects that have won other hackathons, and so on. Discussing existing ideas and how to improve them can be a great mental workout for you and your team, as well as a great way to come up with new ideas.

Even if your team has already decided on an idea, I would recommend going through with this exercise because you never know where you'll find a feature that you could add to your project or a component that serves a similar purpose to one in your project but is much cheaper.

9. Lack of Evaluation

Once your team has thoroughly discussed and written down an idea, spend at least 10 minutes estimating how long it will take to implement it. While it may be tempting to add complex but impressive features, spice up the interface, and so on, it may not be feasible to do so in just 24 hours.

Choose only features that can be built during the hackathon. If possible, hold a mock hackathon with your team before the real one to get a sense of the potential problems and the time required to solve them.

10. Big Ideas

Experts advise students on how to narrow their ideas down to something manageable. A grand vision is fine, but having a workable concept is preferable for quick results. Sometimes their concept is so large that even a large corporation would struggle to implement it. To develop something in the allotted time, they must concentrate on a smaller piece.

You May Also Wonder: 10 Creative Technology Hackathon Ideas

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