Hackathons have now become a popular platform where one can test one’s potential by competing with the best programmers in the respective field. According to the reports, large corporations are increasingly turning to hackathons to meet innovation objectives, as 5,636 public and internal hackathons were organised in 2018 globally, nearly 40% more than in 2016.  

According to our latest survey, 32% of the organisations use hackathons as a great way to crowdsource solutions for problems. In this article, we list down five steps an entry-level professional must take to prepare for a hackathon. 

1| Choose Your Base Or Programming Language

When entering a hackathon, make sure you choose the right language in which you are fluent in. By choosing the right language, you can be able to come over any challenges you face during the competition. Languages like Python, JavaScript, PHP, Java, C/C++, C#, Swift, Ruby, HTML are the most popular ones and are the most used languages by the developers at hackathons.

2| Pick The Right Type Of Hackathon

Hackathons are generally based on the objectives of an organisation. Apart from the internal and external hackathons, there are also several kinds of hackathons as mentioned in this report:

• Internal Hackathon: This type of hackathon is basically organised by the organisation for its employees with the goal of extracting ideas from the employees.
• External Hackathon: In this type, the organisation engages the employees along with enthusiast from outside the organisation and set some specific themes and projects to compete.
• Online Hackathon: This type helps to engage participants from around the globe to work on and solve some specific problem.
• Offline Hackathon: This type is conducted at a physical location where the organisations extract ideas from external developers.
• Application-Based Hackathons: These hackathons are based on specific platforms for development like mobile device operating systems, desktop operating systems, video game development, etc.
• Hackathons Based On A Specific Programming Language: This type of hackathon is generally conducted to create some applications based on a specific programming language in order to improve features for some specific framework.
• Hackathons Dedicated To A Cause: This type is also known as social hackathons where issues like healthcare, education, etc. are addressed.
• Hackathons For Specific Demographic Groups: This type is conducted to engage a specific community of developers which aims at building brand awareness and promoting a collaborative culture for innovation.
• Code Sprint: This is a programming competition which aims at creating software within a specific time period.
• Industry Specific Hackathons: This type is conducted to drive innovation in specific industries which are based on their specific objectives and target audience.

3| Choose Theme To Work On

It is crucial to choose a theme you are passionate about. Being generalised is a good thing to go but while attempting for such competitions, it is better to hold onto the specific topic you have a stronger grip. There are several themes like machine learning, data science, artificial intelligence, internet of things, etc. which you can choose. Before participating in the hackathon, practice coding on different problems in your preferable theme in order to have an idea when you sit into the competition.

4| Prepare For The Battle

When you sign up for hackathon, try to build a good team for your project before the main day. If you come with a pre-formed team, you will be a step ahead of those who make teams after arriving at the hackathon. With the right weapon and the right team strategy, you will surely go a long way in the battle.

5| Things To Avoid

Hackathons are not just winning the coding competition. Often a beginner might think that he/she must win the competition. But it is really not. Yes, winning is one of the motives but there are greater motives one must keep in mind. In this competition, you will get a chance to get new and innovative ideas from the professionals themselves, learn as well as experience much new tech-related knowledge.

EndNote

Hackathons bring both beginners as well as professionals under one roof and thus it makes the most suitable platforms to showcase the talents and work on a project they are passionate about. This place is a perfect hub for like-minded people where a coder or a programmer gathers, shares ideas, discuss new and innovative things as per the themes of the projects. Many big, as well as small organisations at the current scenario, are conducting hackathons to be with the fast pace of evolving technology.