Hackathon

Prototype solutions to complex issues in fast-paced and solution-based experimental hubs

A Hackathon is a collaborative team-based event that brings together participants from interdisciplinary backgrounds to explore new ideas and brainstorm scenarios about complex or pressing issues in any discipline. In this event, an overarching challenge is set and participants in groups are invited and encouraged to come up with ideas for solutions.

Use this event to:

• Encourage participants to build more complex and well-developed ideas.
• Boost your participants’ collaboration, problem-solving, and creativity skills.
• Connect people in a talent pool.

Examples

• A translation hackathon to translate children’s storybooks into indigenous languages. 
• A hackathon to test the security of a secure database.
• Crowdsourcing to build a better democracy
• Join online and in-person hackathons.
• IEEP-UNESCO EdPlanning Hackhathon on digital solutions for planning and managing education systems.

You and other collaborators

• The host: greets and introduces each of the phases.
• Mentor(s): encourages, supports, and offers advice.
• Judge(s): evaluates and selects a final winning team (if your purpose is for the hackathon to be a competition).
• IT-support: facilitates, fixes, and manages the technology.
• Communication support: records, documents, and shares media.