{"id":19543,"date":"2024-06-03T09:08:24","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T06:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogit.lab.fi\/labfocus\/?p=19543"},"modified":"2024-06-03T09:08:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T06:08:25","slug":"the-hackathon-concept-and-its-use-to-all-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogit.lab.fi\/labfocus\/en\/the-hackathon-concept-and-its-use-to-all-fields\/","title":{"rendered":"The hackathon concept and its use to all fields"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The hackathon concept is one LABeko2 \u2012 network, develop, internationalise, succeed project (LAB 2024) believe can be utilised at LAB University of Applied Sciences, to drive practical networking between students and business. The concept however may not be clear to some and so we shall explore the concept and highlight its uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term hackathon comes from the words hacker and marathon, the concept may also be called a hack day. The first known event is believed to have taken place in Calgary, Canada at the Open BSD Hackathon event June 4, 1999 (Yasar et al 2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept is used commonly in the tech industry, where events are normally organised by companies, attracting programmers to come together and collaborate on a new software idea. Hackathons normally take form, in a collaborative yet competitive format, in which participants code and prototype software in a set time for a prize (Lawrence 2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the hackathon concept exclusively about software programming?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to project LABeko2 \u2012 network, develop, internationalise, succeed (LAB 2024), in this instance, no, the concept is just that, a concept that can be re-tooled to fit the needs and purposes of any organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is that any company can utilise this workshop style event, to attract interested students, to problem solve, innovate, and develop an idea based on the company’s needs. Allowing the company to test and observe the talent pool at LAB University of Applied Sciences. The problem doesn\u2019t have to be software or programming related, it can be a product, service, business concept etc. that can be presented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image 1. Wikimania hackathon. (Image: Alan Dawson 2014)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The general structure of a Hackathon according to Yasar et al (2023) is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n