How I Survived A 3-Day Hackathon Event

I don’t remember on which occasion I had heard this term for the first time. 

But I certainly had the preconceived picture of a bunch of ‘nerdy’ people gathered in a packed environment during a 3 or 5-day event, programming, coding, and hacking—something…

I also thought it would be some sort of an exclusive event where attendees should prove credential expertise in a particular field before entering or, even more, that a hefty participation fee had to be paid.

Wrongfully I was on the entire line.

Hackathons—at least HackBelgium edition 2017, the one I went to—turned out to be a perfect networking event for me.

Having downloaded the official app that would guide me through the different workshops I had previously chosen to attend, I suited up casually, ready to overcome the unforeseen challenges proposed for me that day and the other 533 attendees around societal challenges including topics like healthcare, mobility, communication, smart city…

Arriving early in order not to miss the opening speeches, I soon realized that I might have missed my laptop, a key accessory for many already on-site, but soon realized that a smartphone would eventually do the trick.

Being attracted by communication and science in general, I signed up for two related workshops. After a pitch talk from communication professionals during the first one, numerous challenging questions were proposed to us, participants including; “What could be the best way to properly convey information in today’s digital world?”, “How can journalists fight fake news?”; “How editorial teams can seek interest and interactivity from young readers?”, “Which skills does a journalist have to gain to face the multitasking dimension of the digital trend?”…

Thrilled to work on this alongside—as a team—with other young fellows, I ended up losing track of time…

Later that day, after sneaking around the Experimental Zone where drones stood alongside 3-D printing machines, IBM servers, and VR immersive experiences, to cite a few activities; changing the schedule of the day thanks to the real-time official app; and already exchanging business cards with some pharmaceutical representatives; I ended up reading projects ideas from a previous workshop nailed on the outside wall of a room.

Whilst checking my schedule, wondering which activity with still some space left I would finally choose to attend, I was asked by some guy walking out of that workshop room if I wanted to come in as there was still plenty of room left…

“Sure, why not?”

Asking around which topic would be covered there, I was told “healthcare”…

What a coincidence!

The facilitator in charge of the brainstorming—the one who actually brought me in—had come up with a method to cross-test disruptive ideas between participants and experts to challenge ourselves and save time for the upcoming presentations.

In a few minutes, working seriously on something yet very hypothetical, I had come up with a draft design for building next-gen hospitals as a whole. Removing current engineering and economical constraints, I had schematized a futuristic concept that could move around, replace or add container-style units with the same basic principle as LEGOs.

In my mind, it would save stakeholders the cost of demolishing, rebuilding, re-furnishing, and even patient displacements should a hospital building would require upgrading in a short amount of time.

At the end of the previous day, I was supposed to gather or join a team around a specific idea on which we would work on deeper. Having decided that I would figure something out on the fly instead, I joined a team already working for a few minutes on an interesting project: detecting the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease through retina biomarkers detection.

I was up for an interesting challenge!

From fighting fake news on social media platforms to conceptualizing the tomorrow’s hospital building structure and interviewing hackathon exhibitors about current VR, AI, drone, and 3-D printing technologies the day before, I had jumped into something more calibrated for my background.

However, while the other team members had a similar background to me, they already had extensive industry and academic experience. I needed to roll up some sleeves…

Around this first draft—yet disruptive—idea, we had to find something innovative, technically achievable and economically robust.

We certainly had some business modelling basics to review. But I certainly found very handy the fast-tracked lessons provided on-site during workshops around, along with the recurrent assistance of experienced entrepreneurs coming to our table.

Bouncing from one idea to another, with the help of some of the 317 experts available on request, helping the other teams to master their design, business, and technology plans, the project was shaping itself—even without two young members prematurely leaving the group, disappointed by the distortion of the initial concept.

In one day, combining knowledge and interests from different horizons, the team came up with the project of a biometric eye-tracking system coupled with a VR cognitive test to detect early detection of Alzheimer’s disease—patent under process, right?

Being a bit exhausted by two previous intensive think-tank days and left alone with a scattered team following the personal and professional commitments of most of its members, the presentation of our business design—unfortunately—lost its strength.

As the other teams were polishing their business model presentation for the early afternoon, I kept on focusing on polishing ours for a meeting we scheduled a month later in a professional setting with the full team and potentially interested third-party industry and academic members…

Nervous, I already was…

In the meantime, I attended the ‘healthcare’ project presentation session to know which project would be firstly selected to be presented in front of the entire assembly later on. participating in the active discussion to provide scientific and technical insights; and in the general showcase presentation, discovering what people had accomplished during that intensive and unique 3-day event.

I had “survived” a hackathon episode…

In the end, 14 societal challenges have been tackled; the imagination of the population has crossed the limits of our minds; professional networks have been developed, and the economic future of my home country will continue to shine as long as those innovative projects lead by citizen are empowered by the public and private sector supporting the transformation of those ideas into actions…