What ?

“A hackathon, is an event when programmers meet to do collaborative computer programming.” Hackathons provide a venue for self-expression and creativity through technology.

People with technical backgrounds come together, form teams around a problem or idea, and collaboratively code a unique solution from scratch — these generally take shape in the form of websites, mobile apps, and robots.

Why ?

Hackathon is a really good tool to stimulate the creative and problem-solving juices of developers.
The time limit in a hackathon forces participants to distil their visionary concepts down to actionable solutions.

Outsiders can bring a fresh perspective to business challenges, as well as give an outside-in view of products and organization.

The main benefits for you are :

• Learn new technical skills
• Create a sense of accomplishment
• Innovate
• Develop solving problems skills

How ?

Initiate the organization of an internal hackathon :

• Find sponsors to organize the event
• Gather your colleagues
• Schedule it
• Make some noise about it (create the buzz)

Resources

• The design sprint : How to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days
• Hackhathon guide
• Lessons learned from organizing a hackhathon
• Hachathon planning
• 6 key tips to organize a hackhathon