Hackathons : Brief History + Impact

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Matthew 18:20 

This post is inspired by the competition that the Ministry of Digital Transformation has been promoting for the upcoming week. 

A group of Software Developers will be solving problems in hopes of winning an unprecedented cash prize of $350,000 TTD!

There is truly beauty when a diversity of thoughts comes together to create a solution.

The transition from predominantly individual assignments in primary and secondary school to frequent group projects in university aims to showcase this beauty.

However, the advantage of having more eyes on the same problem can sometimes go unrealized, depending on the composition of the team.

I can testify that I have been on a project where it felt as if I was the only one who cared about my GPA.

Therefore, choose your team wisely, if you have the ability to do so.

Strike a balance between creativity and practicality. After all, a solution that can't be implemented is just a dream.

Now that we've established the importance of collaboration, let's investigate the rise of hackathons and their impact!


 Brief History

The term itself is a mashup of "hack" (meaning exploratory coding) and "marathon" (a long-distance running race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers).

Hacking and running might not seem to have much in common at first glance, but both involve pushing boundaries, endurance, and a bit of creativity. 

The concept emerged in the 1990s within the tech community, particularly among software developers, as events where programmers would collaborate intensively on software projects over a short period, often 24 to 48 hours.

One of the earliest known instances is the "Sun Hackathon" held by Sun Microsystems in the mid-2000s.

Today, hackathons are no longer limited to the tech industry. They have been adopted by other sectors such as healthcare, finance and education.


Impact

By bringing together diverse skillsets, hackathons can spark solutions to real-world problems that individuals or companies might not have tackled alone.

  • Databricks: Founded by alumni of the University of California, Berkeley, it originated from a project at a university hackathon and has since become a leading data analytics platform.

  • Facebook: The Like button, a ubiquitous feature of Facebook, was first conceived at a hackathon in 2007.

  • Netflix: Hackathons have led to the development of features such as Netflix Party, a browser extension for synchronized viewing.

  • NASA: International Space Apps Challenge was created to crowdsource solutions to space exploration and Earth science challenges.

  • Major League Hacking (MLH): Hackathons for students, helping them develop technical skills, network with industry professionals, and gain hands-on experience.


Resources 


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