Over the past weeks I have been individually highlighting the amazing line up of speakers at this year’s BridgeCon. Hence, in the Scoop this week I wanted to take a different direction and put the spotlight on the Day Two: Hackathon, which I am really excited to be a part of. For those that are asking ‘what is a Hackathon?’ I want to share with you both the concept and the desired output. Let’s first start with the ‘what’.
A Hackathon (also known as a hack day, or hackfest) is an event in which a group of creative minds and others involved in idea development and innovation collaborate intensively on a given project. A Hackathon can typically last between a day, and in some cases even run for a week if the puzzle is complex enough. Some Hackathons are intended simply for educational or social purposes, although in many cases, the goal is to create new ways of working.
Traditionally, this method was seen as being used in software development in which computer programmers and designers could focus on hacking away until they created something that had not yet been developed. One of the Bridge values is Innovation, so we thought, ‘How amazing would it be to get a group of leaders from various organisations together and apply this creative power to developing the next best strategy in creating happiness in the workplace?’
On the day we will form four working groups and participants will share ideas and put in place their desired strategy. Throughout the day, each team will have the opportunity to spend some time with our carefully chosen panel of experts on Creativity and Behaviour, Strategy and Campaign, Cost and Budget, and Purpose and Reason. With each visit, the team will gain insight that they will need to carefully hack through, and apply this thinking to their strategy. The day will end with each group presenting their ideas to all hackers, and as one team we will close the Hackathon with the best of the best.
This is a day not to be missed and I am pleased to say that with the number of participants growing fast, the diversity of thinking is proving to be exciting.