45 Hackathon Event Ideas For Your Company

Hackathons, while they sound scary and even tedious, aren’t what you think! Hosted by tech companies, hackathons are a way to gain exposure on how things function in real life scenarios and bring people from all across the globe to solve problems in ways that may not be conventional.

What Is A Hackathon?

A hackathon is defined as an event, hosted by a technology company, in which they present software related challenges to be solved over the course of a few days. One thing to keep in mind is that just because it’s called a “hackathon” does not mean that you are violating computer security! The word hackathon comes from the combination of “hack” and “marathon,” meaning that coders and programmers create a series of hacks within a certain time frame. Hackathons can range in certain areas like education and healthcare, to automotive and even retail. Learning to combat any challenges and creating hacks will help your team navigate your day to day with ease.

Corporate Hackathon Ideas

Computer coders and software programmers are constantly working to better their company website and everything that goes on behind the scenes. In order to have your programmers prepared for any challenges that may arise, or to even have brand new ideas implemented, consider using these hackathon ideas for your corporate company. 

<span class="mid-size-title">1. Create A Theme Based Corporate Hackathon</span>

Everyone knows how much a theme can unify people or events! When you create a theme for your hackathon, everyone involved will be more inclined to participate. A theme, no matter what it is, can help to guide your participants in the right direction in terms of creating. Adding a theme to your hackathon will also show your participants that you value the work that they are providing!

<span class="mid-size-title">2. Allow All Departments To Participate</span>

When it comes to hackathons, it’s typically only IT departments and programmers who participate, as they are the experts. However, when you allow all departments to participate in your hackathon, IT departments and programmers can have a fresh set of eyes on their project. There may be employees in a department like HR or accounting that may have an idea that nobody else had thought of! Working together to solve challenges or create new ideas will be beneficial to everyone involved.

<span class="mid-size-title">3. Go Global</span>

Hackathons are a great way to gather people from all over the world to come together and get some positive work done. There are people who may have some new and innovative ideas that were never thought about before, and they should have the chance to speak on those ideas. The experience levels of everyone joining the hackathon can be different, meaning that people with longer seniority might know what works better for the industry. Keep in mind that there are time differences, so find a time that is feasible for everyone!

<span class="mid-size-title">4. Allow For Various Experience Levels</span>

As stated above, participants in the hackathon will have different levels of experience. By encouraging participants with different experience levels to work with one another, everyone can learn more about one another and how they work. Successful ideas can come from the most unexpected places, and everyone working the hackathon should have the opportunity to share their ideas.

<span class="mid-size-title">5. Host A Virtual Event</span>

Much like going global with your hackathon, hosting a virtual hackathon can encourage guests from all over the world to join! Guests won’t have to travel anywhere to join your hackathon- they’ll just need to join through a link or even an app. Guests can be separated into smaller groups (depending on how many guests there are) and work together to solve problems and strategize new ideas, virtually. The data the participants come up with can also be stored for later use or reference. When hosting a virtual hackathon, reach out to virtual hosting platforms to help with the preparation for your event! 

<span class="mid-size-title">6. Create A Hackathon Event App</span>

Apps are the most helpful tool when it comes to hosting an event! Apps allow guests to register for the hackathon, work and even create ideas right there. The work and information done within the app can be saved for future use, and even shared with other participants. If time runs out for your hackathon, you can go back at a later date and finish the work you started.

<span class="mid-size-title">7. Hold Multiple Events Simultaneously</span>

The great thing about hackathons is that they have the ability to hold multiple events at once. Studies have shown that when there is only one event at a time, attendee engagement is usually low. By hosting multiple events at once, you will be able to engage your participants with things that interest them. Participants are working so hard to create new ideas and that can become mundane, so hosting something like a workshop or a roundtable discussion can help to break up the day!

<span class="mid-size-title">8. Encourage Diversity</span>

The tech industry is dominated by males, with only about 25% of women working within the industry. By encouraging women to work and contribute to these hackathons, it might encourage others to participate as well! A diverse workplace will bring fresh sets of eyes and new ideas to the table, which can help the hackathon overall. 

<span class="mid-size-title">9. Include An Element Of Surprise</span>

Hackathons have a guide that gives participants a roadmap as to how the event should flow. By adding an element of surprise, it can be a great source of inspiration for everyone! These surprises can be an internship for participants who had wonderful ideas, but didn’t win the hackathon. Any sort of surprise can encourage participants to work even harder.

<span class="mid-size-title">10. Encourage and Reward Risk Takers</span>

Risk takers are the ones who aren’t afraid to try new things and step out of their comfort zone. By encouraging participants to take that risk, you can end up with a new idea that works better for everyone! Once participants see that these risky ideas actually work, they will start to think of their own risky ideas to share with the group.

<span class="mid-size-title">11. Encourage Interdepartmental Collaborations</span>

As previously mentioned, working with other departments is helpful for everyone involved. While some departments like HR or accounting aren’t experts in coding or programming, they may have some extra insights that could be helpful during the hackathon. By encouraging interdepartmental collaborations, you can incite relationships between departments that may have never happened before, which can make everyone more comfortable with one another. 

<span class="mid-size-title">12. Allow Yourself To Go Big</span>

Hackathons, especially virtual ones, can host any number of participants! Don’t be afraid to have as many participants as possible. There can be people from all over the world actively participating in these hackathons, and they may have ideas that work for everyone. Hackathons encourage a meeting of the minds type of mentality, and by limiting your hackathon to only a certain number of people, you may not have the opportunity to develop some great ideas!

<span class="mid-size-title">13. Develop A Creative Blog</span>

Blogs are the perfect place to showcase your skills from your hackathon! A blog can be written either before or after the event and can include any number of hackathon highlights. Blog creators can post pictures of the event along with ideas shared and even the winners of the hackathon. Any of the blogs can also be used as reference points for any later information that may be needed.

<span class="mid-size-title">14. Gamification</span>

Gamification has become very popular over the years, and it is a great way to keep your audience engaged. Gamification requires your participation to be educated in JavaScript, which may be limited to a certain number of people. However, by pairing those people with the rest of the participants, gamification can be used to create an interactive game that everyone can enjoy.

<span class="mid-size-title">15. Facial Recognition</span>

Have you ever been in a situation where you are watching a movie or tv show and you recognize an actor, but you’re not sure where you know them from? With the use of an app created by programmers, you can add a picture of the actor to the app and all of their works will appear! This can come in handy when you just can’t match a face to a name.

<span class="mid-size-title">16. Intelligent ChatBots To Solve Problems</span>

Chatbots are helpful to everyone, no matter what issues arise! Chatbots can help to chat with participants, help solve any problems they may have, and even be fluent in coding. A chatbot can solve any problem a participant has, and the conversation can additionally be stored and used for help in the future. 

<span class="mid-size-title">17. Artificial Intelligence Based Solutions For Corporate Employees</span>

There are some corporate employees who are so busy that they need an assistant to help with tedious tasks. With the use of an A.I. smart assistants, people are able to get their work done in a timely manner while also getting their small tasks done. These assistants can help send out emails, set reminders and even check team availability for meetings.

Ed-Tech Hackathon Ideas

There are challenges that come with education, and they need to be addressed immediately. Educational matters need to be handled with quality, and by following these education hackathon ideas, you can help deliver the best education possible.

<span class="mid-size-title">18. Share Learning Experiences</span>

Students can help to share their learning experiences through an app! Students learn in all different ways, and sharing texts, photos and videos can help students in the future. This can be beneficial to younger students as well; they can see their possible workload in the future and prepare for it.

<span class="mid-size-title">19. Course and University Finder</span>

College may be hard to navigate for some students, and by creating an app for them to use when finding colleges, the process will be much easier. Students can add their grades, interests and potential career path and be paired with colleges and universities that match. Students can also look at these colleges more closely, especially when they know that this college has the exact things they are looking for.

<span class="mid-size-title">20. Raise Classroom Behavior Issues In Real-Time</span>

A classroom management tool will help students, their families and teachers with any behavioral issues from students. Information on students can be updated from their teachers, right within the app, and sent to their families in real time. This allows families to monitor their child’s behavior while in school.

<span class="mid-size-title">21. Smart Tutor</span>

Designated for all ages, a smart tutor can help students in any problem areas they might have. Math is typically a hard subject for students, and they can ask for help within the app. The app can assist every student on any educational level with direct access right from their phone.

<span class="mid-size-title">22. Make Learning Fun</span>

As stated above, all students learn in a different way. Some may be visual learners, while others learn better through hands-on education. With the use of interactive games and puzzles, the same level of learning can be dispersed throughout the classroom for every student. Students will be able to learn educational lessons while also having fun playing a game! 

<span class="mid-size-title">23. Apps That Aid College Students</span>

There's no doubt that college students have a lot on their plates, and any way to make their day to day easier will be beneficial to them! During your hackathon, you can design an app that can help college students find jobs, internships or even organize their class assignments. Deadlines are crucial for college students, and this app can help students stay on top of their deadlines and even allow them to set notifications for when assignments are due. 

ConsumerTech Hackathon Ideas

ConsumerTech has seen an absolute boom over the past 10 years. However, the use of so much technology in homes and workplaces comes with its challenges. Coders and programmers can help to develop smarter solutions to benefit everyone.

<span class="mid-size-title">24. Automate Homes and Offices</span>

The use of personal assistants like Siri or Alexa help to make our lives better- you can  turn lights on or off, set a thermostat or even turn music up or down. Hands free smart solutions in the home or workplace help everyone involved. You can even use your voice to say commands and instantly see results! These smart solutions can also notice patterns within the homes, such as electricity usage or energy consumption, and can adjust accordingly by turning off lights or turning down heat. 

<span class="mid-size-title">25. Autonomous Drones</span>

Just about everyone has experienced that moment when you desire to take a photo but no one is there to take the photo for you. With the help of autonomous drones, they can track your location using a GPS, and come and take the photo for you. The use of an app can help you retrieve your picture.

<span class="mid-size-title">26. Truly Predictive Keyboard</span>

Smartphones have added a predictive keyboard to the message app on phones, allowing users to choose words that fit the sentence best. At this specific hackathon event, you can help to create a keyboard that recognizes patterns within conversations and predict the next words. This can help users quickly text their friends and family while getting their point across. 

FinTech Hackathon Ideas

Financial services use software to help ease the lives of consumers. From services like Apple Pay and Venmo, tech solutions tested by coders and programmers will ensure consumers have a smooth experience when it comes to their money.

<span class="mid-size-title">27. Subscription Management Solutions</span>

Nowadays, everyone has at least one subscription to some sort of streaming service. Most people are moving away from regular cable and only have streaming services. For some, these subscriptions can get out of hand and people may not even realize they have them! By creating an app, users can manage all of their subscriptions in one place, can see where their money is going and even cancel any subscriptions that are no longer needed!

<span class="mid-size-title">28. Calculate Credit Score</span>

Credit scores are important in the way of people wanting to purchase a home or a new car. Credit scores are calculated through credit lending institutions, and should be monitored regularly. Your hackathon event can help create an app where a user can see their credit score, have all of their bills in one place and even pay bills right through the app! Your financial history will be in one easy place and be more transparent for when the time comes to make a big purchase!

<span class="mid-size-title">29. Cash Flow Management</span>

Cash flow spending can be daunting at times, especially when you look back at what you have spent money on. By having all of your purchases in one place, along with receipts, it will make it easier to track your spending. You are also able to group purchases into categories such as food, clothing, household bills, etc. 

AutoTech Hackathon Ideas

Electric vehicles are growing in popularity, and technology within these vehicles is ever changing. In order to improve the use of these electric vehicles, hackathons are the best way to learn how to improve the environment.

<span class="mid-size-title">30. Find Parking</span>

Everyone knows how frustrating it is to be looking for a parking spot and not being able to find one. Drivers also take a risk by looking for spots while maybe not paying attention to the road. Coders and programmers are able to design a code to put into electric vehicles, and along with GPS, find available parking spots! The app can speak to drivers through the car speakers, telling them directions to the nearest open spot. This way drivers can find an open spot, while also being safe on the road.

<span class="mid-size-title">31. Pedestrian Safety</span>

Electric vehicles have the ability to design a prototype for the vehicles that can detect when pedestrians are in the street, and can slow the car down. The car can detect when a crosswalk is near, or if somebody is trying to cross the street in general. Schools and hospitals are popular places for pedestrians to cross the street, and the car can slow down naturally when the driver is near or around these places. 

<span class="mid-size-title">32. Vehicle Maintenance</span>

All vehicles, both electric and not, need maintenance from time to time. And sometimes, when life gets too busy, you may forget about the maintenance your vehicle needs. An app created by programmers can link right with your car, and keep you aware of the maintenance. Parts may need to be replaced, even without you knowing! A notification can be sent right to you, letting you know what parts need to be replaced.

<span class="mid-size-title">33. Automatic Real Time Traffic Monitoring System</span>

Nobody likes to get stuck in traffic- most of us try to avoid it! However, sometimes, traffic is just unavoidable. Your electric vehicle can keep you up to date with traffic in real time, and even recognize patterns based on your driving history. Your vehicle can send you on the quickest route with no traffic, making sure you arrive at your destination on time. 

<span class="mid-size-title">34. Automatic Payment For Tickets</span>

Sometimes you receive a ticket for speeding, against your better judgment. If this situation arises, drivers have the option to pay their ticket right within the app. If drivers feel the need to dispute against the ticket, they will have all of their data regarding their vehicle right in one place. They will be able to present their vehicle data to the authorities in order to dispute the charges. 

HealthTech Hackathon Ideas

Technology in the healthcare field is at an all time high, but there is always room for improvement. Technology can be used for smaller, everyday tasks or used in large, complicated operations. Medical records can be analyzed in the best way possible with new technology. 

<span class="mid-size-title">35. Data Processing For Hospitals</span>

Patients may need to see many different doctors and nurses throughout their stay at the hospital. Their data and charts need to be read by several different people, and with the help of an AI based data processing system, their information can be ready very easily! Doctors and nurses can manage their patients better when the information is entered correctly and is able to be read smoothly. 

<span class="mid-size-title">36. Virtual Health Assistant</span>

There are some patients that have to be on a certain machine for the rest of their lives. These machines can contain programs that monitor their vitals and send the information to an emergency contact if their vitals become concerning. The app can also set reminders for patients to take their medications or even refill their medications when it’s time to do so.

<span class="mid-size-title">37. Remote Patient Examination</span>

A mobile app can be designed to give patients exams, even if they’re not able to get to a doctor’s office or hospital. The app can remind the patients to take their medications, take their vitals, and even determine whether the patient needs to be seen by a doctor. This will be extremely useful in emergency situations and can come in handy for anyone!

<span class="mid-size-title">38. Health Technology In Rural Areas</span>

Some patients may live in a rural part of their community; one where they might not have access to emergency services right away. A telehealth system can be set in place for patients who need it, giving them 24/7 access to a health professional. This system can help the residents of small communities feel like they are cared for, especially in emergency situations.

<span class="mid-size-title">39. GPS Monitoring For Ambulances</span>

There may be some scenarios where an ambulance may not be able to get to an emergency on time. With the use of GPS, the ambulance can get to the emergency immediately. Patients can see when their ambulance is on the way and the ambulance drivers have the best route to get to the patient as fast as they can.

<span class="mid-size-title">40. Improved Medical and Emergency Communication</span>

Communication between doctors, patients and their families needs to be clear and concise, no matter what the prognosis is. By improving communication between everyone, it ensures that the patient receives the best care possible. Families or emergency contacts of the patients can have their minds put at ease when they get a notification that their family member is healthy and is receiving the best care available.

<span class="mid-size-title">41. Better Emergency System</span>

Emergency systems like 911 sometimes are lackluster when it comes to the calls coming in. By training 911 operators to handle any and all situations, you can be sure that callers will receive the correct services as quickly as possible. By preparing 911 dispatchers for any situation that may get called in, they will know how to handle the situation calmly, while also trying to keep the caller calm as well. 

<span class="mid-size-title">42. All In One Medical Care App</span>

As stated above, there are patients who may need to see several doctors for a number of different reasons. By setting patients up with a medical app that houses all of their personal information and data, it will be easy for doctors to see all of the patient’s information at once. Both doctors and patients can make changes within the app, and patients can even write down any symptoms they’re having, along with times and dates. Medications can also be entered into the app, reminding patients to take them. 

RetailTech Hackathon Ideas

Retail companies are able to track their sales with the use of technology platforms. By switching to an online platform, your consumers can have a positive user experience and your company can have all of the analytics at their fingertips. 

<span class="mid-size-title">43. Digital Shopping Performance</span>

Customers have moved to shopping online as opposed to shopping in stores. They can search for products on Google, or even go directly to the store’s website to search. The tech team can help market your company to the correct people, thanks to the use of analytics! 

<span class="mid-size-title">44. AR/VR</span>

With people changing their shopping methods to online, it may be difficult for them to try on items without actually being there in person. The use of AR and VR can help consumers “try” on clothes and see what something will look like, or even try on a new pair of glasses to see how they look on their face. This is a fun way to get consumers to test out trying on clothing items without actually leaving their house!

<span class="mid-size-title">45. Product QR Code</span>

We have all seen how useful QR codes can be when it comes to searching for something. Consumers can point their camera right at the code, and find exactly what they are looking for. They can also search the inventory within the store, and the inventory of surrounding stores if the item they want is unavailable. The QR code can help consumers find exactly what they want, in a timely manner. 

Conclusion

Hackathons are the best way to gather people from all over the world to bring together great ideas and make lives easier. These ideas can range from making the world of telehealth easier, to even making shopping experiences easier. Over the course of a few days, the leaders of the hackathon should be full of new knowledge, ideas and creations to make everyday life easier. If your hackathon has a theme surrounding it, participants who are experts in the subject matter should be invited to showcase their skills. Happy hacking!