The 2020 OHBM Hackathon: A note from the OSSIG hackathon co-chairs
Channel: OHBM OpenScienceSIG
Date: 05/05/2020

If you want regular updates, you can:
* Check the hackathon website: https://ohbm.github.io/hackathon2020/ and our FAQ section https://ohbm.github.io/hackathon2020/FAQ to find out how you can get involved.
* Join the OHBM hackathon channel on our mattermost discussion forum: https://mattermost.brainhack.org/brainhack/channels/hbm-hackathon  
* Follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/OhbmOpen

(1) What is a virtual hackathon? How does this compare to previous year's hackathons? 
The term hackathon is a portmanteau of “hacking” and “marathon”; traditionally, it is an event where people gather to collaboratively work on projects over the course of multiple days.
OHBM hackathons are events for students, engineers, medical doctors and researchers who work in neuroscience to come together to learn and collaborate.
This year the OHBM hackathon will be a fully virtual event. The open-science special interest group of OHBM wants to rise to the challenge we are all facing and create a decentralized online event to foster global engagement and collaboration across time zones and geographical boundaries. For this we are organizing 3 “hubs” in different time zones to make it easier for people to join during typical working hours: 


(2) What can I expect as a participant in the hackathon?
OHBM hackathons have 2 components: a traintrack which is a series of workshops, tutorials and demos where you can learn new skills and a hacktrack where you can propose a project you need help with, or help others with their project. 
We are very committed to creating an atmosphere where newcomers who have never attended a hackathon before feel welcome. We want to make sure that you not only have the opportunity to learn new open-science skills in the traintrack that will help your future work but that you also get the chance to directly practice some of those skills by joining and collaborating on a hacktrack project.