Hackathon Cheatsheet
Tags: hackathon
Published: 2019-10-02 11:22:14

<strong>Loads of swag, free food and a chance to get down with friends and develop something amazing just within hours. All this sounds great and I am sure that everybody wants to get their hands on such an opportunity.</strong>

Hackathons provide such a platform where one with lots of participants can battle against the time, to make something spectacular and sat down to code facing the miseries of confusion, setbacks and headache one expects from a software project but still win at dawn to showcase the hard work and dedication in a project which at one point seems like a nightmare. Hackathons are designed like a fast-paced, adventurous type of event where you will find help in terms of mentors and other fellow competitors. It helps you to work like doing a real-life project, facing time constraints but still live up to the expectation of people and win against odds.

## But, What will I do there?

One might wonder what kind of technology one should know/use to participate in hackathons. The answer is simple -ANYTHING. It doesn’t depend on what you are using. Most commonly people develop websites and android applications, but one can go rebel by developing C++ applications or use so much in trend now; Machine Learning. What judges really look for is the viability of the final product, how it fits into the given theme and how effectively it solves a real-life problem.
Currently, the hackathon culture is booming. In every institute, one can find hackathons taking place every now and then but it is difficult to keep track of so many of them. One must keep looking to avail of these opportunities.

## I should prepare, But How??

Going for something new always excites us and once selected for a hackathon it is natural to know more about it. The very first step in a hackathon is theme selection. Usually, there are 3–5 themes given on general problems. One must choose a theme wisely depending on the idea and its technological constraints. Idea is very important as it decides the shape of your product. Try to think of a unique idea or enhance and improve some existing projects. Google for ideas and discuss with teammates until you all are sure and excited to work on it. It is important to have teammates that are as much technologically smart as well as most necessarily dedicated as you are, it helps in keeping the atmosphere healthy for work. After agreeing on an idea, strategies make yourself a timeline. It is definite that many problems and setbacks will occur, not only with new-comers but also with experienced programmers. The odds of a problem not happening are slim but if one goes through it peacefully and logically the odds of it not solving are negligible. Besides this most hackathons provide free food, interaction sessions with mentors to help you with a problem and provide ways to think a problem through. The motivation behind hackathons is to help people learn by working, therefore a healthy and co-operative working environment is maintained.

## After coding for hours…

Finally, after burning the midnight oil, the hard work starts integrating into an amazing product, one can feel proud of. But what good is it if people can’t know about it. Therefore, there is a presentation section. One should keep a few things in mind for presentation. Always talk formally about your product including details of how it fits into the theme you chose, how is it solving a real-life problem how is it different than current existing solutions if any. Be ready for questions. Listen to others as well as it helps you to identify your vulnerabilities and might plant a seed for your next big idea. Some will win while others will hope but you should always praise a good idea and work on making yourself better and hope for the best.

<strong>May You Succeed in your next hackathon.
Thank you!!!</strong>