You've seen a Facebook page, a tweet or simply had someone tell you; and you want to join a hackathon. Great. Hackathons are an excellent place to learn more about technology, work together with a team under intense deadline pressure and maybe; just maybe win fame and fortune for yourself.
Once almost exclusively the tool of choice for open source projects that want to meet a specific feature based deadline, hackathons are now the social tool of choice for many organisations (both commercial and non-profit). Hackathons can be used as a recruiting tool; to provide publicity for a given cause or quite simply be the source of great ideas or implementations.
Win-win right? Even with all these advantages for everyone participating, hackathons require some preparation and care on both the organisers and participants parts. While a well conducted hackathon can indeed increase an organisation's exposure (both in the media as well as to new, exciting ideas); poorly arranged hackathons can negatively impact a brand and dim participant enthusiasm.
Disclaimer - I (we) are not lawyers, nor can we adequately advise anyone on their particular circumstances. If in any doubt (and even if not) please consult a legal professional. This work is licensed under [CC by 4.0] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
In recent years, there are many guides out there that can help provide the basic information on how to get your very own hackathon event up and running.
- https://hackathon.guide/
- https://guide.mlh.io/
- http://hackdaymanifesto.com/
- https://medium.com/@lamthuyvo/designing-inclusive-hackathons-d021fc1bf8d6#.vbtrbdu5h
- https://www.cleverism.com/guide-to-hackathon/
Normally, one would assume that the prizes on offer are motivation enough for anyone to join. Some hackathons have been conducted in the past with a promise of seed funding for a new startup based on the product produced during the hackathon. Nonetheless, there are many reasons to be cautious before enrolling in a hackathon, regardless of the prizes on offer.
- Do look very closely at the terms and conditions of the hackathon event before signing up
- If the organisers haven't made their terms easily findable/available, ask for them. It is probably a simple oversight on their part.
- Do read and be familiar with the terms and conditions of your own employment contract (if employed); or your university/school regulations (if a student)
- Do look for the important parts in the terms and conditions; and determine how they impact your personal circumstances. Be very clear on the following:
- Who owns the deliverable output(s) of the hackathon?
- Is it you and/or your team alone? If so, decide prior to the event on how you will assign the rights (and rewards, if any) between the collaborators on your team
- Is it the hackathon organisers alone?
- Is it jointly owned by the organiser and your team?
- Aside from ownership, what rights are reserved by other interested parties?
- If ownership is held by you/your team, what rights are held by the organisers of the hackathon?
- Do your employer or your university have any rights to work produced by you? (as stated in your employment contract and/or university regulations)
- What other restrictions (if any) are applied by hackathon organisers as conditions to entry?
- If your end product is not selected, can you use the idea elsewhere?
- Are there any restrictions on entering? (age, place of employment etc)
- Who owns the deliverable output(s) of the hackathon?
- Your current workplace and/or institute of higher learning has signed off on your participation in this hackathon
- Intellectual propery rights to output are assigned solely to the collaborators/producers
- Promotional and other rights for your output are not controlled by the hackathon organisers alone
- There are few (or no) restrictions on present or future employment as a result of participating in the hackathon
Even with the advantages outlined above, participating in a hackathon may not necessarily be the best course of action for you. Even with the best of organisation, hackathons present a less than realistic view of working conditions in a technical company (if your company development regularly looks like a hackathon, that is definitely not a good sign)
Some useful points below -
- https://chinpen.net/blog/hackathons-are-bad-for-you/
- http://brianchang.info/2016/02/28/hackathon-be-gone.html
- http://www.programmableweb.com/news/why-many-developers-dont-participate-hackathons/elsewhere-web/2015/04/12 (originally at http://infotrope.net/2014/11/28/why-i-dont-like-hackathons-by-alex-bayley-aged-39-12/)