Getting Started with Hackathon as a Beginner

Getting Started with Hackathon as a Beginner

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Are you nervous about participating in your first hackathon?

Hackathons may be intimidating, especially if it's your first time. But they're actually just enjoyable and laid-back gatherings where you can learn how to make great technologies. Furthermore, if you want to go on your own, you may be really frightened. You're unsure of what to anticipate or how to prepare. Will you be able to perform at a high level? Is there anyone who wants to talk to you?

These questions will be answered in this post, but a cursory glance reveals that the answers are yes and yes!

In this blog, we'll share with you the whole game plan, which will help you overcome your self-doubt and relish every hackathon you have ever participated in or organized.

Firstly, we'll go through the pre-requites that you'll need to consider while establishing a team for the Hackathon:

  • Domain Expertise
  • Designing
  • Frontend Development
  • Backend Development
  • Project Management

We will cover the basic 3 sections of a Hackathons:

Before the event: Getting the most out of a hackathon begins long before you sign up. Before and after you register for a hackathon, do the following actions.

  • Don’t be afraid to signup as an individual.
  • Make clear goals you want to achieve.
  • Research the topic and theme ahead of time.
  • Start communicating with other attendees through Discord or Slack

    During the event: You arrived on the day of the event. What is the best way to spend your time?

  • Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

  • Learn as much as you can.
  • It’s not all about coding. Take breaks and socialize.
  • Be proactive
  • Do your best you can in the time you have

After the event: You've completed the task! The event does not have to be the end of the experience.

  • Keep in touch with your connections
  • If you have the time, continue working on the project

Here come a few tips to help you prepare for your first hackathon as a freshie!!.

  1. Do your Research & Plan: Do your research on the topic or theme in advance so you’re prepared. Work on any specific challenges that you counter during the event.

  2. Team: Even if you're engaged in a senior role at a multinational corporation, preparing to launch your startup, or even enjoying Counter-Strike (how can we neglect that!! ), collaboration is critical to attaining your objectives. Similarly, you probably couldn't afford to enter one of the most important conflicts of Computer Science lovers, namely Hackathons, without a solid army. Indeed, collaborating with highly skilled individuals to form a viable team is strongly advised before joining a Hackathon.

  3. Choosing a Theme: Having a great theme and reason for your hackathon is key to its success.

  4. Ask questions: Clear your doubts, it's the best strategy you can have for your win-win game.

  5. Brainstorming Ideas: When you have listed all the ideas then go through each idea on the list and explore them by asking these simple questions:

    -> Whether it solves the problem statement?

    -> How long does it take for the implementation?

    -> Is the idea innovative and different?

  6. Prioritize features: Following your list of suggestions, the most significant feature will be given the greatest priority and will be ranked first.

  7. Create a GitHub Repo: Using a GitHub Repository allows you to prioritize your work and coordinate your project with your coworkers.

After all these, the Organizing Committee may ask you to sign up for an account on Devfolio, Devpost, or HackDash and post online your demo video or the clip you used during pitching, as well as the public URL to your GitHub repo. This will help you understand what you created, as well as permit your peers' hackathon group members to see what you managed to make and what motivated you to do this initiative. There are many doubts as a newbie to hackathons. Students are frequently concerned about whether or not they'll be accepted. You don't have to be an expert coder to participate and have a wonderful time.

Here's a list of my frequently asked questions:

- What if you are stuck for ideas?

That's quite normal. The majority of folks have no clue what they're going to do until they arrive at the event. However, if you begin speaking to other individuals, you may find something. If you enjoy someone else's concept, you can collaborate with them on it. There will also be awards awarded during the event, which may provide you with some inspiration. Don't worry; you'll come up with something to do.

- What if I don’t know how to code?

It's no issue! Many students come to a hackathon with no prior experience in coding, they are there to learn new things, to get an experience working with other talented individuals. If you've never programmed before, this is an excellent opportunity to learn over the weekend. You'll be surrounded by seasoned programmers who are eager to assist you. Coding may appear to be complex, but it is actually rather simple to learn. If you'd like, you may start right now by going here.

If you have prior experience, you will easily integrate into a team. Your team will assist you in learning new skills and assigning duties so that you may work together on a project.

"So why would I attend a Hackathon?" you might wonder if you're a student. The reality is that there are several advantages to engaging in a Hackathon. Below I am listing major takeaways after attending a hackathon.

5 Key Takeaways:

  • Networking
  • Exercising Whiteboards
  • Teamwork
  • Communication skills
  • Confidence

Do Nots

  • Working Alone: Rather than working alone, make use of the tremendously enthusiastic individuals that surround you! Who else would spend their weekend working on a project? Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!
  • Don't take on more than you can handle – You only have a limited amount of time to complete tasks, so concentrate on a few key aspects. After the hackathon, you may always maintain working on the project, which I strongly recommend you to do!
  • Think you won't be able to help — Every member of the team brings their own set of abilities to the table, and in order for the team to succeed, everyone must participate. Determine how you can help the team and concentrate on that aspect of the project.
  • Do you believe pivoting is a poor idea? effective hackathon projects frequently veer from their original premise. Switch wheels and concentrate on it instead if you believe you've uncovered something even better or more valuable during your endeavor.
  • Cheat – One of the most difficult aspects of hackathons is ensuring that contestants are not "cheating." Cheating during a hackathon may take several forms, including working on a project before the event, presenting someone else's work as your own hack, and so on. Simply said, don't do that. Remain at home. It destroys the event's entire purpose.

Dos

  • Curiosity opens doors to new ideas and can lead to a plethora of new chances.
  • Attend programs – You can learn a lot more in a 24-hour hackathon than you could in your first year of education. Seize the opportunity.
  • Participate and investigate – Don't be afraid to take a seat and discover the efforts of others.
  • Maintain hydration – Water aids in the movement of nutrients, which gives you energy. Your body can't operate at its best if you're not adequately hydrated... weariness, muscular cramps, disorientation, and so on. So make an effort to drink enough water!
  • Take intervals – A shift of location might help you feel motivated and get your creative juices flowing. Get up and take a stroll to see what other people are working on, learn about the firms that are there, and so on.
  • Take a copy of your resume/CV – Clean up your résumé and bring a couple of copies with you. There's a chance you'll impress a recruiter enough to obtain an interview at their organization.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, the reality is hackathons are for everyone!!., whether you are from tech or non-tech background, it doesn't matter.

Going in with an inquisitive attitude and a notion of what you want to get out of it is your great option. If you don't have a clear aim in mind, you won't be able to determine the event's value. You should attend a hackathon if you want to meet new people, learn about new challenges, develop code, and have a good time. Learn from amazing developers, how to work as part of a team, and be pushed to invent something from scratch!

Get your hands on this 'Beginner's guide on how to organize a successful campus hackathon', by Hack2skill to shine while conducting your first campus hackathon: ” blog.hack2skill.com/a-beginners-guide-to-or..”,

Also, if you are looking for a one-stop destination to meet all your needs for conducting a corporate or a community hackathon, then do visit- hack2skill.com Hack2skill offers a wide range of customized services to make your hack event a success by providing top-notch end-to-end execution of the hackathon right from sourcing talent to an in-built powerful and hassle-free platform so that you can sit back, relax and enjoy our hackathon! Do keep an eye on the website to participate in hackathons by tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Snapchat, and many more!

We've addressed every key component of hackathons so you can gain an advantage and advance your career and abilities. Now it’s time for you to get started.