The word “hackathon” is generally used to describe an extended period, often 24 hours, during which individuals or members of a team focus on a project pertaining to hardware or software.
“The way I talk about it when thinking about [the term] is some period of time when you’re marathon coding,” says Sofia Semenova ’17. Semenova is quick to mention, however, that there are a number of issues surrounding the use of the term in college environments since the word “hack” is invariably connected to images of “nerds sitting in a dark room [working] to take down Goldman Sachs.”
Semenova, who is majoring in computer science and minoring in physics, describes the term “hackathon” as an event where hundreds or even thousands of people, often white males interested in computers and hardware, stay up all night, running on only coffee and pizza, to code computers together. They become intensely motivated by cash or other grand prizes in the hopes of creating a perfect digital product by the end of the event.
While there may be nerds at Codestellation Fall 2015 this November, will they be taking down Goldman Sachs? Probably not. Codestellation is a year-old “hackathon” but is unlike the ones described by Semenova. “While it’s good to be focused on the things you care about, that environment isn’t very conducive in letting other people participate. Our hackathon is focused on getting back to the basis of what a hackathon should be: forming a team with people you know or don’t know and working on a project,” she said.
Indeed, Codestellation is different from the well-known competitions held at other universities such as MIT’s hackathon, HackMIT. With less drama built into the premise and more fun token prizes as rewards for the winning entries, Codestellation is designed to be an inclusive hackathon in which anyone can take part. The event encourages students not majoring in computer science to take part.
“Last year we had a big focus on getting beginners involved in the hackathon … The thing is that beginners can do it, and that people who don’t know any computer science can do it,” she said. She goes on to elaborate, “Students in the engineering, computer science, math and science bubble get stuck in what we know … adding extra viewpoints can help. Anyone can learn, anyone can contribute.”
In the end, teams attempt to produce a functional product related to hardware or software but not necessarily based on any particular theme. Semenova recalls seeing many web apps, Java products and occasionally even hardware being worked on. It is important to note, Semenova points out, that another judgement at the hackathon is whether participants are able to learn something even in the face of not actually producing anything tangible. “Being forced to sit in a room for 24 hours gives a good opportunity to learn something you want to learn,” Semenova said. “I encourage people to learn something new.”
Confirmed to help sponsor Codestellation this year is a company called Estimote. Estimote makes transmitters or “beacons” that phones and mobile devices can communicate with to create “contextually rich mobile experiences” based on data such as proximity, temperature and motion. Another confirmed company is Intrepid, a mobile design and development firm which creates mobile apps for other companies. Last year Codestellation was sponsored by companies such as Digital Ocean, Treehouse and General Assembly.
Semenova notes that as a non-engineering school, there can be a perceived focus on non-practical applications, especially with Brandeis being in such close proximity to prestigious engineering schools. She said that it can be hard to feel confident in computer science coming from a non-engineering school but also said that computer science students shouldn’t be afraid to get a job solely because they haven’t done certain things on their own. “The best thing about the hackathon is that we’re convincing people that they are capable of doing things. Everyone was already capable of learning and making something on their own, but they don’t believe it until they actually do it.”
Codestellation Fall 2015 will take place over the weekend of Nov. 13. The rough schedule of events is a setup on the 13th, registration beginning the morning of the 14th, and then a start to the competition following the kickoff at 11 a.m. The next day there will be a break once the time has expired, following with the closing ceremony and judging.
