Hack:Org:X v.3
===

Thank you for supporting our initial Hack:Org:X sessions! Whether you managed to join us yet or not, we hope that you appreciate as much as we do the chance to share our experiences on hackathons, hackdays and hacknights with a lively, interested group.

We ran the third in-person `Hack:Org:X` session on the evening of November 23 in Bern, kindly hosted by the annual 🌳 [DINAcon event](https://hacknight.dinacon.ch/). Throughout the day we interacted with ambitious digital initiatives, open source projects, and people engaged in political and legal reform.

We will follow up with a call on Wednesday morning, 🗓️ [November 29](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=MmZkMTV1NDNnOTgwampmYzVjMXFnbHZqZGwgMnExN3BydnBqOXBrazRmb21jZjkya2ppYmtAZw&tmsrc=2q17prvpj9pkk4fomcf92kjibk%40group.calendar.google.com). Please let us know if you wish to join, and do not already have it on your calendar. Feel free to add any additional topics or projects you wish to share to [Hack:Org:X v.3](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/event/4).

# In-person meeting


We met in the Gallery during the traditional (since 2017) [DINAcon HACKnight](https://pretalx.com/dinacon-2023/talk/DU3CKV/), which takes place during and after the closing apéro of this leading annual conference for digital sustainability. Around 200 participants took part in DINAcon this year, and quite a few stopped by to talk to us. You can see the topics and projects that were explored on the [hacknight.dinacon.ch](https://hacknight.dinacon.ch/) Dribdat site. Further background can be found on the [Hack:Org:X project page](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/project/23).


Our evening discussion focussed on hackathon dashboards from a recent event, open hardware for an upcoming hackathon, and academic research into hackathons. We announced our session at DINAcon with [program item](https://pretalx.com/dinacon-2023/talk/DU3CKV/), [Mastodon](https://fosstodon.org/@loleg/111454998841157513) posts, and a poster:


We had Roland and Christian - two of the organizers of the recent BaselHack event in attendance - demonstrate recent work to make interesting live digital signage at their hackathon. An open source web application connects to the GitHub API to show real-time activity streams from each of the project teams at the event. This includes the commits, pull requests, issues, and so on. We also played with Spline.design, a collaborative environment for 3D graphics. If you'd like to learn more, visit the [Realtime dashboard](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/project/21) page.


Hermann is one of the organizers of a hackathon-style workshop - [Open Network Lab](https://www.glue.ch/en/2023/11/07/open-network-lab-mint-special-event/) - next week in Bern. He joined us to find out more about hackathons, get some feedback, and prepare for the event. We dived into the issue of setting up the Arduino software and all the requisite libraries. He is putting in lots of time to prepare this, so that participants do not have to struggle as much. We are mostly promoting the event in the open hardware community of Bern under the headline of The Things Network community, who also ran the [MakeZurich hackathon](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/project/14) that we covered earlier this year. [Details and links here](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/project/24).


Our meeting at DINAcon was also supported by Proxeus Association, who demonstrated a solution for [Issuing Certificates](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/project/2) at the first Hack:Org:X. This was presented in the form of a poster, and we had a discussion with Juan, joining us for the first time today, about how hackathons can educate about Information Security. The first HACKnight featured [OWASP rules](https://hacknight.dinacon.ch/project/4), which was echoed in topics [last year](https://hacknight.dinacon.ch/project/68), that Proxeus presented again [this summer](https://brownbag.effinger.ch/cyber-information-security-awareness) in Bern. You can see more in the [Proxeus challenge](https://hacknight.dinacon.ch/project/71).


Oleg just came from a week-long international conference for organizers and researchers called [Hack the Hackathon](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/project/19), and was eager to share some of his insights with us. We talked about what kind of professional and academic interest drives people to take part in such a meeting, and what were some of the main impressions and key insights. He is writing blog posts about this: [Part I](https://blog.datalets.ch/093/) and [Part II](https://blog.datalets.ch/094/) are already available. From the blog, here is a photo of that event:


The next day after DINAcon, the same venue was host to an international [developer conference](https://helvetic-ruby.ch/). Organized by companies who are [familiar with](https://www.bernhackt.ch/) [hackathons](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7045161065097101312/), we spoke to the developers of an interesting project that connects developers based on common competencies and interests: see [Puzzle Skills](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/project/22). A team member of the Web accessibility-supporting [Cactus project](https://hacknight.dinacon.ch/project/82) came to talk to us about hackathons, and we shared some strategies on the format.

# Virtual call

Last week's Hack:Org:X meeting at the DINAcon HACKnight provided valuable insights into the world of hackathons and their role in promoting innovation and collaboration, and we followed up with a call a few days later. Thank you to everyone for your support! In attendance:

* Debra: organising [Hack4SocialGood](https://www.zhaw.ch/de/sozialearbeit/hack4socialgood/) in April in Zürich. Using hackathons to help integrate skilled migrants. Team matching algorithms.
* Gaston: organising [Open Data Hackdays](https://hack.opendata.ch/event/66) in St. Gallen this weekend. Feel free to join!
* Gonzalo: organising MakeZurich and [AEC Hackathon](https://www.opensource.construction/en/events/aec-hackathon-zurich-edition/) on construction next year.
* Marcus: organising an internal hackathon at EWZ IT this week, took part in [Climathon](https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/gud/de/index/departement/strategie_politik/umweltstrategie/klimapolitik/climathon.html) recently.
* Valbona: launching the [DevPolHack](https://devpolhack.com/) platform next quarter, supporting hackathon organizers next year.
* Oleg: organising an [IoT workshop](https://www.glue.ch/en/2023/11/07/open-network-lab-mint-special-event/) in Bern next week. Continuing work on hackathon platforms and research.
* Cristina: improving wiki-platforms, doing research on how data scientists work together.

In our brief discussion, several key questions emerged, including:

- Tools/standards for hackathon interoperability (RSS, JSON)?
- Connection to research groups - outputs of latest events and papers?
- Design thinking and rapid prototyping methods for hackathons?


One of the main topics of conversation was the need for better standards and protocols for hackathon interoperability. This includes the development of common formats such as RSS and JSON, as well as the establishment of clear guidelines for event organization and management. By creating these standards, hackathons can more easily share information and collaborate with one another, leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness in promoting innovation.

Another important theme - furthered by the [Hack the Hackathon](https://blog.datalets.ch/093/) (Oleg's blog) conference outputs was the relationship between hackathons and research groups. Many hackathons are organized in conjunction with academic institutions, and there is a growing recognition of the value of bringing together experts from academia and industry to solve complex problems. However, there is also a need for clearer communication and coordination between them, so we can work together effectively towards common goals. How will AI help?


Valbona gave us a presentation of the [#DevPolHack platform](https://devpolhack.com/), in which there is a focus on the use of design thinking and rapid prototyping methods in hackathon settings. These approaches involve breaking down complex problems into smaller, manageable parts, and using iterative cycles of experimentation and testing to develop creative solutions. While these techniques can be highly effective, there is also a need for careful consideration of the ethical implications of using them, particularly when dealing with sensitive or high-stakes issues.

Overall, the `Hack:Org:X v3` discussions have highlighted the many ways in which hackathons can promote innovation and collaboration, while also raising important questions about the role of standards, interdisciplinary collaboration, and ethics in these efforts. We hope to be able to continue the series of exchanges next year!

Please get in touch if you have hackathons to announce, if you have questions to our experienced and committed practitioners, links or publications to share - or if you would like to support our initiative in some other way.

---

Upcoming hackathons:

- [Open Data Hack St.Gallen](https://hack.opendata.ch/event/66) (Dec. 1 - 3)
- [AEC Hackathon](https://www.opensource.construction/en/events/aec-hackathon-zurich-edition/) (Feb., 2024)
- [Open Farming Hackdays](https://www.farming-hackdays.ch/) (Mar. 22 - 23, 2024)
- [Hack4SocialGood](https://www.zhaw.ch/de/sozialearbeit/hack4socialgood/) (Apr. 19 - 20, 2024)

---

Our notes from the previous events are here: [Hack:Org:X v.1](https://hackmd.io/@oleg/hack-org-x), [Hack:Org:X v.2](https://hackmd.io/@oleg/hack-org-x-v2). You can find additional documentation and projects on our hack-platform powered by Dribdat: [hackorgx.dribdat.cc](https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/)