Joshua Stromer
Some 300 students participated in the first MadHacks event, held in April.
Austin Hartzheim seems unfazed by the expectations he inherited following the success of April’s MadHacks 2015. The event attracted roughly 300 college students from around the country for 24 nonstop hours of toying and tinkering with technologies during the first sanctioned hackathon hosted by UW-Madison students.
Tapped to oversee the production of next year’s event, tentatively scheduled to be held in the fall, Hartzheim has plenty of time to flesh out the details.
But the near flawless roll-out of April’s hackathon — 10 months after its founders dreamed it up over a few beers — has set a high bar for MadHacks 2016.
“Preparations are going pretty well so far,” says the 20-year-old computer science major. Then, without a hint of irony, he adds, “The biggest thing is that we’re still looking for a venue.”
Student hackathons are a spinoff of the professional-level hackathons first organized more than 15 years ago, attracting a wide range of specialists and hobbyists. Attendees are enticed by the sense of community around the events, the intense competition that drives them, or simply the opportunity for creative expression through technology most wouldn’t otherwise have access to.
Most hackathons are organized around solving a specific problem or improving upon existing products. The hackers — a term used in an exploratory context rather than a criminal one — compete in teams that are given tools and mentoring by sponsors, which range from local start-ups to major players like Microsoft and Dell.
The competitions typically last 24 to 48 hours.
The popularity of student hackathons, where competition can be as fierce as that at the professional levels, has exploded over the last three years. In 2013, between 10 and 15 student hackathons were held nationally. This year that number will exceed 150, says Jon Gottfried, co-founder of Major League Hacking, which sanctions student hackathons, including MadHacks.
“A hackathon is very empowering,” says Gottfried, a former computer programmer who used to compete in professional hackathons.
Giving students access to technologies they could never afford and mentors they would never cross paths with creates an environment for them to flourish, he says.
What sets MadHacks apart from other student hackathons is an emphasis on welcoming first-time hackers and novices, says MadHacks co-founder and spokeswoman Katie Anderson.
“We’re not as focused on the competition aspects of it as other hackathons,” she says. “We want to give you unrestricted access to mentors and technology so you can create whatever you want.”
The idea stemmed from the image of hackers as mad scientists who, given free rein to create or innovate, would produce some surprising results.
It turned out to be a winning approach. Buoyed by the surge in popularity of student hackathons, MadHacks outgrew the University Research Park venue before its inaugural event in April even commenced.
With plans to double the size of the next hackathon from 300 to 600 hackers, the hackathon will require a much larger venue.
Anderson says the event will grow 12 hours, to 36, adding that MadHacks will continue nurturing those with less experience while fostering greater inclusivity of women and minorities.
A larger event will require more sponsors than the 17 that signed on for this year’s hackathon, which included Microsoft and Epic. Among the benefits of being sanctioned by Major League Hacking is the group provides material support.
In many ways, sponsors are key to the success of any hackathon. More than having a logo stamped onto promotional materials, Gottfried says sponsors are required to provide something of value.
As part of its sponsorship agreement with Major League Hacking, for example, Dell loans out laptops to hackers in League-sanctioned hackathons.
Anderson says sponsorship benefits local tech companies. After hackers are trained to use their platforms or software they’re more likely to continue using them as they move into careers.
As for the hackers’ experience, MadHacks 2015 appears to be among the standouts, at least for one first-time hacker. When a coding forum asked people to share their first hackathon experience, an Apple employee who attended the April MadHacks offered only positive feedback.
Mehul Kar wrote that he joined a random hackathon team when the friend who invited him no-showed.
“They were building a betting application for the upcoming Super Bowl. I had no idea what they were doing, but I said I’d do the HTML/CSS,” he wrote. “Stayed up all night making a basic page. Good times.”
