Running a Hackathon

Organizing the second annual Reno Hackathon was a privilege and a great experience. This event is big news in a city that embraces its vibrant high-tech startup scene. It attracts professional and amateur developers, university students, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in coding apps. Participants immerse themselves in a collaborative environment supported by Microsoft technical experts spanning 24 hours.

The first objective in organizing the event was to coordinate logistics to deliver a fantastic experience. Once that goal was secured, we looked towards more adventurous ideas to keep the event fresh. The first was to run a concurrent Hackathon in Sydney, Australia with a live Skype link. This was possible by leveraging our partners with the University of Nevada Reno DeLaMare Library network and Microsoft. The second addition was partnering with the NASA Space Apps Challenge to share the venue, food, and brains. The outcome was a fun and challenging event to connect, learn, explore, and create with the latest technology in software and hardware.

Below are highlights of the event…