The objective of this Hackathon competition was for participants to explore the iPRODUCE OpIS platform and tools to unleash their creative potential to develop a product idea.
Participants in the hackathon were able to participate individually or in teams of up to 3 people, with the possibility to develop any type of idea/ solution, focusing on any type of sector.
It was decided that one winner per cMDF (5) and online participant (1) will be awarded the prizes lined up for the Hackathon, with a total of 6 winners.
The Hackathon competition was designed to offer the awarded participants with support in the form of technical assistance, mentoring, and visibility at each of the local cMDFs as well as for the online participants. The ‘Hackathon Support Team’ which included staff from F6S, the technical developers and cMDFs were also on standby whilst the Hackathon activities were taking place to support any questions/ issues that arose. The online Zoom meeting was running during Hackathon activities, for participants to network and share any questions they had, with these being answered live.
The prizes for the winners are a feature in the high-visibility magazine Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine and the winning product (video) shared across the iPRODUCE network and social media channels. Some of the cMDFs had their own prizes lined up for the winner.
We had the Keynote speaker, Dr. Vanessa Julia Carpenter, PhD who presented to our participants about illutron, GeekPhysical, Copenhagen Grotesque Burlesque, IdemoLab and Kintsugi Design, three places using prototyping which are part of the maker movement. Vanessa shared her relatable extensive experience and knowledge in creating impactful and meaningful interactions with technology, including over 40 examples in a rapid-fire format with considerations for how to design for meaningful interactions with technology in a quick way using the classic IDEO prescription of “Right, Rapid, Rough.”
In total, the competition received 56 registrations for the Hackathon, made up of 64 participants.
The coverage of the Hackathon was exposed and increased reach in other parts of the world such as the USA, India, Nigeria and Ethiopia, but they were not eligible to participate and receive the prizes.
