Hackathons: stretching engineering talent to the maximum

The word “hackathon” may conjure up an image of secret gangs of computer programmers working in the middle of the night to break into financial sites and personal accounts.

For the older generation or those not familiar with computer science programming, just the word itself may send shivers down their spines, as they think about the early days in the 1980s and people like Kevin Mitnick, the world’s most famous (former) computer hacker now turned security consultant. Mitnick was legendary in “hacking” computer, telephone and cellular networks.

“My drivers for hacking were intellectual curiosity, pursuit of knowledge, and seduction of adventure,” Mr. Mitnick has been quoted as saying. “It was never about stealing money or writing malware.”

But things seem to have changed. Every day our attention is been drawn to headlines of international criminal groups who are “hacking” systems to install malware or gain profit by committing credit card fraud, identity theft, bank fraud, and securities fraud.

The payoffs are enormous, the hacking itself is much easier to commit than other types of criminal activities, and the risk of punishment is often slim.

These criminal pursuits are the first things many of us think about when we hear the term “hackathon.” However, over the last 15 years, hackathons have emerged as one of the most interesting ways to address and solve complex problems, capturing the intellectual curiosity, pursuit of knowledge, and seduction of adventure to which Mitnick referred.

So, what is a hackathon? Back in the dark ages and before computers became commonplace, human beings used to solve problems through the concept of a “BOGGSAT,” which was just what the letters imply, a Bunch Of Guys and Gals Sitting Around Talking.

This would lead itself to heated discussions, and ultimately perhaps, to solutions for life’s complex problems. The advent of the portable laptop computer and the culture that emerged around computer programmers change that mindset forever.

By the late 1990s, a group of Open BSD developers met on June 4, 1999, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to make software improvements. Working on this free, open-source computer operating system which had descended from Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) code at the University of California Berkeley in the early 1990s, the group had placed the foundational steps to today’s modern hackathon.

Within two weeks, an independent group of Java developers met at the JavaOne conference, setting in motion an event to write a programme for the Palm V PDA, one of the early handheld PCs or personal digital assistants (PDA).

As the plethora of devices grew, so too did the demand for innovation within the tech-based markets.

To meet that demand, young software programmers would continue to meet in marathon sessions running both day and night to overcome technical issues and develop more cutting-edge software. As a result, the term hackathon developed to signify a group of developers gathering over a few days with a common focus in mind.

Hackathon gained increasing popularity throughout the mid-2000s among private companies as a way to quickly develop new software and come up with new, innovative ideas. These events have now extended well beyond the business world and into computer hobbyist clubs and academia where high school and university students routinely spend their weekends addressing some of life’s most complicated problems.

Major industries such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo have held several internal and external hackathons featuring hundreds of developers. Facebook hosts an all-night internal hackathon every few months.

Using the power of innovation through creative collaboration, hackathon members are extending the role of the hackathon beyond its original function as a coding and software development sprint. Hackfests, hackdays, and codefests are now being undertaken in all disciplines and fields where rapid innovation and creation are necessary solve complex problems.

Universities have now begun sponsoring “hacks” in all manner of engineering and technology, for new business and industry startups, biology, international relations and even history.

Expertise and brainpower
While some of these hackathons are held internally, within a private community or industry, most are open to the broader public in order to capitalise on the skill, expertise and brainpower of broad, interdisciplinary groups.

What do you need for a hackathon? Several ingredients make the hackathon a success.  Since the event runs continuously for several days, food and energy drinks top the list and sleeping bags are optional. If you have the space, WiFi for connectivity and willing participants with a penchant for solving the problems, you can host a hackathon. Many companies and universities in India have already done so.

Hackathons have recently taken India by storm. Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make India strong through self-reliance on the back of a strong manufacturing base, an initiative was created titled, “Make in India.”

In February last year, a group organised a hackathon in Mumbai to do just that. The hackathon’s aim was to “encourage engineering talent to showcase knowledge application in design, innovation and sustainability, covering areas that solve people problems through sustainable and cost-effective business models.”

Engineering students participated by submitting their innovative ideas, designs and solutions in three major theme areas; water, transportation and energy.”

There are several major “hacks” taking place in India throughout 2017 in nearly all the major cities.

Topics include; ethical hacking, the Internet of Things (IoT) healthcare, chat operating systems, and systems based upon Avaya Breeze, Zang Cloud and Vantage Device to name a few. Two interesting hackathon’s this summer will be: “SHE-HACK”—a hackathon specifically designed for women, and a hack taking place on a train traversing Bengaluru over 10 days.

So, what are you waiting for?  Find a “hack” that suits your fancy and fuel your intellectual curiosity!
(Iyengar is a distinguished Ryder Professor and Director, School of Computing and Information Sciences, Miami; Miller has been with US Air Force for over two decades and is Coordinator, Discovery Lab, Florida International University)