NAIT’s School of Media and IT (SMIT) Club is hosting its first hackathon this November, and if you’ve never heard the term before, you might be just who the club is looking for. The event is aimed at students with little or no hackathon experience, providing them a place to start.
The event, called “Hack-a-ton with Friends,” will bring together up to 100 post-secondary students from software, IT, business and design backgrounds to develop projects around the theme of “refinement.”
Teams of three to five will work together to come up with a finished project over the weekend of Nov. 14-15, where they will then present their finished projects before a live audience.
What it means to the people
For SMIT Club’s VP finance Tianna Neufeldt, the idea came partly from her own first experience at a hackathon. She said she would not have attended if a friend hadn’t encouraged her.
“To me, it’s like this is a very scary place with a bunch of new people you’ve never met, a bunch of big companies and, like, there’s a lot that could go wrong,” Tianna said. “But the experience we all got out of it was just really great.”
Experiences like these shaped the club’s decision to make its event beginner friendly. Participants don’t need coding experience and students who register on their own can be matched with a team.
Derek Wiberg, VP general operations, said a hackathon can look like an event exclusively for programmers, but students from other disciplines have plenty to offer.
“Business people have a very good idea of how to make something actually achievable,” Wiberg said. Students can also help with pitching, diagramming and logistics or design. Students with video experience could even use mock-ups or video to help teams present their ideas.
“Our club, if we’re not having fun, we are not doing it right. A club is meant to be fun.”
The hackathon’s “refinement” theme also reflects what organizers want students to gain from the experience.
“It’s about refining your skills or showing different students what they can do and what they can build,” said Neufeldt.
Participants will have support throughout the event from club volunteers, with instructors also being considered to provide technical help if the teams get stuck.
The SMIT Club also partnered with Dev Edmonton Society, a non-profit organization with the aim of connecting people in the Edmonton tech scene, to get guidance on pre-event planning.
More than mastery
Beyond academic achievement, the club wants to connect and prepare students. “The goals of the SMIT Club are to give people opportunities, different students to meet new students and to collaborate, meet new friends, network and get themselves ready for capstone,” said Neufeldt.
But president Julienne Fernandez has another, less serious, goal.
“Our club, if we’re not having fun, we are not doing it right. A club is meant to be fun,” she said.
For those interested in participating in the club’s first hackathon, the event is free, and students only need to bring their devices and be ready to work with their team.
Although the event is primarily aimed at NAIT students, students from other Edmonton post-secondary institutions can participate under NAIT’s guest requirements. Registration is capped at 100 participants and spots are offered on a “first come, first serve” basis. Find out more on Ooks Life.
Feature image via SMIT Club/Ooks Life
