Hacking in the sense of tackling and harvesting the still unknown field of the startup idea in the sense of harvesting. That was the motto of the first HACK AND HARVEST in the new innovation area on the old Siemens site in Constance. More than 100 participants travelled to the Hackathon to share one conviction: To develop useful and creative software and hardware products and to find an answer to the demand for innovative solutions. Our team at the IST Institute was also on hand to provide advice and assistance.
The 28-hour marathon starts with the ideation phase. Already brought along concrete and daring ideas will be collected. To observe - Networking par excellence. Talks take place, teams try to inspire, first conversations and questions about the exact implementation fill the room.
Then it's on to the preserves. Before the final teams officially form, the groups or individual participants convince with their initial idea in a 60-second pitch. Challenge and art at the same time. Getting the most important message across in one minute. Although it was the first time for many participants, they did well.
The resulting teams are as versatile as they are motivated. Gaps such as the search for a designer, developer or business strategist are often successfully closed and there is even a merger of two groups with similar ideas.
The teams move into their workspaces on an entire floor. In addition to lounges with table tennis or table football facilities, the founders also have bedrooms at their disposal.
Now it's getting exciting. The hackathon enters its sprint phase. The heads are smoking, keyboards are running hot and Post- It's everywhere illustrate the intensive concept development. In front of the door a planetarium with parachute and beamer will be set up, inside smart green solutions for an efficient and ecological cultivation in business and the city will be worked on and a social media solution will inspire with its value-based approach to networking regional interest groups.
The mentors present were impressed by the diversity and enthusiasm of the participants. "It was with great pleasure that I accompanied our founding interested people over these two days. Great ideas and the direct support of the mentoring network made this hackathon very valuable" (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Guido H. Baltes, Scientific Director of the IST Institute).
After the final pitch, in which the results of the deposited marathon are presented, it is clear: It should go on. The mentors have therefore immediately assured their continued support for the founding teams on the basis of already knitted networks of the last two days.
The founding team of the interest-based network platform, with team members from the IST Institute, promises further progress beyond the hackathon.
Every week, the 7-member team consisting of students and professionals will meet regularly in Constance and Kempten. It will remain exciting to see the fruits of the first HACK AND HARVEST in the innovation area.
