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HackMPI – TechCon’s Hackathon

HackMPI Developers and judges

We are excited to announce a first in our industry event, HackMPI a 48 hour hackathon for the Event & Meetings Industry. This Pre-MPITechCon event culminated with presentations and awards at the MPI TechCon on February 19th 2013.

What is a hackathon? A hackathon is an event in which computer programmers and others in the field of software development, like graphic designers, interface designers, project managers, and lovers of all things technology collaborate intensively on software projects over a set time frame. At 2013 HackMPI that time span was only 48 hours (weekend prior to the conference) February 15-17th 2013. Special thanks to Chicago’s newest tech/entrepreneurial incubator and co-working hub for startups, Cibola, for hosting this event!

HackMPI suggestions were taken from attendees, membership of MPI and the event industry at large, streamlined and refined and then presented to teams of developers to use as influences at the beginning of the Hackathon. A 48 hour coding marathon commenced resulting in a presentation and voting at HackMPI and then at the TechCon conference the following Tuesday.

To view photos from #HackMPI goto: http://mpitechcon.com/photos-from-hackmpi-meetings-and-events-industry-first-hackathon/1382/

{ The following is from HackMPI Helps Push the Industry Forward by Jason Hensel}

The Winners Are

The hackathon stopped at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Afterwhich, the coders presented their apps to a panel of judges.

“We judged based on three categories: relevancy, design and functionality,” said Steven Maguire, strategy and innovation architect at TrainSignal Inc. “Functionality was critical, because it was actually what was being demoed–what was happening today and not what would be perceived.”

The judges then convened in another room, weighing the apps against the three categories. After much deliberation, awards for first, second, and third prize were handed out.

Hurst and his partner, Gary Turovsky, won first place for OKMercury, an app that is a take-off of the OK Cupid algorithim, matching suppliers and planners based on questions and answers. You can demo the app at OKMercury.co.
Prash Sabharwal was awarded second place for Swagger, a trivia-based app that can be customized for suppliers and destinations. Check it out at http://swagger.launchrock.com.
Ray Perry was awarded third place for his mobile matchmaking app.

“This was the coolest first ever event,” said Char Shada, CMP, strategic account manager for Experient Inc. and immediate past president of the Chicago Area Chapter. “It’s just neat to be cutting edge, leading the charge, leading the industry with something different. You could definitely tell the coders were really into it.”

{ To read the full article goto: http://www.mpiweb.org/blog/events/20130218/HackMPI_Helps_Push_the_Industry_Forward?source=home}

2013 Hackathon Agenda: (This was a 48 hour overnight event)

Friday, February 15th

6:00pm-6:30pm: Registration/Networking (Food & drinks will be provided)

6:30pm-7:30pm: Kickoff – Opening announcements, competition criteria, example demos.

7:30pm-8:00pm: Pitch Ideas/Form Teams

8:00pm: Start Hacking!

Saturday, February 16th

7:30am: Breakfast

8:00am-7:00pm: Open Office Hours w/Mentors – This is an opportunity for the teams to meet with tech/entrepreneurial professionals and get advice on their app ideas for the competition.

12:30pm: Lunch

6:00pm: Dinner

Sunday, February 17th

7:30am: Breakfast

8:00am-2:00pm: Open Office Hours w/Mentors – This is an opportunity for the teams to meet with tech/entrepreneurial professionals and get advice on their app ideas for the competition.

12:00pm: Lunch

6:00pm: Dinner & Stop Hacking!

6:30pm-8:00pm: Presentations

Prizes awarded included:

Over $3000 in cash prizes, free hotel accommodations, tech gadgets and more!

HackMPI Judges, Speakers & Mentors: