Hunterhackfest quickens the digital pulse of local judges
A Hunter region based hackathon was run on 10-11Jun 2016 as a first event of the 2016 Hunter Innovation Festival to quicken the digital pulse of the Hunter and connect local talent to work on civic + urban engagement problems in a short format 10hr event. Hackathons are "creative, intensive sessions where people come together to solve a problem, improve a process, and experiment using technology" (see Hackathons Australia). They are a proven innovation + disruption model that can accelerate the delivery of new technical solutions to stubborn problems, whilst also creating new economic value, innovations and fundable businesses in a short "pitch+prototype" cycle.
HunterHackFest sought to fuse Hackers (engineering folk - software, hardware, civil), Hustlers (business folk) and Hipsters (creative folk) to join forces and pitch a concept related to one of 4 event categories: UrbanCooling || SmartArts || MoveMe || DigitalCityZen. Gathering on Friday night at The Edwards Bar in Newcastle West, 22 competitors and attending guests heard project ideas pitched with passion and formed into 8 teams. These talented teams then jumped over to the other side of Parry Street to work from 8am-6pm at the beautiful Innx Workspace, pitching their final concepts from 7pm on 11Jun2016 in a bid to quicken the pulse of the panel of 3 judges from Eighteen04, Laughing Mind and Newcastle City Council.
Of the 7 teams pitching, the following worthy winners emerged:
Joint 1st Place (sharing $1500cash): Team EasyPeasy (Parking made easy) / Team Pretty City (crowdsourced urban beautification of rundown spaces);
Digital CityZen ($1000 cash): Team City Hall Solutions, with their grassroots social impulse aggregation platform to provide moment to moment visibility of community sentiment;
Crowd Fave ($500 prize): Team ReFind, connecting waste stream suppliers to adaptive reuse demands.
For the curious, details of the competing teams entries are at Hunterhackfest.devpost.com The event format proved popular, with the following sample of testimonials revealing a little of the spirit of the event:
HunterHackFest sought to fuse Hackers (engineering folk - software, hardware, civil), Hustlers (business folk) and Hipsters (creative folk) to join forces and pitch a concept related to one of 4 event categories: UrbanCooling || SmartArts || MoveMe || DigitalCityZen. Gathering on Friday night at The Edwards Bar in Newcastle West, 22 competitors and attending guests heard project ideas pitched with passion and formed into 8 teams. These talented teams then jumped over to the other side of Parry Street to work from 8am-6pm at the beautiful Innx Workspace, pitching their final concepts from 7pm on 11Jun2016 in a bid to quicken the pulse of the panel of 3 judges from Eighteen04, Laughing Mind and Newcastle City Council.
Of the 7 teams pitching, the following worthy winners emerged:
Joint 1st Place (sharing $1500cash): Team EasyPeasy (Parking made easy) / Team Pretty City (crowdsourced urban beautification of rundown spaces);
Digital CityZen ($1000 cash): Team City Hall Solutions, with their grassroots social impulse aggregation platform to provide moment to moment visibility of community sentiment;
Crowd Fave ($500 prize): Team ReFind, connecting waste stream suppliers to adaptive reuse demands.
For the curious, details of the competing teams entries are at Hunterhackfest.devpost.com The event format proved popular, with the following sample of testimonials revealing a little of the spirit of the event:
HunterHackFest was such a good opportunity to meet other passionate and talented members of the local community. It's fantastic to see so much energy being channelled in such a short amount of time to generate some incredible ideas. Big thanks to Laughing Mind and all of the partners who made HunterHackFest happen!
Fantastic event. Professionally run. Support always available throughout the event. Well worth the travel for me to experience working and collaborating with others.
Yesterday I participated in one of my top "out of comfort zone" moments. The entire process from start to finish is loaded with unique experiences that only a process like this could offer. I can't wait for the next one.
This hackathon was particularly inspiring and engaging because of the variety of people there (hipsters, hustlers and hackers). It made for a really amazing vibe and was super fun. I'd encourage anyone who wants to expand their horizons, or even just meet cool people to come along!
Designed and run as one of Laughing Minds venture catalyst events, HunterHackFest was made possible by the generous support of local Champion sponsors Slingshot, Catalyst partner Newcastle City Council and our wonderful supporters: The Edwards Bar, Innx Workspace, The Lunaticks Society, Eighteen04 and Hunter Innovation Festival.
'Digital City Zen' category (sponsored by NCC) won by Cityhall community engagement platform #hunterhackfest pic.twitter.com/rsiQjJAIQF
— Tim Chaston (@TimChaston) June 11, 2016
It's a tie! Congrats to joint winning teams Pretty City and Easy [P]easy #hunterhackfest #hunterinnovationfestival pic.twitter.com/wsg7GeWmKo
— Tim Chaston (@TimChaston) June 11, 2016
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