Are hackathons the new wave of effective problem-solving? The concept of a marathon (hence the thon) collective brainstorming session has taken the corporate and technology world by storm over the past few years, even though it’s a relatively new phenomenon. According to HackerEarth, over 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies use hackathons to innovate in their fields, and sectors like financial and information technology conduct hackathons more than any other industries. It’s an increasingly popular way to tackle issues facing society, business, and beyond.

TreeHacks, one of the largest hackathons in the United States, is an example of a global competition that aims to generate new products and concepts that have the potential to change the way we live. There are 1000 Students from all over the nation that descend upon Stanford each year, coming together to work on issues that affect fields like education, sustainability, and healthcare. With over 53 unique prizes ranging from Most Ethically Engaged Hack to Best Real-World Crypto Hack at stake, the competition is steep… but represents multiple talent levels, interests, and schools.

USC Iovine and Young students Hanson Leung, Rylan Pozniak, Calix Huang, and Byeongjun Moon all applied to TreeHacks and got the chance to attend the massive event this year from February 17-19. Leung calls his time at TreeHacks one of the “most fun experiences of his life.” As a first-time participant he set out not knowing what to expect, thinking he was just going to have a good time, and left with a sense of accomplishment and a fresh set of skills gleaned from an exceptional group of people all working in tandem to achieve something spectacular. 

“One of my big takeaways is to be prepared for literally anything,” he says of TreeHacks and the hackathon experience as a whole. 

As part of a team of four, Leung worked almost 38 hours straight on a project that streamlined and enhanced the process of going out to eat. The lessons he learned along the way made the long hours bearable. He welcomed the fast-paced nature of the challenge because it condensed the process of bringing a concept from ideation to execution. Often, turning an idea into a product takes years. In the case of a hackathon, you have a result in a matter of days. 

“I guess the whole thing is learning from other people and the people around you and seeing what you can contribute to create something cool at the end of the day makes the entire experience and the entire grind so worth it,” shares Leung. “Yes, this is what people get paid to do but we’re doing it for fun because we love doing it and we love building cool stuff.”

Rylan Pozniak is exhilarated by the innovation he witnesses flourishing in real-time at hackathons, noting how rapid prototyping in those environments leads to “real-world disruption.” 

“Hackathoning is a way of life,” he declares. 

Having won prizes at last year’s TreeHacks, 2023’s MIT Reality Hack XR, and USC’s 2023 Hackathon, Pozniak  knows the ropes, but continues to implement inventive – and socially-impactful – applications of augmented reality and virtual reality  technology. 

“In this year’s TreeHacks, my team built a VR therapy experience for Alzheimer's and dementia patients to interact with a virtual AI character. The app was created to facilitate reminiscence therapy. In 2022's TreeHacks, we created a VR go-karting game called Carscendo that uses the metaphor of racing a virtual car to make learning music composition more accessible,” he explains.

Of course, the IYA framework lends itself to collaborative creation. 

“With Hackathons you’re building entire products or entire tools and there are so many different aspects that go into building a tool from the business side to the dev side to the design side… and your product won’t work unless you have a really good synthesis of all these disciplines,” says Leung. “Combining that into one is really an IYA pathology and applying this to a hackathon you can create a winning product.”

“For me, IYA is one giant hackathon! IYA's fast-paced, hybridized technology and product design structure has grounded me in a fundamental mindset of rapid and collaborative innovation,” Pozniak adds. 

If you’re interested in getting in the hackathon game and you feel like a novice, don’t be discouraged or intimidated. Leung observed a wide-ranging array of abilities on display and chances for first-timers to shine among more seasoned hackers. If you’re not a coder but you happen to have design capabilities, there’s a place for you. Everyone is bringing something to a multifaceted (and welcoming) table. 

“One thing I took away is there’s a disparity between the talent level and the skill level at hackathons,” says Leung. “This isn’t a bad thing, but rather an opportunity to learn. I like to think that if I’m the smartest one in the room, I’m probably in the wrong room.”

Are hackathons the new wave of effective problem-solving? The concept of a marathon (hence the thon) collective brainstorming session has taken the corporate and technology world by storm over the past few years, even though it’s a relatively new phenomenon.

How to Hack It: The Appeal of the Hackathon