Hackathons are a great opportunity for developers in all stages of their careers to build their resumes, grow their networks, and get hands-on technical experience.

Below are a few upcoming hackathons in 2023, we recommend checking out! For the most up-to-date list of upcoming hackathons, visit the MLH website.

1. HackGT X — Atlanta, Georgia — October 13th-15th, 2023
2. Hack the Valley — Scarborough, Ontario — October 13th-15th, 2023
3. UNT NSBEHack — Denton, Texas — October 13th-14th, 2023
4. DubHacks — Seattle, Washington — October 14th-15th, 2023
5. Hack WashU — St. Louis, Missouri — October 14th-15th, 2023
6. HackHarvard — Cambridge, Massachusetts — October 20th-22nd, 2023
7. I-Hack — Rexburg, Idaho — October 20th-21st, 2023
8. All In Hackathon — Worldwide — October 21st — 22nd, 2023
9. Hack Dearborn — Dearborn, Michigan — October 21st-22nd, 2023
10. HackPSU — State College, PA — October 21st-22nd, 2023
11. HackTX 2023 — Austin, Texas — October 21st-22nd, 2023
12. Technica Hacks — College Park, Maryland — October 21st-22nd, 2023
13. Cal Hacks — Berkeley, California — October 27th-29th, 2023
14. Hack Hive — Indore, Madhya Pradesh — October 27th-29th, 2023
15. HackNC 2023 — Chapel Hill, NC — October 27th-29th, 2023
16. Web3Apps — Worldwide — October 27th-29th, 2023
17. GreatUniHack 2023 — Manchester, Lancashire — October 28th-29th, 2023
18. Hack The Mountains 4.0 — Guragon, Haryana — October 28th-29th, 2023
19. VandyHacks — Nashville, Tennessee, October 28th-29th, 2023
20. DandyHacks — Rochester, New York — November 3rd-5th, 2023
21. TechTogether Online — Worldwide — November 3rd-5th, 2023
22. YCP Hacks — York, Pennsylvania — November 3rd-5th, 2023
23. hackCBS — Delhi, India — November 4th-5th, 2023
24. HackRPI — Troy, New York, November 4th-5th, 2023
25. HackUTD — Dallas, Texas — November 4th-5th, 2023
26. Make-a-Ton 6.0 — Kochi, Kerala — November 4th-5th, 2023
27. MakeUC — Cincinnati, Ohio — November 4th-5th, 2023
28. NewHacks — Toronto, Canada — November 4th-5th, 2023
29. MadHacks — Madison, Wisconsin — November 11th-12th, 2023
30. AI ATL — Atlanta, Georgia — November 17th-19th, 2023
31. BostonHacks — Boston, Massachusetts — November 18th-19th, 2023
32. Hack Western 10 — London, Ontario — November 24th-26th, 2023
33. Web3 Apps — Worldwide — November 24th-26th, 2023
34. Techacks 4.0 — Patiala, Punjab — January 19th-21st, 2024
35. nwHacks — Vancouver, Canada — January 20th-21st, 2024
36. HoyaHacks — Washington, D.C.— January 26th-28th, 2024
37. Hacklytics — Atlanta, Georgia — February 9th-11th, 2024
38. Hack This Fall — Gandhinagar, Gujarat — February 9th-11th, 2024
39. UGAHacks — Athens, Georgia — February 9th-11th, 2024
40. Hacklahoma — Norman, Oklahoma — February 10th-11th, 2024
41. cmd-f — Vancouver, Canada — March 9th-10th, 2024
42. WEHack — Dallas, Texas — March 16th-27th, 2024

Originally published at https://news.mlh.io on October 10, 2023.

2023 Edition: New & Upcoming Hackathons was originally published in Major League Hacking on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Did you know that recruiting for summer internships starts as early as September? To help you get started on your career search, we curated a list of the top internship programs in tech.

Make sure to submit your application using the referral links below, so our partners know that you’re applying through MLH! Sign up for the MLH newsletter, and be the first to know about special recruiting events for hackers.

1. Fidelity LEAP Program

If you’re an upcoming or recent college graduate, we recommend checking out the Fidelity LEAP program. The LEAP program provides you with 12 to 18 weeks of dedicated paid training that helps you transition to your full-time role at Fidelity.

Fidelity is currently hiring Full-Stack Engineers for their 2024 LEAP program with two available start dates: January 2024 or June 2024.

Fidelity LEAP is designed to reinforce a culture of continuous development and a growth mindset through immersive, high-impact learning experiences. You’ll practice your skills on projects that tackle real-world challenges that Fidelity is facing today. Along the way you’ll receive personalized coaching and mentoring, as well as the opportunity to build a meaningful, cross-company network.

2. Fidelity Intern Program

The 10-week Fidelity Intern Program is a world-class opportunity for college-level students looking to explore and learn more about Fidelity’s business and culture through a cohesive and centralized program experience.

Fidelity has a wide range of internship roles every summer. They hire interns into 8 major skill areas, including a technology internship program. Fidelity offers internships in Full-Stack, Mobile, Data, or Systems engineering. The application window is currently open — apply today!

3. Google — Student Training Engineering Program (STEP)

STEP (Student Training in Engineering Program), formerly known as Engineering Practicum, is a 12-week internship for first and second-year undergraduate students with a passion for computer science.

The internship program focuses on providing development opportunities to students from historically underrepresented groups in tech, through technical training and professional development. This unique internship offers the opportunity to work on a software project alongside other STEP interns and full-time Googlers, and provides the chance to bridge the gap between academic understanding and practical professional experience.

4. Microsoft — Software Engineering Internship Program

Every year, Microsoft welcomes thousands of university students from every corner of the world to join their company. The Software Engineering Internship is just one of the many internships that Microsoft offers each year.

Originally published at https://news.mlh.io on September 18, 2023.

Top 2024 Summer Tech Internship Programs for Hackers was originally published in Major League Hacking on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hello! Please introduce yourself and your role in TechTogether.

Hi everyone! My name is Cindy (she/hers) and I am the current Chapter Director for TechTogether New York (TTNY).

Why did you join the TechTogether organizing team? How can other students get involved with your chapter?

I joined the organizing team because I love working with people from different backgrounds and experiences and putting all of our talents together to complete one major project. If you are eligible please apply to be a general member or director. I would love to see your application and get to know you further to see how you can best help out with TechTogether New York! If you’re more of a hacker, please attend our in-person event happening in the fall!

What are you most excited about for your chapter’s hackathon? How do you hope this year’s hackathon will be different from last year?

I’m extremely excited to help organize the first in-person hackathon for TechTogether New York in years! I can’t wait to see everyone hacking in person and experiencing the magic that made me love hackathons so much. I hope this year we can have a lot more mentors or various backgrounds come to our event and help out all of our talented hackers.

What aspect of in-person hackathons are you most excited about?

I am so excited to see hackers hack through the night! One of my favorite parts is to see our hackers work day and night on their projects and end up with amazing results. Midnight snack anyone?

What is your favorite aspect of hackathons? What aspect of in-person hackathons are you most excited about?

My actual favorite part is getting to meet so many people and hearing their reasons for why they love hackathons. As an organizer, it fills my heart to hear how much they enjoy coming to the event we spent months planning. For in-person I can’t wait to see everyone happily hacking away. Also, did I mention: free food!

Can you tell me about your first hackathon experience? Do you have any advice for someone who’s interested in attending a hackathon but may be intimidated?

One of my first hackathons was TechTogether Boston as a high school senior. I had no idea what coding was, and I was younger than most of the college-level attendees. TechTogether had PreHacks, a program designed specifically for High School students to feel welcome and know that their skills were perfect to hack during the weekend. We even met another high school student who joined our team that weekend. If you feel like you might be too young or inexperienced, it’s okay! Imposter Syndrome can sometimes get the best of us.

Give the hackathon a chance, meet some friends, and come to our team formation events. You’ll definitely find someone who understands and wants to help make the best out of your first hackathon. While we didn’t win, we made lots of memories and it was a great experience to have. It’s one of the reasons TechTogether still holds a special place in my heart.

Any secret talents or hobbies?

I love pottery! I take classes every fall and spring and have a few cool pieces. I also have a degree in fashion design from high school and have designed some cool pieces. I may or may not be trying out metal smithing this fall 😳.

What do you wish I had asked and what would be your answer to that question? Any final thoughts?

What is your dream team? My dream team is made up of people who dream big! Regardless of their experience or background, they want to give it their all. I’m so excited. I keep saying it but I am, I promise!

Want to join Cindy’s team and organize TechTogether New York’s hackathon in October? Apply to volunteer here.

Get to Know Cindy Mata, TechTogether New York’s Newest Chapter Director was originally published in TechTogether on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hey Hackers! I’m excited to share that TechTogether has been acquired by Major League Hacking (MLH). Moving forward, our teams will be working together to develop programs that will empower hackers around the world. Don’t worry, the TechTogether you know and love will continue to exist and pursue our mission of increasing gender diversity in the hackathon community. Read on for the details!

What is Major League Hacking (MLH)? Major League Hacking, also known as MLH, runs the largest community of early-career technologists in the world. Among developers, MLH is widely known for the 200+ weekend-long student hackathons they power each year. In 2021 alone, more than 135,000 developers participated in MLH hackathons to gain the hands-on experience they need to launch their careers. In fact, I actually got my start in the MLH community at HackNYU in 2017!

Like TechTogether, MLH cares deeply about making hackathons inclusive and diverse. MLH also has deep experience supporting the growth of a community from the early days to more than 500,000 members. By joining forces with MLH, TechTogether will have access to resources and expertise that will help us empower hackers at an even greater scale and further our mission of increasing the gender diversity of the hackathon community.

What does this mean for our hackers? The TechTogether you know and love isn’t going anywhere — we’ll continue to operate TechTogether hackathons and more, but now as part of the MLH family. So, for those of you worried that our mascot is leaving us — don’t worry! Byte is here to stay! Our mission and gender-inclusivity policy will not be changed, and of course, we will continue to supply face masks at every in-person TechTogether hackathon.

So, what is changing? We will leverage MLH’s investment in TechTogether to expand the Chapter Program and launch new programs, which means more opportunities for you to attend hackathons and other cool career development programs like the MLH Fellowship. MLH will also play a big role in helping TechTogether transition its programs back to in-person for the 2021–2022 hackathon season.

Does this mean we can expect to attend in-person events next year? Yes, both MLH and TechTogether are committed to bringing back in-person events for our community as quickly as possible. To ensure that the events are safe, we’ll be utilizing best practices recommended by national, state, and local health authorities.

How soon can we start to see changes? I’ll be leading the integration of TechTogether into MLH over the coming months, ensuring continuity of our programs during the transition. To receive updates about TechTogether and MLH, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.

I’m excited to be joining the MLH’s leadership team to continue to lead TechTogether through this next phase of growth. To learn more about the acquisition, I will be hosting an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Twitch with Swift, the CEO & Co-Founder of MLH on May 5th. During the AMA, we will be available to answer any questions you might have about the acquisition, the future of TechTogether, or anything else you’re curious about.

I look forward to working with our community to write TechTogether’s future, together! I can’t wait to see you all again this hackathon season.

TechTogether Acquired by Major League Hacking! was originally published in TechTogether on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Have you ever signed up for something and then immediately regretted it? And I mean immediately! As in you already wanted to cancel before you’d even read the confirmation email? Cause I have and that something was my first hackathon.

If you’re a hackathon veteran my panic might seem a bit silly but for my fellow newbie hackers, I’m going to share a bit about who I am, why I even wanted to go to a hackathon, and why I’m so glad I did!

About me and why hackathons~

Let’s start at the beginning with a little bit of background about me. Soooo, hi! I’m Priscilla and I had exactly 0 programming skills prior to starting a full-stack boot camp in January. Before starting said boot camp I actually worked in education before deciding (during the pandemic) that education wasn’t for me and deciding to move into tech.

Tech and programming were always things that interested me, but unfortunately, I never felt like it was an actual career option for someone like me, a biracial woman who was a first-generation college student. So, instead of at least exploring all the cool stuff in STEM that I found fascinating I went into the fields the people around me suggested. I regret doing that now looking back on it but better late than never I guess~ The pandemic and all of the chaos surrounding it made me realize life is way too short to sit around thinking ‘what if’ so I found a boot camp and here I am!

That’s enough about me but why did I even want to attend a hackathon at all? Well for a few reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to learn about some awesome new stuff and TechTogether offered a crazy amount of workshops on lots of topics I’d never even heard of, FOR FREE! That kind of deal was something I couldn’t pass up. Secondly, everyone I’ve talked to in the tech industry has emphasized how important being an active participant in the community is not just for career opportunities but to also just make friends who can relate to and support you! With those things in mind and some urging from my classmates, I signed up for TechTogether Miami and TechTogether Chicago.

Attending TechTogether Miami~

After signing up that existential crisis I mention earlier kicked in at full force and I nearly noped out of the whole thing! Thankfully some of my classmates had attended some of TechTogether’s earlier hacks and were able to share some info that I’m going to share with you — you don’t need to hack. I repeat — you do not need to hack. I certainly didn’t!

That’s the amazing thing about TechTogether you can participate as much or as little as you like! I attended a workshop nearly every time one was available because they were so much fun and I had the spare time since I wasn’t hacking. And when it comes to workshops you’ll find something that interests you I promise, doesn’t matter if you’re an expert hacker, high-school student, or a career changer who can barely remember what CSS stands for sometimes. Also, if I had wanted to hack it would have been easy to find teammates through the many team-forming events that were offered. If you’re nervous about attending events then feel free to keep your camera and mic off while soaking in all the information! You can do whatever feels most comfortable for you and still connect with lovely, welcoming people while you do so!

So, just to tldr everything: Sign up for hackathons! Attend hackathons! You have absolutely nothing to lose and if a hackathon interests you at all then you belong there! One of the best parts of my experiences at TechTogether was meeting so many different people and you don’t need to bring anything extra to add to that, just bring yourself!

Interested in attending a hackathon and getting access to more articles like this one? Subscribe to TechTogether’s bi-weekly newsletter. 💡

The One Thing You Should Bring to a Hackathon was originally published in TechTogether on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Building a project at a hackathon for the first time within a short period is already intimidating. So, when the majority of TechTogether hackers tell me integrating the cloud into their project isn’t something they even considered — I totally understand.

However, for those who want to try out something new and level up their coding skills, I want you all to know that using the cloud in your hackathon project isn’t as hard as you might think.

Below are a few ways to integrate the cloud in your next project, with examples and resources for each.

1. Host a Website or Web Application on the Cloud

You’re exhausted, and you feel a bit burned out by the end of the hackathon. Your team of first-time hackers has put all their energy into your HTML/CSS website, and you’re ready to hit submit on Devpost.

But, what if you could take one extra quick step to level up your website? A step that would make your project eligible to win more prizes.

Your team can host your project on the cloud, like Microsoft Azure, in under 30 minutes. What is web hosting? Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a website or web page onto the Internet (Source: Website.com).

Not only do you get entered to win more prizes, but you also get to add new skills and platforms to your resume.

The best part? We will show you step by step how to host your website on Microsoft Azure if you reach out to a mentor at a TechTogether hackathon — no more getting stuck on tutorials. We are here to help.

Resources & Tutorials

• Host a Web Application with Azure App Service.
• Create a Content Delivery Network for your Website with Azure CDN and Blob Services.

Hackathon Project Example

• SafePlace, is a community connecting domestic violence survivors with volunteers offering assistance with the “mental load” tasks associated with making a safe exit. Their website is built with HTML, CSS, and Javascript. The fourm was built using React and leverages Azure Static Web Apps, Azure Functions, and Azure Cosmos DB for a serverless API.

2. Use the Cloud to Access Machine Learning API’s

So, this isn’t your first hackathon, and you’re ready to level up your hackathon project. You want to create a more advanced hackathon project, and you need some tools to bring your vision to life.

Well, you’re in the right place. Cloud API’s, like Microsoft Azure, allows you to use machine learning for things like:

• Transcribing audio and video files
• Reading text from documents
• Detecting faces, emotions, and objects in pictures

Need help selecting an API to use? Get stuck getting your API setup? Connect with a mentor at a hackathon. This is the benefit of building a project during an event rather than on your own!

You can take a risk, get stuck — and have 50 mentors waiting on stand-by to help you get back on track whenever you need it.

Resources & Tutorials

• What is an API? In English, please.
• Analyze Images with the Computer Vision Service.
• Create a Clustering Model with Azure Machine Learning designer.

Hackathon Project Example

• Iris gives visually impaired people the opportunity to code. Thanks to the downloadable keyboard configuration and voice feedback feature, Iris allows the user to hear what they type. They used Azure cognitive services to add text to speech functionality.

3. Store and Analyze Data on the Cloud

So, you’re bored of building websites and you’ve decided to do some data management or analytics for your hackathon project.

Several cloud tools like Microsoft’s Azure Databricks can help you create quick visualizations or dashboards.

By using these powerful analytics tools, you can build more advanced visualizations that will definitely put you in the running for some hackathon trophies.

Hackathon Project Example

• ShareEats is a social platform to recommend good eats and share your food wish list. The project uses a Node.js server with a separate MySQL server from scratch and is deployed partly onto Microsoft Azure.

Additional Resources

👩‍💻 Visit Microsoft Learn for Students, a free library of interactive training modules where you can build skills across all levels, technologies, and interests. Try out an Introduction to Python or build a simple website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to get started.

🧑‍🎓 Create your free Azure for Students account to get $100 in Azure credit, try professional developer tools, and access even more resources.

👩‍💻 Want to compete in a TechTogether hackathon and enter our cloud challenges? Check out our upcoming hackathons here.

3 Ways to Use the Cloud in Your Hackathon Project for Beginner Coders was originally published in TechTogether on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Virtual hackathons are back for another year and this is your guide on how to make the most of this unique opportunity.

Below are 5 tips on how to ace your next virtual hackathon.

1. Build the Hackathon into Your Calendar

It is likely that the schedule of workshops and activities at the hackathon will be released before the hackathon begins. Find the events you want to attend before the hackathon and add them to your personal calendar.

This will prevent you from getting stressed out during the event and prevent workshop burnout. It can also serve as a helpful reminder for when you need to be online during the hackathon.

2. Learn How to Manage your Discord Notifications

It is inevitable that every hackathon Discord is going to get bombarded with messages. The frequent notifications are overwhelming — both for hackers and organizers as well.

To make the notifications more manageable, take 10 minutes before the hackathon to adjust your Discord settings. This small step could save your sanity.

3. Network, network, network.

At an in-person hackathon, it’s likely someone won’t see your LinkedIn connection request until they get home or until they log in to their email that Monday.

At a virtual hackathon, everyone is going to be online all weekend — so use that to your advantage. Connect with everyone on LinkedIn (making sure to send them a message with your request) and continue those networking conversations. You never know when those connections are going to come in handy one day!

4. Reuse & Repurpose Workshop Recordings

At in-person hackathons, workshops are often not recorded. At a virtual hackathon, almost every single workshop and educational event is recorded. This allows you to tune into any workshop at any time before or after the hackathon.

Don’t want to learn Python today? Don’t worry — you can watch the Intro to Python workshop next week and maybe use the skills at your next hackathon.

5. Virtual Hackathons Are Awkward

Yes, virtual hackathons are awkward. It can feel weird to try and make friends over Zoom and network with sponsors over video chat.

The amazing thing about virtual hackathons is that everyone is in the same position, we all are trying out this new experience — together! This unity fosters an incredibly supportive atmosphere, perfect for first-time hackers like yourself.

Interested in attending a hackathon and getting access to more articles like this one? Subscribe to TechTogether’s bi-weekly newsletter. 💡

5 Virtual Hackathon Tips for First-Time Hackers was originally published in TechTogether on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This article is adapted from my workshop, which you can watch here on TechTogether’s Youtube channel.

What is a hackathon?

Hackathons are events where you can make a software or hardware project (functional or just a mockup) that typically solves a challenge provided by the hackathon organizing team. Anyone of all ages, skill-sets, and career backgrounds can attend (and win) a hackathon.

Hackathon Perks for Non-Coders

I’m not here to lie to you. The majority of folks that attend hackathons are computer science majors, aspiring coders, and/or individuals looking to obtain technical skill-sets.

However, that doesn’t mean non-coders can’t get value out of attending a hackathon. Below are some hackathon perks for non-coders.

#1 Recruiting: Not being a coder helps you stand out to the recruiters and mentors at the event. If a recruiter at a hackathon meets 100 coders and one designer, who do you think they are going to remember?

#2 Resume Builder: Hackathon projects are key to demonstrating your skills to recruiters and help you get hands-on experience you can refer to in interviews.

#3 Awards: Hackathon awards help your resume stand out.

#4 Discounts: You can often get discounts at hackathons for design and project management software.

#5 Swag: Free swag, who doesn’t want it?

Hacker Stereotypes for Non-Coders

Don’t let these common hackathon myths fuel your self-doubt and pre-hackathon nerves.

Myth #1 — Hackathon projects are all about coding.

Myth #2 — I won’t learn new skills or have fun at a hackathon since I can’t code.

Myth #3 — My non-coder talents are not useful at a hackathon.

Myth #4 — I won’t be able to find a team because I can’t code.

What you perceive as your weakness is actually your greatest strength. Coders need non-coders like designers, researchers, project managers to build (winning) hackathon projects and since there are few of you all that attend hackathons, your talents are in high demand! #mindblown

How can I contribute to a project at a hackathon?

So, if you can’t code — what can you do? Well, you can do a lot of helpful things on a team. Below are a few suggestions.

Project Manager — Come up with the problem your hackathon will address and help your team come up with a solution. During the hackathon, make sure your team stays on track to finish the project.

Designer — Create the wireframe and high fidelity mockups for the coders on your team to use as a roadmap.

Presenter — Craft a compelling pitch for the judges that effectively showcases the value and creativity of your project.

Researcher — Identify problems that your team could solve and source information that could help your team improve your hack.

What should I look for in a team?

It is very common to switch teams if your first team selection doesn’t work out. If your first team selection doesn’t end up respecting your skills or ends up going in a different direction with your project, don’t give up hope. There are likely 10+ other teams that would love to have you on their team.

Tip #1 — They value the skills you can bring to the team.

Tip #2 — They want to get the same thing out of the hackathon.

Tip #3 — They are open to new ideas and listening to new perspectives.

What should I look for in a hackathon as a non-coder?

Tip #1 — Hackathons with challenges that are not coding-centric. Many hackathons will have design or business-centric challenges.

Tip #2 — Hackathons with a shitty judging rubric. Make sure you are attending a hackathon that isn’t just looking for technically difficult projects.

Tip #3 — Hackathons that have non-technical workshops and mentors.

It is okay to email hackathons and ask them if they have any of the following three things!

Interested in attending a hackathon and getting access to more articles like this one? Subscribe to TechTogether’s bi-weekly newsletter. 💡

A Non-Coders Guide to Hackathons was originally published in TechTogether on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There are a lot of websites to find hackathons to attend like Eventbrite or Devpost, however many of these websites don’t screen and vet the hackathons they promote.

Below are several websites to help you find quality hackathons that will give you a positive hackathon experience.

Major League Hacking (College & High School Focused)

These hackathons are typically catered to high school and college students from around the world. All hackathons are vetted by the Major League Hacking team, so this is a great place to find quality hackathons.

TechTogether (Gender-Focused Hackathons)

A comprehensive list of upcoming gender-focused hackathons. A majority of these hackathons are catered to high school and college students with TechTogether being the exception.

Hack Club (High School Hackathons)

Best place to find great hackathons organized by high schoolers for high schoolers.

Interested in attending a hackathon and getting access to more articles like this one? Subscribe to TechTogether’s bi-weekly newsletter. 💡

What is Balsamiq?

Balsamiq Wireframes is the perfect first UX design tool for anyone interested in getting into UX. It’s by far the most approachable: you just drag, drop, and arrange controls on the page, and voila’, you made your first User Interface!

They even have online courses and articles to teach you all about UI design and wireframing. Balsamiq is free for classroom use, and very affordable for anyone else. Often at hackathons, Balsamiq will provide hackers with extended trials of their software.

What is a wireframe?

According to Balsamiq, “a wireframe is a schematic, a blueprint, useful to help you and your programmers and designers think and communicate about the structure of the software or website you’re building”.

At a hackathon, a wireframe will serve as a blueprint that will help your team communicate the structure of the project you’re building.

Why is wireframing important at a hackathon?

Most hackers will make a wireframe of their project before they begin writing any code. Wireframing is key to giving your team a clear direction and roadmap throughout the hackathon. In a competition, where time management is key it’s important that everyone be on the same page from the beginning.

In the words of Balsamiq, “Doing this work now, before any code is written and before the visual design is finalized, will save you lots of time and painful adjustment work later.” Nobody wants to be rewriting code on the Sunday of the hackathon after you’ve been working around the clock all weekend.

To learn more about wireframes and how to use them, check out this article by Balsamiq.

Where can I go to learn how to use Balsamiq?

Balsamiq’s Wireframing Academy will teach you everything you need to know about how to use their product and more. For aspiring designers, I highly recommend checking out Balsamiq’s free online courses and articles that teach you all about UI design and wireframing.

💡 Interested in exploring how Balsamiq works? Sign up for a free 30-day trial here or register for a TechTogether hackathon this season for access to a special 90-day extended trial.

How to Use Balsamiq in Your Hackathon Project was originally published in TechTogether on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.