Hackathons serve several purposes, one of which is to create buzz about technology. The Center for Creative Collaboration at Indiana Tech has designed the WarriorHack, a 24-hour marathon hackathon for precisely that purpose. It begins on February 20, 2015 at 6:00 pm and will be held on Fort Wayne’s Indiana Tech campus. The WarriorHack provides technology enthusiasts with an opportunity to demonstrate technical skill and create a new product, as well as to promote tech innovation in northeastern Indiana. It is not the first hackathon in the local area, but it will reportedly be the largest one in northeastern Indiana to date.

In a hackathon, people typically collaborate on a computer programming activity. The participants are usually organized in teams that work to create a software product or perform a programming task within a specified period of time (24 hours, 48 hours, etc.). The events tend to have some organizing purpose such, as to expand tech, serve a public need, create a commercial innovation, or generate internal innovation.

In addition to the satisfaction that comes from potentially producing a usable product, many hackathons offer tangible prizes. Some, such as the WarriorHack, offer cash prizes. Other incentives can include providing access to resources that can help winners commercialize their project.

Fort Wayne, Indiana has a distinguished tech history. For example, the inventor of the all-electronic television, Philo Farnsworth, lived, worked, and invented in Fort Wayne. It is a natural evolution that computer technology finds a home here too. If hackathons are a bit much, there are other local opportunities. Groups such as the OpenHack Fort Wayne Meetup, are in town and intended for people who love to program.

Have any ideas or experiences that you would like to share about hackathons or just plain hacking in general? We would love to hear about them—post a comment!

Image Credit: The 2013 Wikimedia Hackathon in Amsterdam by Sebastiaan ter Burg.