A hackathon is a sprint-like design event where teams or industries from various sectors get together to collaborate intensively on solving challenges. A portmanteau of the words hacking and marathon, the event was originally designed for coders doing software project. However, the hackathon has been adapted now to many different industries as a way to solve many different challenges. There are hackathons of various lengths and types, but one common characteristic of them is that they are centered around a specific theme. For example, this one focuses on different areas of FoodTech (Food Security, Restaurant and Service, Food innovation) during CoVid-19 times and post-CoVid-19.

The hackathon will take place on June 26 to 28. You have 48 hours to collaborate and build a solution for one (or more) of the challenges). We’ll start with a kick-off session on June 26th and end the hackathon on Sunday, June 28th. The exact timetable is still subject to change. However, you will be hacking for about 48 hours followed by a live pitching presentation of your work. So assume the event will take your whole weekend.

Our hackathon will take place exclusively online. We will use the Remo 2D virtual event platform as the main platform for the event and the Discord community has the main chat and communication channel before, during, and after the online live events. These services are completely free to use for attendees.

Join our Discord community here

Anyone can participate in the Ideation days, and you are under no obligation to join the hackathon if you do not find a suitable team or idea you are interested in working on. No point in holding you hostage, after all, if you are not so enthusiastic about your teammates or topic.

For the hackathon, you will need to register as a team of 2 or more people. If you already have a startup company, great! Please register as such.

Please note that to need to be the minimum legal age in your country to use and be processed by our online services (Discord, Hubspot, Remo, etc.). In Europe, this is typically 13+ years old.

Yes, all international participants are welcome! This hackathon is a good place to find team members, resources or information if you are looking to enter the Finnish market. The challenges will be focused on Finnish problems, but I imagine many of those problems are similar to what is happening in other countries.

See https://foodtechies.fi/challengeprizedetails

Of course! The organizers and volunteers will always be around to answer any technical questions you have about the hackathon itself. And we have mentors that have generously offered to give up a few hours here and there to give you more clarity on your concept. So whenever you have hit a wall with your concept, just find one of the mentors floating about.

You do not have to be present for the entire hackathon. It is just recommended that you be present if you want to get the best experience and increase your chances of winning.

You do have to meet the final submission deadline on June 28th and someone from your team should be present for the final pitch in order to win the challenge.

We suggest having at least 1 person from your team being present/active in the event so they can keep you up-to-date on what is happening. You do have to register your team by June 25th. So make sure you at least do that.