For the second time this year, Classified Post brought together students and recent graduates to take part in the Classified Post Hackathon, an event designed to spur creativity and solve real-world business challenges. Tasked with providing viable, game-changing solutions for the insurance and media industries, participating teams were praised by judges for their innovative flair, resourcefulness, outstanding teamwork, and their ability to work under pressure.
Organised by Classified Post, with main sponsor AXA Hong Kong, the hackathon took place November 17 to 19 at the Hong Kong Science Park (HKSTP) in Sha Tin. Working from a brief, and using data provided by the organisers, teams of three to five Hong Kong undergraduates and graduates, with a maximum of two-years’ work experience, were given 24 hours to build apps, tools and innovative solutions to use in the media and insurance industries. More than 50 teams entered the competition, which began with an opening ceremony and a 24-hour brainstorming session on the 17 November. The following day, teams were invited to make a three-minute presentation, with selected teams moving into the final round. Teams completed their projects on the 18 November. In the final round, held on 19 November, each team had 15 minutes to make a presentation to a judging panel made up of industry experts, followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer session.
Alex Ho, general manager, recruitment, circulation and syndication business at the South China Morning Post, says the hackathon provided another opportunity for “rising stars” to demonstrate their ingenuity and capabilities to potential employers by creating something new, or solving a challenge in a unique and inventive manner. Building on the success of the inaugural Classified Post Hackathon held in March this year, Ho says that by spreading the brainstorming, the 24-hour prototype development, and the final presentations, over three days, participating teams had more time to refine their work. The three-day timespan also allowed the judges more time to evaluate the solutions and the prototype projects. “The pressure of working to a deadline was just as intense,” stresses Ho, who noted that while hackathon participants were technically competing against each other, they all shared the same objective of solving business challenges by leveraging technology.
Charles Darwin drew on insights taken from economics, geology, and biology to come up with the theory of natural selection. Similarly, Ho says that students joining the Classified Post Hackathon can make use of a wide range of disciplines to solve business challenges. “Classified Post takes the view that great ideas are not limited to any particular academic field of profession,” says Ho. The open approach provides a wider scope to engender creativity, while providing participants from different academic backgrounds with an opportunity to combine their use of ingenuity and problem-solving skills, he notes.
Ho says the magic of the Classified Hackathon lies in the creative freedom participating teams are given to unleash their resourcefulness and inventiveness. There is no fixed answer to solving the challenges set out in the brief, he adds. The judges base their evaluation on the quality and innovative nature of the idea, the utility of the idea, and live demonstrations.
Winning teams in each category receive trophies and cash prizes of HK$8,000, HK$5,000 and HK$3,000, while certificates of participation are presented to all those taking part. Outstanding participants may also be invited by participating companies to join their internship programmes and may be offered job opportunities.
