Community and Code

Concise guide

Planning
Recruiting
Managing
Remoting
Following up
Facilities
...for a NESCent hackathon

Sample forms and letters

Announcements
Applications
Letters

NESCent hackathons

Phyloinformatics (2006)
Comparative methods in R (2007)
Database interoperability (2009)
Phyloinformatics VoCamp (2009)
GMOD Evo (2010)
Phylotastic 1 (2012)
Phylotastic 2 (2013)
Tree-for-all (2014)
Population genetics in R (2015)

Structured data

Data about NESCent hackathons

Facilities, equipment and supplies

Plenary room layout and furnishings

All hackathon activities can be staged in a single room of sufficient size (>1200 square feet) and sufficient sound-deadening properties so that up to 8 teams can work separately in the room. The room must have a projection screen, chairs for everyone, and enough tables (sized for up to 8 people) for all the teams. A sufficient number of power strips – at least one outlet per participant – must be available, with all cables safely secured (e.g. taped to the floor). Notify international participants of the types of outlets and voltages used.

Breakout space

Optionally, breakout space may be provided separate from the plenary room. To facilitate inter-group interactions as well as hackathon-wide communication, breakout spaces should all be very close (e.g., same building and floor).

Audiovisual equipment

The plenary room needs a projector and any required video adapters. Hacking spaces need power outlets, power cords, and access to a wireless network with sufficient capacity.

Other equipment and supplies

Pitching requires a dozen marking pens and either flipchart easels or 2-foot-by-3-foot adhesive notes to be stuck to walls (note that cloth-covered walls, brick walls, and certain kinds of paneling will not support adhesive notes).

Avatar laptops

Participants bring their own laptops. Avatar laptops may be used as part of a strategy to support remote participants (see Supporting Remote Participation).