Cross-sectoral Hackathon: Culture and Wellbeing

Hackathon guidelines

OVERVIEW

A hackathon is an intensive, time-limited event where professionals from different fields, such as design, healthcare, software development, and arts, come together to share ideas and develop practical solutions. In just a short time, teams collaborate to transform bold concepts into real, working prototypes.

All participants are expected to follow our Code of Conduct to help ensure a respectful, safe, and inclusive environment for everyone.

”AWAKE Cross-sectoral Hackathon: Culture and Wellbeing” stands for inclusivity. Despite their background, we believe everyone has the right to learn and hack in a friendly environment.

Harassment and abuse of any kind will not be tolerated!

The hackathon will take place online between May 26-28, 2025.

KEY LINKS:

Slack workspace: TBA

Registration, Idea and team submissions: https://awakehack.hacktribe.co/

❗❗ And remember, all publicly provided times are in CET time zone, unless specified explicitly otherwise❗❗

SOME KEY DEFINITIONS IN BRIEF

Hacking

Starting on May 26, you’ll begin working with your team on an idea or project to develop over the next 48 hours. The goal is to create a working prototype of your idea.

In addition to the overall theme of the hackathon, you’ll have the option to choose from several specific challenges. These challenges help you shape your project around a focused topic and provide inspiration for real-world impact.

Workshops

You’ll also get the chance to join online workshops designed to help you prepare and succeed during the hackathon. Topics include Ideation & Prototyping, Team Formation, and Pitching. You can find the full schedule and descriptions in the Schedule section on the HackTribe platform.

Checkpoint

Each team will have a dedicated Team Mentor who will check in with you through 1:1 calls at scheduled times. They’re there to help make sure you're on track and can connect you with Expert Mentors if you need support in a specific area.

To submit a final project, the Team Lead (or another designated team member) must attend all checkpoints.

Mentors

There are two types of mentors:

  • Team Mentors ("Nanny Mentors") – assigned to support a specific team throughout the sprint
  • Expert Mentors – available to all teams for topic-specific support

Expert Mentors aren't assigned to specific teams, but your Team Mentor can help you connect with the right one based on your needs.

PARTICIPANTS, TEAMS, TEAM LEADS

We’ll have participants joining from around the world and across different industries—all coming together to tackle challenges related to Culture and Wellbeing.

When setting up or joining a team, try to bring together a mix of skills and perspectives. A well-rounded team with diverse knowledge and expertise will be better equipped to work independently and deliver strong results.

NEXT STEPS:
  1. Register on the HackTribe platform as a participant and and if you already have an idea, don’t forget to add it! LINK HERE
  2. Sign in to Slack and set up your profile: Make sure to add a profile picture and update your display name to reflect your role. For participants your display name should follow this format: Name / Team name: e.g. Alise/ SecurityExperts. 
  3. Get familiar with Slack and all the channels.
  4. Have an idea but don’t have a team? Post your idea on #team-formation channel and contact those who are expressing interest in it. Don’t have an idea or a team yet? No problem! Browse the #team-formation channel or explore ideas on HackTribe.If something catches your eye, message the idea author, start a conversation in Slack, or simply send them a DM.
  5. Your team must be submitted on the HackTribe platform and should have 2–6 members by the end of the day on Monday, May 26. You’ll be able to edit your idea up until the submission deadline—so don’t worry if things evolve! It’s completely fine to refine or adapt your idea even after the hackathon begins.
  6. Each Team Lead must create a public Slack channel for their team using the format: #team_team-name (e.g., #team_CultureExperts). All members must join their team's channel. 
  7. At that point, you're all set to start working! 
  8. ONCE idea submissions close, each team will be assigned a Mentor. The Team Lead will be added to a to stay in touch with the Mentor. The Team Mentor might also join your team's main channel to provide extra support.
  9. There are 3 checkpoints in total and you must attend all of them! If you can't make it for any reason, please reach out to your Team Mentor as soon as possible. 

Make sure to attend the Opening Ceremony online on May 26th at 18:00!

TEAM FORMATION:

Each team should consist of 2-6 members.

Remember: Mentors are here to support and guide you, but it's up to your team to drive progress, make decisions, find common ground, and plan your next steps!

Team structure: 2-6 participants with complementary roles, one of them is Team Lead (selected by participants).

The Team Lead is responsible for ensuring the team meets deadlines and manages its workflow. They also act as the main point of contact between the team and the Team Mentor. Before the hackathon starts, the Team Lead will be added to a checkpoint channel on Slack to communicate directly with the Team Mentor about upcoming checkpoints. To be eligible to submit the final project, the Team Lead—or a team member they delegate—must attend all scheduled checkpoints.

KEY DATES & AGENDA

See the Schedule to find all the key dates and times.

MENTORS

Mentors are divided into two groups, and some mentors may have multiple roles:

  • Nanny Mentors — check in with teams during checkpoints
  • Expert Mentors — have specific skills and are available for short calls to provide advice
Nanny mentors

Team Mentors (Nanny Mentors) help teams stay on track, support them throughout the hackathon, and make sure they get the help they need!

  • They will check in with teams during the mandatory checkpoints.
  • Organizers will assign Team Mentors to the teams they’ll be supporting.
Response mentors (experts)

Our Expert Mentors are specialists in their fields and will be available on the HackTribe platform to support teams with specific challenges. Your Team Mentor can help connect you with the right expert based on your needs. You can also reach out directly by posting your questions in the #ask-mentors channel. When posting in #ask-mentors, please describe your issue as clearly as possible so we can connect you with the best expert to help.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Teams will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Originality

- How unique or innovative is your idea?

- Does your product, service, or process stand out?

- Does it have the potential to disrupt the status quo or offer something truly new?

2. Progress

- How much effort did your team put in during the hackathon?

- How far did you manage to develop your idea within the 48 hours?

3. Impact

- Does your solution solve a real problem?

- Could it work in the real world, outside the hackathon setting?

4. Demo

- How well does your demo show what you've built?

- Does it reflect the time and energy your team invested?

The final deadline to submit all projects is May 28 at 17:00 CET.

How to submit?

Each team needs to create a 3-minute video presentation showcasing what you’ve built during the hackathon. Your video can be:

  • A recording of you talking about what your team achieved
  • A screen recording demonstrating your prototype or solution
  • A slide presentation with voice-over explaining your project

The demo video should include:

  • Introduction and team (~30sec)
  • The problem you are solving (~30sec)
  • Solution and your users/clients (~25sec)
  • Demo/prototype you’ve built (sketch of your website/app/hardware/solution/code etc) (~60-65sec)
  • What are your future plans (~30sec)

You will have to upload the demo video by 17:00 CET on May 28th on the HackTribe platform.

You will also have to fill out a couple of questions where you will provide written answers about your project as the judges will take into account your effort and progress.

The final demos will start on May 28th at 18:00 CET. During the final demos we will play the video you will have prepared, and then the jury will have 2 minutes to ask you relevant questions.

PRIZES & AWARDS

The awarding ceremony starts on May 28th at 19:00 CET. We will share the link to it when the time comes.

Prizes: 800 EUR (exc. VAT) for the best performing team!

ABOUT SLACK AND CHANNELS ( TBA )

Slack is the main communication platform for this event. If you don’t know how to do something on Slack, for example, how to create your team channel, we recommend you to go through Slack 101 (e.g. how to create a channel on Slack).

Once you are on Slack, make sure to update your profile information according to your role (find your role in the guidelines).

❗❗ A tip! Let’s keep our workspace clean! We really recommend using threads when you want to reply to a message written in a public channel (https://prntscr.com/10bi9v0).

PUBLIC CHANNELS

👉#announcements - most important channel to keep your eyes on. Only super-important announcements by organisers will be published here. Keep your eyes open.

👉# ask-organisers - a place to reach organisers. There are no stupid questions here. Ask anything and we will answer. But make sure you have read the Guidelines, because here are answers to 90% of your questions.

👉#ask-mentors - looking for a mentor help? Here’s a place to find them! Use this space to share any issues you are facing and specify the kind of help you need. Your Team mentor can’t have answers to all your questions so this is another place where to find them.

👉#team-formation - have an idea but don’t have a team? Post it here and start the discussion.

Don’t have a team and don’t have any idea? Scroll the channel to see all the ideas posted and comment (as a thread) on those that you are interested in.

👉#resources - feel free to share anything useful, - links to databases, some tools, research etc.

👉#random - a place for non-work related banter, Zoom-call selfies, fun stuff, random gifs etc.

PRIVATE CHANNELS

Channels are only for a specific set of people. Closed to the public. If you know you are supposed to be in one of these but you are not, contact the organisers.

👉❗❗ #checkpoint-mentor_name - This channel is for team leads of a specific batch and their assigned Team mentor. These channels are private and only open to those who need to be there. Team leads will be added after idea submissions close and teams are matched to their mentors.

We will let you know when this happens, wait for it!

TEAM CHANNELS

Once you have a team, create your own Team channel, with your team name as the channel name. Here’s a screenshot of how to do it (http://prntscr.com/s92d2j).

👉#team-name - All team channels must be public just so any mentor can jump in and help you!!

🔍 What is this Hackathon?

A 48-hour creative sprint where designers, developers, healthcare professionals, artists, and other changemakers team up to build working prototypes that tackle real challenges at the intersection of culture and wellbeing.

Grab your space. Collaborate and build. Pitch ideas with social impact.

🧾 Code of Conduct

We are inclusive and respectful. Harassment, abuse, or discrimination of any kind is not tolerated. Everyone deserves to hack in a safe, supportive space.

💡 Final Tips

  • Be proactive, respectful, and communicative
  • Use Slack threads to keep discussions tidy
  • Ask for help when you need it—this is a learning experience!
  • Most importantly, enjoy the ride!