Marathon by Hack Kosice

Marathon is a 10-week hackathon full of inspiring challenges and mentorship organized by sponsors.

  • Solve a new challenge every two weeks
  • Get to the top of the leaderboard by collecting kilometres
  • Win awesome prizes
Marathon started! Watch the opening ceremony:
HK Marathon

Who can join?

Anyone can join. High school or university students are especially welcome!
Programmers

Many challenges can be solved through programming.

Designers

Non-tech people like designers will be a strong support for every team.

Thinkers, ideators

Creative solutions are needed to succeed in the completion of challenges.

Team leaders

An enthusiastic team leader is a must-have!

How can I join?

HK Marathon will be fully online event integrated into our Discord server!

  • Join our discord and follow instructions on there to register for the event
  • Through interacting with our custom Marathon bot find all the challenges and provide your solutions.
  • Chat and connect with other hackers and help us make one great community!
Join discord

What is a challenge?

Every two weeks there will be a new challenge to solve. Most of the challenges in HK Marathon are provided by our sponsors. Each challenge consists of two parts that can award you with kilometres. It’s entirely up to you how do you decide to approach the challenge!
The two parts are:

Closed part

  • Speed matters, points count – how fast from the start can you solve this problem?
  • Algorithmic task that has objectively correct answer.

Open part

  • More open task that you can interpret yourself
  • Usually requires more time and goal is to create some application, design sheet, train AI etc.
  • You can be creative, and it’s completely up to you what you will come up with!

Two-week timeline of each challenge

There are 5 two-week challenges in total. The following outlines key days for each challenge.

First challenge, by Sudolabs (29 Mar – 11 Apr)

Monday, 29 Mar

Challenge announcement

Both closed and open parts of a challenge are released on Discord and the website at 12.00 CEST.

Sudolabs

Challenge: Help engineers at Sudolabs solve their problems with ordering food!
Prize: Apple AirPods

See the challenge

Thursday, 1 Apr

Workshop + HK Talk Optional

Learn some Python and Data Science during our workshop, hosted on Discord. Then enjoy a friendly Clubhouse-style discussion about Google Graveyard.

Friday, 2 Apr

Pizza and games night Optional

Let’s get to know each other! After the whole week of hacking we will host an informal chill event on Discord.

Sunday, 4 Apr

Refill station

During the whole Sunday afternoon you can get assigned a Hack Kosice member, or even one of the sponsors, as your mentor.

Monday, 5 Apr

Evening workout Optional

Refresh and stretch a bit. Join our workout every second Monday at 17.30 CEST.

Thursday, 8 Apr

Workshop + HK Talk Optional

Learn the basics in GitHub as well as advanced Git concepts (stash, rebase, reset, bisect). Then enjoy a friendly Clubhouse-style discussion on What if we lost satellites?

Friday, 9 Apr

Submission closes

The submission deadline for the open part is at 23.59 CEST. Submit your solutions using Discord.

Sunday, 11 Apr

Public voting Optional

On Sunday there will be public voting on our social media.

Sunday, 11 Apr

Challenge results

We will announce results and publish updated leaderboard with newly earned kilometres. After Sunday, sponsors will start to judge your solutions to pick the one winner (you can expect the results from this part in the following 7 days).

Second challenge, by Visma (12 Apr – 25 Apr)

Monday, 12 Apr

Challenge announcement

Both closed and open parts of a challenge are released on Discord and the website at 12.00 CEST.

Visma

Challenge: Workplace of the future
Prize: Android TV Set

See the challenge

Thursday, 15 Apr

Workshop + HK Talk Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop related to the challenge, hosted on Discord. Then enjoy a friendly Clubhouse-style discussion.

Friday, 16 Apr

Pizza and games night Optional

Let’s get to know each other! After the whole week of hacking we will host an informal chill event on Discord.

Sunday, 18 Apr

Refill station

During the whole Sunday afternoon you can get assigned a Hack Kosice member, or even one of the sponsors, as your mentor.

Thursday, 22 Apr

Workshop + HK Talk Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop related to the challenge, hosted on Discord. Then enjoy a friendly Clubhouse-style discussion.

Friday, 23 Apr

Submission closes

The submission deadline for the open part is at 23.59 CEST. Submit your solutions using Discord.

Sunday, 25 Apr

Public voting Optional

On Sunday there will be public voting on our social media.

Sunday, 25 Apr

Challenge results

We will announce results and publish updated leaderboard with newly earned kilometres. After Sunday, sponsors will start to judge your solutions to pick the one winner (you can expect the results from this part in the following 7 days).

Third challenge, by Thermo Fisher (26 Apr – 9 May)

Monday, 26 Apr

Challenge announcement

Both closed and open parts of a challenge are released on Discord and the website at 12.00 CEST.

Thermo Fisher

Challenge: Fitting ellipses in transmission electron microscope images
Prize: Vouchers

See the challenge

Thursday, 29 Apr

Workshop Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop on Computer vision and data fitting, hosted on Discord.

Friday, 30 Apr

Pizza and games night Optional

Let’s get to know each other! After the whole week of hacking we will host an informal chill event on Discord.

Sunday, 2 May

Refill station

During the whole Sunday afternoon you can get assigned a Hack Kosice member, or even one of the sponsors, as your mentor.

Monday, 3 May

Evening workout Optional

Refresh and stretch a bit. Join our workout every second Monday at 17.30 CEST.

Thursday, 6 May

Workshop Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop related to the challenge, hosted on Discord. The topic will be announced.

Friday, 7 May

Submission closes

The submission deadline for the open part is at 23.59 CEST. Submit your solutions using Discord.

Sunday, 9 May

Public voting Optional

On Sunday there will be public voting on our social media.

Sunday, 9 May

Challenge results

We will announce results and publish updated leaderboard with newly earned kilometres. After Sunday, sponsors will start to judge your solutions to pick the one winner (you can expect the results from this part in the following 7 days).

Fourth challenge, by Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (10 May – 23 May)

Monday, 10 May

Challenge announcement

Both closed and open parts of a challenge are released on Discord and the website at 12.00 CEST.

Pavol Jozef Šafárik University

Challenge: Motivate and educate students in the field of IT by providing high-quality education in a friendly and interactive way.
Prize: TBA

See the challenge

Thursday, 13 May

Workshop Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop related to the challenge, hosted on Discord. The topic will be announced.

Friday, 14 May

Pizza and games night Optional

Let’s get to know each other! After the whole week of hacking we will host an informal chill event on Discord.

Sunday, 16 May

Refill station

During the whole Sunday afternoon you can get assigned a Hack Kosice member, or even one of the sponsors, as your mentor.

Monday, 17 May

Evening workout Optional

Refresh and stretch a bit. Join our workout every second Monday at 17.30 CEST.

Thursday, 20 May

Workshop Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop related to the challenge, hosted on Discord. The topic will be announced.

Friday, 21 May

Submission closes

The submission deadline for the open part is at 23.59 CEST. Submit your solutions using Discord.

Sunday, 23 May

Public voting Optional

On Sunday there will be public voting on our social media.

Sunday, 23 May

Challenge results

We will announce results and publish updated leaderboard with newly earned kilometres. After Sunday, sponsors will start to judge your solutions to pick the one winner (you can expect the results from this part in the following 7 days).

Fifth challenge, by Hack Kosice (24 May – 6 June)

Monday, 24 May

Challenge announcement

Both closed and open parts of a challenge are released on Discord and the website at 12.00 CEST.

Hack Kosice

**Challenge: Connecting APIs in a creative way
Prize: TBA

See the challenge

Thursday, 27 May

Workshop Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop on using APIs, hosted on Discord. The topic will be announced.

Friday, 28 May

Pizza and games night Optional

Let’s get to know each other! After the whole week of hacking we will host an informal chill event on Discord.

Sunday, 30 May

Refill station

During the whole Sunday afternoon you can get assigned a Hack Kosice member, or even one of the sponsors, as your mentor.

Monday, 31 May

Evening workout Optional

Refresh and stretch a bit. Join our workout every second Monday at 17.30 CEST.

Thursday, 3 June

Workshop Optional

Learn some new skills during our workshop related to the challenge, hosted on Discord. The topic will be announced.

Friday, 4 June

Submission closes

The submission deadline for the open part is at 23.59 CEST. Submit your solutions using Discord.

Sunday, 6 June

Public voting Optional

On Sunday there will be public voting on our social media.

Sunday, 6 June

Challenge results

We will announce results and publish updated leaderboard with newly earned kilometres. After Sunday, sponsors will start to judge your solutions to pick the one winner (you can expect the results from this part in the following 7 days).

Public leaderboard

For each solved task you will earn kilometers. The standings in the leaderboard are always public and updated instantly. You can always see them on Discord or our website. Who can run the furthest?

See the leaderboard

How can you win?

Special HK prizes

  • Awarded at the end of the whole HK Marathon
  • Top 3 teams in the leaderboard (with the most kilometers collected)

Sponsors’ prizes

  • Sponsors choose the best open part project every two weeks (at the end of their challenge)
  • One (or more) best projects are awarded with a special prize

Public voting

  • People can choose the best project from open part after every two weeks on our social media
  • Top 5 projects win awesome Hack Kosice swag

Sponsors

Sudolabs
Visma
Thermo Fisher
Pavol Jozef Safarik University

Can you run the full Marathon with us?

FAQ

How does a challenge look like?

Each challenge has two parts - open and closed part. The closed part is an algorithmic task that has an objectively correct answer (there is just one) and the sooner you solve the task, the better – there are points for speed! You can solve it anyhow you want and you any programming language you want. The open part is something you can interpret yourself (you need to be creative). This part requires more time but it’s more personal at once. It is possible to finish the open and closed part separately (recommended if you want more points for speed in closed part).

Example (closed part): Einstein’s riddle.

Example (open part): make an application that chooses what to wear in the morning.

How does the whole process work?

Challenges will be announced every other Monday on both our social media and Discord between 8:00 and 8:30 (timezone GTM+2/CEST). Then you have time until midnight the next Friday CEST (12 days) to complete the challenge and submit your solution via Discord (using our Bot commands). Our judges will give points to each project and you will be awarded kilometres. You can always see your results in a public leaderboard placed on our webpage and social media, it will be updated every other Sunday after the submission deadline.

There is a special category – public voting – with every open part of the challenge, 5 best projects will compete of our swag – the projects will be announced on our Facebook page in one post and within 24 hours, people will be able to vote via reactions for the best one every other Sunday 8am-8pm. The more you share the post, the more reactions you get. At 9pm we will share the updated leaderboard and results of public voting. We will announce the sponsors’ winner of each challenge during the week.

Do I need a team to take part?

No, you don’t. You can take part individually or with a team consisting of no more than 3 people. If you want a team but don’t have one, you can find someone in a similar situation on our Discord. But don’t worry to compete alone, we have prepared many side events to make sure that everybody will feel as comfortable as possible. As a bonus, if you compete alone you don’t have to split the prizes 😉

What are the prizes and how can I win?

You can win prizes every other week for each challenge separately. These prizes are given by our sponsors (vouchers, Android TV box, AirPods). In public voting you can win our Hack Kosice swag. By collecting kilometres and getting on the top of the public leaderboard – you can become the absolute winner and get the 1000€ prize and two runners up get other valuable prizes (see in the list of challenges above).

I'm not experienced in programming, can I still join?

Absolutely YES. Hack Kosice marathon is a place where you can improve your skills regardless of your current level of experience. However, if you are not keen on programming, we recommend you to create or join a team. That way it will be easier for you.

Why should I join the Hack Kosice Marathon?

Our Marathon is a great opportunity to learn new skills, boost you CV (you can also get hired by our sponsors and partners), join a supportive community and have fun during this pandemics. Just to remind you, we have amazing prizes for you each two weeks (each challenge) and the main prize - 1000€.

What else can I experience except programming?

Challenges are one thing, but side events and activities are another thing. This year we decided to use Discord as a main platform to create the Marathon community. Our Discord community can provide support even if you’re the only person in a team. (If you’re looking for a teammate, you can find one on our Discord as well.)

Examples of our Marathon Discord activities: Hack Talks to interesting topics related to Marathon content, workshops and warm ups to help you with the challenges, mentoring from our Hack Slovakia members (if you get stuck), social events and ice-breakers (to help you make new friends internationally), HK Marathon workouts because we are running a marathon and we need to stay fit (it’s actually real workouts). The entire schedule will be posted on our website and social media.

Isn't 10 weeks too long?

10 weeks may sound like long time, but the truth is that you don’t need to hack for 10 weeks straight. We decided for this format so that you are able to find time in your own schedule to complete each challenge whenever in two weeks period. During these 10 weeks you will experience many side events and different activities as well. To sum up, even the busiest person can manage to find some time for Marathon challenges. Also keep in mind that you don’t have to complete each challenge to win something.

If you can’t find an answer, please let us know — it might help others, too.