Thanks to your creativity and enthusiasm, our 2021 Hackathon was a huge success. Building on the success of our previous two Hackathons, I have no doubt that the third annual Pega Community Hackathon will be even more impactful.
Let’s do it again!
Build for Change® isn’t just a tagline for Pega — our company and solutions are all about change. Sometimes it’s accommodating change, sometimes it’s driving change, and sometimes it’s both. In times of flux and uncertainty, people seek ways to be part of a solution and drive positive results. That’s why Build for Change is this year’s theme. Pega practitioners, partners and clients can jumpstart projects with the potential to drive significant business value. Developers of all skill levels are invited to innovate with Pega low-code software.
As always, this year’s virtual event has a strong educational component. It’s a great opportunity to develop and hone new skills that will increase the success of every future Pega project.
For those of you who participated last year, the event format will be familiar. But we’re excited about the following improvements:
- More prizes – We’ve increased the prizes for our awards to more than $23,000 across seven award categories. This year’s Hackathon includes two new categories, Best Use of App Studio and Best Use of Business Workflow Application, and of course, the return of the Top Student Award for high school, college, and university students.
- Expanded education – Hackathon participants can access Tech Talks, blog posts, the Pega Support Center, and Pega Academy courses to assist at every stage of the application development process. Participating in a Hackathon is not just about winning, but also about learning. Feedback from our panel of judges will help to improve your app and encourage your team to become more effective in Pega projects.
- More diverse judges – This year, we’re excited that Alex Vargo of srcLogic, a member of the 2021 Best in Show winning team, will join a panel of Pega esteemed judges consisting of Cedric Alford (Global Partner Management Director), Steve Bixby (VP, Product Development), Francis Carden (VP, Intelligent Automation & Robotics), Jonas Lim, (VP, Solutions Consulting), Alex Nicholson (Sr. Director, Social Media), Mary Tafuri (VP, Global Effectiveness & Enablement), Fritz von Bulow (Client Technology Officer), and myself. Choosing judges with a variety of backgrounds and roles ensures more diverse feedback while decreasing barriers to participation. Whether you are a client or a partner, a student or a professional, a citizen developer or System Architect, there’s something for everyone. No matter your Pega experience, your Hackathon participation will increase your skills. You’ll also have a ton of fun!
Why participate?
Despite prizes, education, fun, and the chance to deepen your relationships within the Pega community, Hackathon participation may still be difficult to justify. You have a day job, after all, and there are only so many hours in the day.
While you could absolutely use this year’s Hackathon to solve a problem that has nothing to do with your work life, you might consider increasing the effectiveness at the organizations you serve (like srcLogic’s winning entry last year).
- Accelerate a project you already planned – Do you already have an app development project planned? Use the Hackathon to accelerate your progress. Not only would you and your team benefit from being time constrained, but you’ll also have unique access to education, support, and community feedback. With a plan in hand, the Hackathon isn’t just a fun and educational diversion. Instead, teams can use the Hackathon to drive real business value.
- Team building – The 2022 Pega Community Hackathon is all about building for change. If you are looking to establish high-impact habits, the Hackathon can be used as a way of creating highly effective and collaborative delivery teams. If most of your Pega projects were delivered by Pega consultants or partners, use the Pega Community Hackathon to practice co-production.
- Promote your expertise: By winning one of our prizes and creating one of the top submissions, you prove your Pega expertise to clients and impress prospects and potential employers. Regardless, all teams receive badges that recognize your participation. Plus, eligible partner submissions could be published to the Pega Marketplace.
Registration for the 2022 Pega Community Hackathon is now open. Now’s the time to consider potential projects and build your team. Developers of all skill levels are welcome. Teams can include Citizen Developers, Business Architects, System Architects, and any number of other Pega project roles. Diverse teams challenge each other to think differently and solve problems in new ways. But individual contributors are also welcome to build for change!
Check out the Pega Community Hackathon web page for complete details. Start brushing up on the Pega Express Delivery Approach, marking your calendars for the supporting activities we have in store. If you are new to Pega, it’s easy to get started thanks to the Introduction to Pega Platform mission on Pega Academy.
Got questions? Ask the experts in Pega Support Center! Be sure to use the hashtag #PegaHackathon in the body of your post so they can easily find and help you out! And sign up for our office hours once they start in September.
