Hackathons are dynamic, marathon-like events where our students come together to solve real-world problems, create innovative solutions, and build projects within a set timeframe. These events encompass a wide range of activities including brainstorming, designing, and presenting ideas and are typically sponsored by well-known and respected companies. Our Hackathons for 2025 are:
- Hackathon (Friday 11th July) – Global Citizenship, Sustainability, and The Environment (with Greenpeace and Amnesty International)
- Hackathon (Friday 25th July) – Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Emerging Technologies (with TBC)
At Padworth Summer School, we believe in the power of hackathons to foster student-centred learning and engagement. Our approach integrates hackathons into the curriculum, ensuring that everything students learn in their Pathways and Elective Projects is centred around the hackathon topics above. This holistic approach ensures that students are not only learning theoretical concepts but also apply them in practical, real-world scenarios.
Throughout a two-week cycle, students complete five challenges at Padworth Summer School related to the hackathon topic, each lasting six hours, with the fifth challenge being our company-sponsored hackathon. These initial challenges are designed to build the knowledge and skills needed to confidently develop innovative solutions to the presented problem in the final challenge. By the end of the hackathon, students have not only completed several extended projects but have also gained a deep understanding of the subject matter, enhanced their technical skills, and developed essential soft skills. Furthermore, the university and business partnership visits our students go on during the same two-week period are also linked to the topic, meaning the university talks or interactive workshops they receive continue to support their development of the hackathon topic.
