Arvato Group | Gütersloh, 05/10/2017

First Bertelsmann Hackathon

Last weekend, Bertelsmann and its corporate division Arvato invited around 30 young IT talents to the first Bertelsmann Hackathon at the Denkwerk Herford. During the three-day event, IT students and young professionals met for a programming competition with the subject "Digital Commerce". In teams, they faced the challenge of working on specific tasks from Arvato’s actual business environment within 24 hours. The results were presented on Sunday to a jury consisting of specialists from Bertelsmann and Arvato as well as celebrities from the local startup scene. The best teams won various prizes.

"With the first Bertelsmann Hackathon we created a platform for the creative exchange and experimentation for young IT talents," says Tom Linckens, Chief Information Officer of Bertelsmann. "The format is an ideal setting for uniting young people from the region with a passion for IT and finding innovative approaches and fresh ideas for real tasks together. At the same time we – especially as the service provider Arvato – can thus strengthen our employer brand in the IT sector and approach specialists in the region." 

A hackathon is a collaborative programming competition that aims to generate functioning, useful and creative products within the time constraints of the event. Hackathon is a portmanteau of the words "hack" and "marathon" and refers to the act of programming and the fact that participants have to work on a project within a prescribed period of time and usually without interruption.

At the "Digital Commerce" Bertelsmann Hackathon, the participants were confronted with challenges from the everyday business of the service provider Arvato. The five teams impressed with their technology know-how, creativity and agility in solving the problems. The winning team was able to convince with the development of a chatbot, a technical system enabling communication via natural language.  

Tom Linckens: "We are pleased that the first Bertelsmann Hackathon was a complete success and we got a lot of positive feedback from the participants. A big thanks to the entire team!"

Throughout the event, the participants were able to consult with Arvato employees, who served as experts and mentors. The top three teams won technical equipment, among other prizes. In addition, there was room to get to know Bertelsmann as a potential employer and to network with each other. All of the participants will be invited to an evening event of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Founders Foundation in Bielefeld, aiming to stay in touch with the participants beyond the hackathon.