You won’t believe how fast time flies – Hacker Games: Kaunas are back to KTU Santaka Valley this weekend. Kaunas is a special place for Hacker Games as numbers from the past year have not been beaten yet – 250 participants and 41 projects over the course of weekend. However, we’re already beyond 240 registrations as of Tuesday noon, so either use the last opportunity to register or, if you’re already on board, have a quick look at what’s on the menu this year.

How will it work?

We’re opening doors of Santaka Valley at 18h on Friday. Register, grab some coffee and a quick bite, let alone the usual goodies such as the omnipotent Hacker Games t-shirt 🙂 Then, we’ll proceed to the main hall at 19h to open the Hacker Games. After some talks, idea pitching will begin. It’s a very important part of any hackathon – if you’re bringing your idea, you’ll need to present it so prospective team members can join you. Please read some advice on how to deliver a great hackathon pitch. You will receive a poster after your pitch where you will put the name of your project/team. You will attach this poster to the wall at the main corridor after the pitches – here, teams will be formed.

Important notice – you must pitch your idea even if you have your team formed before the hackathon. Also, only projects built from scratch will be eligible for prizes.

You can begin working on your projects on Friday and spend both Friday and Saturday nights at the venue.

On Saturday, you shall meet your mentors at specific times. We shall inform every team about their meeting times individually. However, you can talk to any mentor and/or ask for his help any time during the event!

You can continue working on your projects until Sunday afternoon. Then, we will collect your final pitch slides. You will pitch your projects Sunday afternoon. Afterwards, the jury will cast their votes and the winners will be awarded.

Food:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided for free at the venue. Some snacks and drinks will be also available for free.

Tracks and prizes:

The will be four tracks: Software, Hardware, Games and Cross Media.

Confirmed prizes:

• 1000 EUR in cash for the winners of Hardware Track from KTU Startup Space

• 500 EUR in cash for the winners of Cross Media track from Nebula Cluster

• 600 EUR in cash for the winners of Software track from TeleSoftas

• 1000 EUR for an industry trip for the winners of Games track from GameInsight

• 500 EUR in cash for second place winners at Software track from SEO Helis

• 500 EUR in cash for second place winners at Games track from SEO Helis

• 500 EUR in cash for best game for kids from TutoTOONS

• 500 EUR for the Most technically advanced project [at any track] from KTU’s Faculty of Informatics

• Tickets to GameOn 2017 for authors of the most interesting game

• 5 soldering stations for the second place winners the Hardware track from Elseta

Mentors:

We currently have a 24-strong pool of confirmed mentors, their expertise range from gaming to software and hardware, let alone cross media, UX, business development and marketing. Please find a full list of mentors here.

Hardware list:

Sensors, microcomputers, 3D printers, tools and hard tools, you name it. Provided by Makerspace.lt and “Robotikos mokykla”. You’ll be able to USE it at the Hacker Games, but you’ll need to leave it before the end of event. Please find the full list here.

Also, our friends Lemona provide this list of hardware and items you can both USE and TAKE HOME if used for your project.

After the event:

Hackathons are the foremost place to form a team and to build a prototype or something tangible. It would be a great start for your startup. At Startup Lithuania, we wish to see more startups in Lithuania. For this reason, we’re pledging our full support to anyone who wishes to continue working on their projects after the Hacker Games in terms of consulting, helping to connect and to meet the right people, etc. TutoTOONS, a successful gamedev studio, started at a hackathon – so can your startup!

Hacker Games: Kaunas could not happen without:

The organizers: Startup Lithuania, Enterprise Lithuania and KTU Startup Space.

Main partners: GameInsight, Nebula Cluster, TeleSoftas.

Partners: SEO Helis, Kaunas City Municipality, TransferGo, Makerspace.lt, Technarium, Unity, Koralis and Packpin.

Sponsors: Elseta, Cross Motion, KTU Faculty of Informatics, GameON, InfoSA, DesignFriends, TutoTOONS, Lemona.

See you very soon!