Team Up For Social Change! Social Hackathon Day

What's a Social Hackathon?

Heard of the term ‘Hackathon’ before? Imagine gathering a group of tech whizzes or coders to hack a problem within a limited period of time. Our Social Hackathons are similar but we’ve put our own spin on it - events for students to become real world problem-solvers, working with local non-profits who have provided the problem so you can be confident that you are going to have real impact with this activity! 

It's the perfect opportunity to step away from grades and the stress of study but still be building essential career skills. It's definitely not a waste of your time - but still fun and dynamic.

By booking a ticket via this page, you are expressing interest to this event. We will ask you to confirm your space closer to the time. If the event becomes oversubscribed, we will email all ticket holders asking them to confirm their space

Why should I take part?

• Students tell us they love being able to work on something meaningful and important but without the stress of grades!
• You'll make friends!
• The skills you'll develop during the day include communication and listening skills, presentation skills, and even just being able to put your point across in a  group.
• Did you know all your study skills are really useful in the outside world? Like being able to review a lot of information and draw sensible conclusions or like being able to outline a report or design a Power Point slide deck.   
• You'll learn new things because everyone will be from a different degree.
• You'll be able to draw on your experiences when you are ready to start applying for jobs and the world beyond UCL, including saying something you've done has had impact (unlike your essays!!)

What does the day look like?

There will be 100 students on the day across 5 teams - each with their own non-profit Challenger! At the start of the day, our Student Event Hosts will welcome you warmly into the room where you'll join everyone over teas and coffees. Don't worry if you don't know anyone else going (tho feel free to tell a friend about this event!) - our Hosts will make sure you feel instantly at ease. 

We'll then divide you into teams and you'll meet your team mates and your all-important non-profit Challenger. The Challenger has worked with us to provide a real problem or issue they are facing. Right now! So everything you do during the day will go towards something real and useful. 

Your team will be shown to your own Impact Zone, where you'll spend the day ideating, discussing, problem-solving... and having a lot of FUN!     

At the end of the day, all the teams will be brought back together again for the Pitching Event. This is when each team will pitch for the Social Hackathon Prize.

Skills you can expect to flex!

• Teamwork: how good a team player are you really?
• Leadership: where are you in your leader journey?
• Communication: do you listen well or are you all talk?
• Sharing power: are you prepared to value knowledge from other sectors?
• Problem-solving: can you identify issues, make an analysis, and generate solutions?
• Reporting & presenting: how good are you at pulling together info to present in a short time?
• Pitching: can you tell a good story, with the right information, in a way to grab attention?

*this event will be held in a private bar space and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided. All canapes will be vegetarian. Suppliers will be from local social enterprises where possible.

Other ExtendED Learning opportunities at your Students' Union

The SU is excited to be hosting a variety of ExtendED Learning opportunities during Term 3. Why not take a look at all we have to offer via our ExtendED Learning webpage, where you can find further information about each event and book your space.