Science Hack Day Berlin 2015

+++++++++ once we're full, it is definitely worth signing up to the waiting list - we get a lot of swapsies +++++++++

Science Hack Day brings together designers, developers, scientists, and other geeks in the same physical space for a brief but intense period of collaboration, hacking and building.

FAQ

... for Everyone

What is a hack day or hackathon?

This is an event that brings together designers, developers, and anyone with interest and ideas in the same physical space for a brief but intense period of collaboration, hacking, and building. Often these will be centered on a theme, such as a programming language or an application, and can include a hardware component.

What is Science Hack Day?

It is a 48 hour hackathon (yes, we know it is longer than a day) where the focus of the event is science, with all of its facets. The first Science Hack Day was organized in San Francisco in 2010 by Ariel Waldman, and has since been held over 30 cities around the world.

Who is organizing Science Hack Day Berlin?

The SHD Berlin organizing team consists wholly of volunteers from the world’s of science, design, IT, communication, and the intersections between. If you'd like to get involved in organisation, please get in touch!

How do I join?

Sign up at this Eventbrite website while spaces are available! Due to space limitations registration is limited.

Where is the Science Hack Day Berlin being held?

This year, Science Hack Day will be hosted for the first time by the brand spanking new FabLab Berlin, the biggest FabLab in the world (allegedly)! They have an awesome array of machines, facilities, expertise AND a great big space.

How many people do we expect?

We plan to fill the FabLab with 100 enthusiastic and open-minded creators.

... for Attendees

Who may attend?

Everybody can attend the Science Hack Day; first-timers are very welcome. You don’t need to have a particular background in science or IT, but if you have - awesome! The most important thing is that you are excited about scientific experiments and that you are ambitious to build or develop something with a small team.

What equipment will be provided?

We will provide a lot of hardware you can work with. For example: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, plus 3D Printers, laser cutter, vinyl cutter, electronics workspace...

What should I bring?

Think of all the tools, materials or data, which might be useful or inspirational during the hackathon. Any additional usual scientific equipment. Of course your computer. After the initial brainstorm on Friday, you will have the opportunity to bring anything in your closet that might be handy for the rest of the weekend.

Basic needs: Is there free food and Wi-Fi?

Of course there will be free Wi-Fi. We will also provide meals and snacks during the whole weekend.

... for Pitchers

Are there constraints on what my pitch can be about?

Basically, we do not want to put constraints on the topic of your pitch as long as there is some science in there. However, you should be aware of the basic conditions. We expect a bunch of designers, programmers and scientist of different fields to join so you might be able to find experts for many questions. Pitches are limited to 3 mins - you should take that into account. We expect teams of about three but not more than five science fans. Anyhow, maybe someone has a clever idea to fix a problem you think is very complex.

How do I find people to work on my idea?

In fact, that is one of the goals of Science Hack Day. We will start with the pitches on Friday evening. After the short presentation of the basic ideas there will be time to meet people, get talking, form teams and start planning. The hacking will start on Saturday morning.

How should I prepare?

We want to support spontaneous ideas so you don't actually need to prepare at all. But if you already have some great idea, be aware that we will only provide about 3 mins presentation time for each pitcher. So you should use that time wisely to motivate enough attendees to work on your project.

What is the result of ideas, intellectual property?

This event is in the spirit of an open community so be prepared that we cannot grant you exclusive rights on any outcome of Science Hack Day. Certainly, we will publish the results at our website. However, we will try to provide professional legal consulting throughout the weekend.