Host a Crackathon™ for your staff and students
An AI hackathon that brings staff and students together on a real challenge, from a two-hour ideas session to a 48-hour build sprint. On campus or online, for welcome week, the end of term or any celebration.
An AI hackathon in a cracker, for your staff and students
AI is changing how ideas get made. Tools that turn a sentence into a sketch, a plan or a working prototype are now in everyone's hands, but most teams haven't had the chance to try them together.
Hackathons are the quickest way to learn: a real problem, a deadline, and people building side by side. A Crackathon™ is the celebration version, built around the cracker and shaped around your staff and students. Teams crack a problem you set, picture the answer with AI, build just enough to test it, and share what they made. Two hours or 48, on campus or online, any time of the academic year.
Four reasons to host a Crackathon™
Staff and students, side by side
Mixed teams of students, researchers and professional services staff learn AI together, and learn from each other.
A real challenge from across campus
Bring a question from Student Enterprise, Careers, your technology transfer office or a research group, and leave with concepts and prototypes to build on.
Evidence students can show
Students leave with something they made, and a story to tell an employer.
A celebration with a purpose
Welcome week, the end of term or graduation week: sociable, useful and open to everyone, at any level. Nobody needs to know AI already.
And it fits the calendar
Welcome week, end of term, or any celebration
A Crackathon™ fits wherever staff and students already come together: welcome week, the end of a term, a staff away day, graduation week, and every December our Christmas edition. They leave with ideas they have tested and something real to take into what comes next.
In their words
Your people, your problem, your format
Your challenge
Bring a real problem or a theme and we turn it into the prompts inside your crackers. Or keep it light with challenges written for the occasion.
Your people
Students, researchers and staff, from one department or across the university. Nobody needs to know AI already.
Your length
A two-hour Starter, an Afternoon of about four hours ending in pitches, or a 48-hour Weekend sprint to build a prototype.
Your place
On campus or online, on a date that suits you, any time of the academic year.
Everything it takes, done for you
You bring the people and the problem. We bring the format, the coaches and the tools, and shape it all around what you want your people to get from it. Ideas come first; the build is there to test them.
The format and the challenges
A run sheet, challenge cards and a judging rubric, built around your goals.
Coaches and AI makers
People who build with AI every day, at the tables with your teams.
Tools from our partners
Visualisation, concept and build tools, with credits where our partners offer them. Your teams choose what suits the task.
A page, a comms kit and a round-up
Everything you need to fill the room, then photographs, quotes and a write-up to share afterwards.
Three things from you
- A challenge or a theme from your university.
- Your staff and students, and a room on campus or an online space.
- A budget for the run, and any prizes.
What you take into the next term
- Concepts, visuals and prototypes to build on afterwards.
- Staff and students who have tried AI together, and know what to try next.
- Photographs and a round-up to share, and a view of who did the best thinking.
Talk to us
Turn a celebration into practice
Tell us about your staff, your students and your challenge, and we will shape a Crackathon™ around them. A real person reads every message and replies by email.
We will reply from hello@agentbuild.club within 48 hours.
Questions
Questions universities ask
What does it cost to host a Crackathon™?
It depends on the format, how long it runs and whether it is in person or online. A short online starter costs far less than a 48-hour sprint with coaches in the room. Tell us what you have in mind and we will send a simple proposal.
Can staff and students take part together?
Yes. Mixed teams are the point: students, researchers and staff each bring something the others do not.
Who takes part?
Your people: students, staff, clients or a community you want to reach. If you would like to meet new people too, we can open places to the Agent Build Club community.
Do people need to know about AI already?
No. Coaches show everyone the tools on the day, and every Crackathon starts with ideas, not code. Builders who want to go further can.
Can we set the challenge?
Yes. Bring a real problem or a theme and we will turn it into the prompts inside your crackers, to suit the format and your people. If you would rather keep it light, we can write challenges for the occasion instead.
Who owns what gets made?
Participants own their work. You and we can show it with their consent, and anything more specific, such as confidentiality, is agreed before the day.
When can it run?
Any time of year. Our Christmas edition runs every December, and we design Crackathons for welcome weeks, away days, team celebrations and project wraps whenever you need one. The earlier you talk to us, the more dates and formats we can offer.
Is it a Christmas thing?
Only if you want it to be. Crackers are for any celebration, and so are Crackathons. Our Christmas edition plays on the Christmas cracker for fun, and you don't need to celebrate Christmas to take part. Agent Build Club is open to all, with no religious affiliation.