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Crackathons are short, social AI hackathons for teams: team days, staff development and teaching, alongside any celebration, in person or online. Pull a cracker, put on the hat, open the prompt inside, then crack it together with AI and share what you made. We run them all year, with a Christmas edition every December.
About
About this programme
A hackathon built around the cracker
Most projects go wrong long before anyone builds anything, because nobody pushed on the idea: the design, the plan, the picture of what it should be. So that is where a Crackathon starts. You use AI to imagine, plan and visualise, then build part of it, a quick prototype or a slice of an MVP, to ground the idea or prove it works. The cracker keeps it light. The problems underneath are real.
Ways to run one
- Universities: welcome week, the end of term, a staff away day or graduation week, for students and staff together.
- Teams: a celebration, an away day or a conference fringe, so your people practise AI on something low stakes.
- Clients and partners: the party at the end of a project, where the people who built it together crack the next problem together.
- Christmas: our Christmas edition runs every December, in person and online.
Short or long
Some Crackathons fit into an hour or two of a party: brainstorming and concept sketching, easy to join and over before you know it. Others take an afternoon. Some are weekend sprints for engineers and builders who want something working by Sunday. Smaller is usually better.
Every Crackathon has a host
Each one is run by a university, a business or a community, with Agent Build Club. The host sets the occasion and invites its people; we design the challenges, bring the coaches and run it on the day. Public editions are free to join, and a Crackathon booked for your own people is priced for the occasion.
This year's Christmas edition
- AIIA AI Engineering Challenge, in person at the University of Surrey on Wednesday 2 December. Engineering students use AI for ideation, planning and concept visualisation on design challenges set in Santa's workshop. It is for Surrey students and staff, and you sign up through the University.
- Santa's North Pole Productivity Challenge, online in December, dates to be confirmed. An online Christmas hackathon for anyone who wants to get better at working with AI.
Book a Crackathon
Want one for your students, your team or your clients? Find out how to book a Crackathon.
What you get
What it is and what it gives you
A Crackathon is a hackathon built around ideas, and around a cracker. Every team pulls one. Inside is a hat, a prompt and a story: the prompt is the challenge, and the story is the context behind it. Teams use AI to explore the problem, generate ideas, plan and visualise them, then build just enough of the best one to test it. Small is good, and it is meant to be fun.
It works wherever people come together: a welcome week, the end of a term, a staff away day, a team celebration, or the party at the end of a client project. And every December we run our Christmas edition.
How it works
Step by step
Every Crackathon follows the cracker. Short or long, in person or online, it runs the same way.
Pull the cracker
The opening. Teams form, meet the coaches and hear what the occasion is about.
Put on the hat
Everyone wears one, and each hat gives you a part to play in your team. It is also the photo everyone takes home.
Open the gift: your prompt
Inside every cracker is a prompt. That is your challenge, written for the occasion and the people in the room.
Read the joke: the story
Every prompt comes with a story: the context behind the challenge, so you know who it is for and why it matters.
Crack it together
Explore the problem with AI, generate ideas, plan and visualise them, then build just enough to test the best one.
Share what you made
Pitch it on the day, then show it at the show and tell. Take it further in the community, or bring your team back for the next one.
When to join
Choose your run
When you can join
Every run, soonest first
Later runs
Who is behind it
Supported by
The organisations behind this programme
FAQs
Questions businesses ask
Not sure yet?
Talk it through with us
Not sure whether this programme fits your organisation, or which run to join? Book a short conversation and we will help you work out the right next step.
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