Hackathon mentors are seasoned professionals who provide guidance and support to the participating teams throughout the hackathon. Effective mentorship is what drives teams to turn ideas into beautiful realities.
In this blog post, we will talk about why mentors are an important part of a hackathon and provide tips on how to succeed as a hackathon mentor.
Index
- The role of mentors at a hackathon
- Types of mentoring structure
- How to mentor teams at hackathons
- Do some prep work
- Help the teams stay focused
- Make sure everyone is working together
- Teach them to fish
- Be present
- Encourage and praise
- Tips on good mentoring
The role of mentors at a hackathon
Mentors play an important role at hackathons.
They may be hanging around team tables, rotating on a timetable, or stationed at a hotdesk to answer any inquiries at in-person events.
Mentors are the glue that keeps teams together and focused, and it may be the crucial difference if they finish a project or not.
The primary responsibility of mentors is to motivate and assist participants in coming up with fresh ideas and attempting new things.
In events where concepts are generated from scratch, technical or specialized assistance may not be requested until the event's final hours.
Mentors are also available to help teams connect.
Connect the participant to resources (tutorials, blogs, documents, etc.) that they can read on their own time if there is a specific problem or interest area.
It's a good idea to give the mentors a guide that includes questions to ask the teams, how to troubleshoot, and beneficial starter tools/resources to boost the quality of the mentors.
Types of mentoring structure
Two main approaches can be used for mentoring: vertical, horizontal, and mixed mentoring.
Vertical mentoring
In vertical mentoring, each team is paired with one or more mentors. This model is particularly effective for managing large-scale hackathons with ample mentor resources.
Mentors take ownership of their assigned team, providing ongoing guidance and support as they shape their project.
Horizontal mentoring
Horizontal mentoring offers a pool of mentors accessible to all teams simultaneously. To ensure effective utilization of their expertise, clear guidelines should outline each mentor's skills and how teams can connect with them.
Mixed mentoring
Mixed mentoring is a combination of vertical and horizontal mentoring.
Mentors are both assigned to (a) specific team(s) and can also be available for the rest of the participants.
How to mentor teams at hackathons
1. Do some prep work
It's always good to do some prep work beforehand.
For example, mentors might be very skilled in their field but not in the particular business sector of the theme of the hackathon.
We've seen several teams get trapped in their heads and then have a mentor help them get unstuck by showing them how other organizations handle comparable difficulties.
Yes, one might argue that the teams should undertake the work themselves, but they don't always know what to look for or where to search.
That's when being prepared as a mentor comes in handy.
2. Help the teams stay focused
Mentors need to make sure they know where the teams need to get - what's the goal they want to achieve during the hackathon?
Is it a working prototype of the product or just a wireframe to showcase the idea?
How will they present their ideas at the end?
Will they need to prepare slides?
Mentors should keep the team focused on the end goal and get them back on the right track if they start to drift away.
3. Make sure everyone is working together
Sometimes teams might need help in dividing roles.
Members of teams come from a variety of backgrounds.
Each has their own set of skills, expertise, and goals.
A hackathon mentor can be the one to help people find the right roles for themselves and make sure everyone is on the same page.
For example, who is going to be the one to pitch the idea in the end?
4. Teach them to fish
Even if a mentor is an expert at what they do, they can only see the world through a specific lens.
But, when it comes to mentoring, the most crucial talent they can have is the ability to ask the right questions.
Because the mentor is the expert, many teams want mentors to provide them with ready-made answers.
Avoid offering them rigid answers at all costs; instead, assist them in coming up with their own solutions.
The mentor's ultimate purpose is to assist the team in making their internal judgments.
5. Be present
Mentors should be present as much as possible and check in on teams regularly as they might be too shy to ask themselves.
But make sure you are not disrupting their work when you're not really needed.
If a mentor can't be present all the time then it's a good practice to let the teams know how and when they can be contacted.
Alternatively, the event organizers can set a time frame when teams are being mentored during the day.
6. Encourage and praise
Teams may get bewildered, disoriented, and uncertain of their abilities while they seek answers to problems.
A mentor's job is to become a ray of hope amid a sea of ambiguity and uncertainty, offering teams fresh insights on how to handle difficult situations.
A big part of being a mentor is providing constructive and useful feedback, in a stimulating way.
Everything goes faster and smoother if the teams feel guided and supported.
That's how we can keep the spirits high.
Tips on good mentoring
Here are a few tips for good mentoring:
- Check in on teams regularly; at least twice a day. Participants feel more connected and noticed when they get social communications. But don't be too present and micromanage. It's ok to not be needed too.
- Encourage the teams, encourage their enthusiasm, and don't squash their ideas, no matter how bizarre they may appear. And don't push your own ideas on them. Try to lift their spirits when they're short on energy or otherwise stuck. With them, celebrate both great and little victories.
- Offer to put their prototype to the test. If they're willing, do it a lot. But don't put pressure on them to interrupt development and create a build to test.
- Instead of forcing feedback on a team, ask if they want to meet at a specified time.
- Saying they have a poor idea is never a good idea. If they have one poor idea and the mentor suggests it is awful, they will have a hard time bringing new ideas forward. First, a mentor should inquire as to how they came up with the concept, and then compliment the portions they enjoy.
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