In this guide, you will find information on how to form a team and manage your time at IC Hack successfully.
- Project Planning
- Table of Contents
- How to form a team
- Tips to form an effective team
- Work allocation
- Time management
- Suggested Hackathon Timeline
- 08:45 – 11:00: Arrival & Opening Ceremony (Pre-Hack)
- 11:00 – 12:00: Merch, Food & Team Formation
- 12:00 – 14:00 (Hour 0–2): Problem Selection & Planning
- 14:00 – 15:00 (Hour 2-3): Overall Design Layout
- 15:00 – 18:30 (Hour 3–6.5): Core Development (with Sponsor Talks)
- 18:30 – 22:00 (Hour 6.5–10): MVP Push
- 22:00 – 00:00 (Hour 10–12): Feature Freeze (Mostly)
- 00:00 - 06:00 (Hours 12–18): Refinement & Testing
- 06:00 - 10:00 (Hours 18–22): Presentation Preparation
- 10:00 - 12:00 (Hours 22–24): Final Sprint & Submission
Each team can have up to 6 members. We strongly suggest finding a team well before IC Hack. Couldn't find a team or don't know where to do so? We have a team-building channel in Discord that you can use!
- Open the
#looking-for-teamchannel. - Browse the existing threads in the channel and contact the users involved if you are interested in joining their team.
- If there isn’t a suitable team you want to join, open up a new thread. Remember to include:
- Who is in your team?
- What skills do you have?
- What kind of teammates are you looking for?
- And, most importantly, how can you be contacted? (This can just be your Discord account as long as your DMs are open.)
- Once you have formed a team via
#looking-for-team, please delete your thread from the channel
When forming a team for a hackathon, there are always some things to consider:
Before forming a team, think about the end product. It could be anything along these lines:
- Web apps,
- Mobile apps,
- AI tools,
- Hardwares etc.
After having an initial idea of the product, then identify the skills required to build it.
A well-rounded team often includes a mix of people with the following skills:
- AI / Machine Learning: model building, data processing, intelligent features.
- Frontend Development: user-facing interfaces (React, Vue, mobile frameworks).
- Backend Development: APIs, authentication, business logic.
- Databases / Infrastructure: data modelling, storage, deployment
- UI/UX Design: user flows, visual design, branding. (Figma)
Always remember not every team needs all of these roles filled, but you should still seek the skills most needed for your project! Also, if you've already formed a team and are missing some of these skills, don't worry! That's what the other HackPacks are for.
Tip
It is important to have someone in your group who understands UI/UX design and frontend development as this is how judges see your idea working, not just hear about it. A good UI also makes demos smoother and pitch preparation much easier.
While working flexibly between different components of your project is important, consider allocating work across these areas. As you'll see, they're quite similar to the 'skill areas' that we identified before.
- Frontend engineers are responsible for implementing the UI design of an application.
- Backend engineers manage the APIs, databases, and logic associated with an application.
- AI/ML engineers may be required, depending on the scope of the project.
- Designers handle UI/UX design, visuals, and graphics for your final pitch such as slides and animations.
- Product/presentation leads focus on developing your documentation, demo, and final pitch.
Tip
Assign at least two team members to focus on the presentation, demo, and Devpost documentation/submission in the last few hours of hacking. It can be easy to get wrapped up in your project after that much time spent coding, but planning ahead to ensure you're able to clearly explain your project and present well can make a massive difference.
Effective time management is crucial to success at IC Hack. Making good use of the limited hacking time will help your team stay focused, avoid last-minute stress, and deliver a polished project.
Hacking Period:
- 🕛 Start: Saturday 31st Jan, 12:00
- 🕛 Deadline: Sunday 1st Feb, 12:00
You can expect to spend around 1–2 hours before hacking starts to attend the opening ceremony, potentially form your team, and do some initial planning.
Disclaimer: Don't feel obligated to follow this too closely! It's just a suggestion to hopefully streamline your hacking process a bit more.
- Arrive, get seated, and attend the opening ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society
- Learn about:
- Hackathon logistics & activities
- Tracks & categories
- Sponsors attending
- Collect merch from the Imperial College Main Entrance
- Grab lunch at 12:00
- Finalise your team if you haven’t already
- Start brainstorming ideas casually
- Finalise the problem you're working on
- Decide what solution you'll build to counter it
- Assign roles and responsibilities
- and enjoy your lunch!
Tip
Sponsor talks later may reveal “category secrets”, so keep your idea flexible early on.
- Design the overall layout for your solution
- Break down problems into smaller tasks
- Assign tasks to every team member
- Start building core features
- Attend relevant Sponsor Talks (13:30–18:30) — especially those aligned with your category
- Adjust your idea if a sponsor drops useful hints or APIs
Tip
Saturday afternoon and evening are also the best time for food & drink at IC Hack! You can expect... churros, waffles & candy floss throughout the afternoon, Bubble Tea (!!) by The Trade Desk at 15:30, dinner at 19:00, and bubble tea again (this time served with pastel de nata or doughnuts!!) at 21:00.
- Aim to have a working 'minimum viable product'
- Connect your frontend and backend, if applicable
- Get something demo-able if the above steps work out
Note
Try the Treasure Hunt @ 20:00 or the Assassination Game at 21:30 if you're looking to take a break and relax for a bit.
- Finalise the core functionality of your project
- Avoid adding risky new features
- Clean up the user experience and the 'flow' of your application
- Prepare for a late-night polish...
Note
Midnight pizza by G-Research will be served at (you guessed it) midnight!
- Fix bugs and edge cases
- Improve the performance and reliability, if this is an issue
- Write your Devpost description draft
- Add screenshots & diagrams
Tip
Try to allocate everyone to have some rest in this period of time as well. If not, you could join any of our three fun events: Mario Kart at 1:00, karaoke at 2:00, and Clash Royale at 4:30.
- Prepare the flow of your demo
- Create slides and finalise your project description
- Craft a clear and compelling pitch to judges
Note
Make sure to grab some food from breakfast (7:00) and brunch (10:45).
- Final bug fixes and polish
- Rehearse your demo and pitch
- Submit on time!
- Internal website submission by 11:00
- IC Hack Devpost by 12:00
Good time management helps your team balance building, refining, and presenting - all of which are critical to success at IC Hack!