You signed up for the Girl Develop It November Hackathon — awesome! You've got some time before the big day, and a little prep now goes a long way toward making the experience fun (and a lot less stressful). Here are five things you can start doing today.
1. Start thinking about a project or an idea
You don't need to show up with a fully-formed plan, but it's worth starting to noodle on it now. Is there a problem you'd love to solve, an app idea you've been sitting on, or a tool you wish existed? Jot down a few ideas, they don't have to be polished, and they might even change once you meet your team. Starting early just means you'll hit the ground running.
2. Brush up on the basics
You don't need to be an expert to participate, that's the whole point of GDI. But if it's been a while since you've written code, spend 20–30 minutes revisiting the fundamentals in whatever language or tool you're most likely to use. A quick refresher now means less time relearning syntax later.
3. Build your AI skills with our Essential AI course
AI tools will be a big part of how teams work faster and smarter at this year's Hackathon, so we're encouraging every registrant to take our Essential AI course before the event. It starts September 15, and as a Hackathon participant, you get 40% off. It's a great way to walk in feeling confident using AI as part of your toolkit.
4. Think about what you want to get out of it
Are you hoping to sharpen job prep skills? Add something new to your resume? Try a language or tool you've never used before? Or maybe you just want to challenge yourself and see what you can build under pressure. Take a few minutes to jot down what success looks like for you — it'll help you get more out of the orientation and team-building session, and give you something to aim for during the Hackathon itself.
5. Join our Slack community and say hi
You're not doing this alone! Join the GDI Slack community, introduce yourself, and start connecting with fellow participants before the big day. Some of the best Hackathon teams start as conversations weeks before the event.
Got questions before then? Reach out anytime — we're excited to have you with us.