Following on from the success of last year’s event, DWP Digital Hacks are back with Hack the North 2.0!

We’ll be joined by some of the brightest and most creative people in the north to work on solutions that help vulnerable people in the Manchester area access key support services appropriate to their needs.

What’s the challenge?

We want to identify where hand-offs between organisations cause difficulty or hardship to individuals, and to explore how support services offered by organisations in and around Manchester could be brought together most effectively for the benefit of people in the region.

Using a variety of data sources, we’re hoping to generate ideas and co-create solutions which could make a difference to real people’s lives - whilst also helping Manchester thrive both socially and economically.

Want to get involved?

We’re looking for developers, data scientists, user researchers, UX designers, project managers and general hack enthusiasts to join us for 2 days of innovation, creativity, networking, social purpose and fun!

Food and refreshments will be provided. And like all good hack events, there’ll be a prize for the best solution!

What to expect:

The event will be held over 2 days, from 1pm – 6pm on Friday 23 November. We’ll then start again from 8.30am to 4pm on Saturday 24 November.

We’ll kick things off with some quick-fire presentations from a range of speakers including Joe Drumgoole from MongoDB and Amul Batra from Northcoders. This part of the event will set the scene, explain the challenge and enable you to ask the experts your questions.

Day 1 will conclude with the pitching of ideas and forming of teams.

We’ll then be taking things off-site for some informal networking.

Due to popular demand, we'll be keeping the venue open overnight on Friday 23 November for anyone who wants to get stuck straight in to the challenge! Pizza and energy drinks will be provided to keep you going.

But if you don't fancy an all-nighter, that's fine. The second day will start with a short recap, and then teams will work together on their solution before a ‘show and tell’ session, shortly followed by judging.

DWP Digital developers, engineers and data science specialists will be on-hand with advice and tips.

The digital solutions and code written during the hack event will be published open source. We hope that these outputs will be used to inspire ideas and we’ll find a way to drive forward any feasible ideas.

Last year’s solutions to the hack’s challenge of solving unemployment in the city included; an Alexa skill to help people searching for jobs, a messaging bot to make applying for jobs easier, and an app that turned the job-hunting journey into a game.

The event will be filmed for promotional use.

What to bring:

Apart from yourself, you'll also need to bring your own laptops and chargers.

If you're planning on hacking through the night, please bring along

Please don't bring your own or your organisation's proprietary solutions to this event - we're looking for imaginative ideas on the day!

FAQs

Will food be provided?
This will consist of lunch on arrival on Friday 23rd, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday 24th. If you're hacking overnight we'll also provide you with pizza and energy drinks.

How can I contact the organiser with any questions?
If you wish to get in touch with regards to the event, please email us at digital.eventmanagement@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

Is it an overnight event?
Due to popular demand, we'll be keeping the venue open overnight for anyone who wants to get stuck straight into the challenge. It's entirely up to you whether you stay or not.

Does the venue have a step-free/disabled access?
Yes.