Organizer Guide

Welcome to HackQuest: Setting Up Your First Hackathon

HackQuest is a powerful platform designed to help organizations foster innovation and talent through hackathons, fellowships, demo days, and other initiatives. Whether you’re a startup, a global company, or an educational institution, HackQuest provides all the tools you need to seamlessly host and manage your hackathon. It simplifies the complex process of organizing a successful event by offering a clear, efficient solution to plan, engage participants, and drive innovation.

This guide will walk you through setting up your first hackathon on HackQuest. We’re here to support you at every step, ensuring your event is a success. If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Apply to be a Hackathon Organizer

1. Navigate to the “Host a Hackathon” Section

   Start by visiting the Explore Hackathon section on our website. There, you’ll find a “Host a Hackathon” button. Click this button to begin your application to become a hackathon organizer on HackQuest.

2. Complete the Application Form

   Fill out the application form with your details, including your name, email address, and preferred contact method (WeChat or Telegram). In this form, you’ll also specify your hackathon’s nature and any planned prizes or bounties. Once you’ve completed the form, submit your application.

3. Wait for Approval

   After submission, our team will review your application. Once approved, you’ll gain access to the tools needed to create and manage hackathons on HackQuest.

4. Organizer Dashboard Access

   Upon approval, you’ll be granted full access to the Organizer Dashboard. This will appear on your account, giving you the rights to create, edit, and manage hackathons, along with the ability to track your event’s progress.

Hackthon Organizer Dashboard

The Organizer Dashboard is your central hub for managing all your hackathons on HackQuest. It is divided into four main sections, each designed to help you manage your hackathon events at different stages.

1. Ongoing Hackathons

In this section, you’ll see all the hackathons that are currently ongoing and have been created by you. You can manage and edit the hackathons you’ve set up, making it easy to track their progress and make necessary updates.

2. Draft Hackathons

This section shows all the hackathons you’ve created but have not submitted yet. You can continue working on these drafts, making changes or completing the setup. If you decide not to proceed with a draft, you also have the option to delete it.

3. Past Hackathons

Here, you can view all the hackathons that you’ve organized and completed on HackQuest. This section gives you a history of your past events, allowing you to track their performance and see how they were received.

4. Under Review Hackathons

This section shows the hackathons you’ve submitted for review. Once your hackathon is submitted, it will appear here until HackQuest’s team reviews it and approves it for publication.

Create Hackathon

1. Access the Hackathon Organizer

   Once your application is approved, you’ll gain access to the Hackathon Organizer in the navigation bar. From there, you can begin setting up your first hackathon on HackQuest by clicking “Start a New Hackathon”.

2. Enter Your Hackathon Name

   The first step in creating your hackathon is to enter its name. As soon as you input the name, your hackathon will be created on HackQuest.

3. Complete the 7 Required Sections

   After naming your hackathon, you’ll need to fill out 7 required sections to fully set up your event:

   • Info: This section allows you to input basic details about your hackathon, including the event’s name, your organization’s name, and a brief online introduction. This will give participants an idea of what your hackathon is about.

   • Links: Here, you will provide important links such as your hackathon’s official website and social media profiles, making it easier for participants to follow updates and engage with the event.

   • Covers: You’ll need to upload a cover image that represents your hackathon. This visual will appear on the hackathon page to give it a distinct look and feel.

   • Timeline: Set the timeline for your hackathon. At a minimum, define the registration, submission, and judging start and close times.

   • Application: In this section, you’ll define the registration requirements for applicants, including the criteria for submitting projects.

   • Reward: Set up rewards for the hackathon. You must define at least one prize track and specify the judging criteria for your prizes.

   • Judging: HackQuest offers a built-in judging system that allows platform users to vote. Alternatively, you can choose specific groups of users, such as Builders, Winners, or Developers from different ecosystems, or set up your own judging system.

4. Track Your Progress

   As you work through these sections, you can always track your progress. You’ll be able to see what’s been filled out and what still needs attention.

5. Preview Your Hackathon

   Once you’ve completed all 7 required sections, click “Preview Hackathon” to review the details you’ve entered. This is your chance to double-check everything and ensure it’s all in order before submission.

6. Submit for Review

   When you’re ready, click “Submit to Review”. Our team will review your hackathon to ensure all information is complete and accurate. Once approved, your hackathon will be automatically published to the HackQuest platform, making it visible to the public.

Manage Hackathon

The Manage Hackathon section of HackQuest provides a centralized platform for organizers to oversee and manage all aspects of their hackathon. This comprehensive dashboard enables organizers to handle participant applications, project submissions, judging, and announcements efficiently. By utilizing these features, you can ensure that your hackathon runs smoothly and successfully. Below is a breakdown of the key sections within the organizer dashboard:

1. Overview

This section presents a high-level snapshot of your hackathon’s progress. You’ll be able to monitor essential statistics, such as page views, the number of applications submitted, confirmed participants, and project submissions. It offers a quick and easy way to track the overall progress of your hackathon in real-time.

2. Application

Within this section, you can review all incoming applications, download application forms for further review, and decide whether to approve, decline, or add applicants to a waitlist. If your hackathon is a hybrid or in-person event, you can approve applicants in groups and even undo any declines before the application deadline. This gives you full control over the participant selection process.

3. Submission

Managing project submissions happens in this section, where you can review all projects submitted to your hackathon. You have the option to download submissions for closer inspection, disqualify submissions that do not meet the criteria, and undo disqualifications if necessary. Submissions are organized by project, and each project displays all associated team members, allowing for easy review.

4. Judging

Track the judging process in this section, where you can monitor the rankings and scores for each prize track. Additionally, you can review the individual scores from each judge and see how projects were rated. If voting is enabled, this section will also show the votes from users and judges. After the voting and scoring are complete, you can announce the winners by clicking the “Announce Winners” button.

5. Announcement

In the Announcement section, you manage event-related announcements. There are two types: event-based announcements, which are triggered by key milestones such as registration, submission, and judging, and user-specific announcements, which you can create and target specific groups. This ensures that participants, judges, and other stakeholders stay informed at critical points throughout the event.

6. Distribution

This section helps you track and analyze the traffic to your hackathon’s page. By adding UTM sources, you can monitor where your traffic is coming from—whether it’s social media, email campaigns, or other sources. The section also provides detailed statistics on page views, applications, confirmations, and submissions. A visualized distribution table makes it easier to interpret and compare the data, giving you valuable insights into your promotional efforts.

7. Admin

The Admin section lets you manage the administrators of your hackathon. You can add new admins, assign different levels of access, and decide whether each admin has read-only or full administrative permissions. This ensures that you can control who has access to various parts of the hackathon, maintaining security and organization throughout the event.