Mastering Hackathons with Microsoft Design-Led Thinking: Unleash Your Creative Potential
Unlock your team's full potential in hackathons with Microsoft Design-Led Thinking. Explore the principles of empathizing, ideating, prototyping, and delivering with impact. Enhance your problem-solving skills and create innovative solutions that make a lasting impact.Microsoft Global Hackathon 2025: MVPs Driving Innovation Across Communities
The countdown is on! The Microsoft Global Hackathon is back the week of September 15, 2025, bringing together thousands of Microsoft employees and select external contributors to dream big, team up, and build solutions that make a difference. Hosted by The Microsoft Garage, this multi-day gathering is the largest private hackathon in the world - a place where creativity, curiosity, and community collide. A Movement Born in 2014 When Satya Nadella launched the first Microsoft Hackathon in 2014, the goal was simple: spark innovation and inspire cultural transformation. Fast-forward to today, and it’s become a global movement. In 2024, more than 71,000 people participated across 75+ venues worldwide - spanning every role, team, and geography at Microsoft. The energy was contagious, and the projects tackled challenges in AI, sustainability, accessibility, and developer tools. MVPs and RDs Making Their Mark Last year, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) and Regional Directors (RDs) joined virtually, bringing their expertise and community connections into the mix, collaborating with employees, mentored teams, and even took time off from work to fully immerse themselves in the event. Projects ranged from reimagining education and improving transportation to advancing responsible AI, supporting healthcare innovations, and championing diversity and inclusion. “We find that MVPs and RDs bring meaningful perspectives and experiences to Hackathon, and this diversity can enhance the outcomes for project teams.” – Susie Kandzor, Senior Director of Hacking. Stories from the Front Lines In 2024, several MVPs were publicly recognized for their impactful contributions: Lesley Crook led a project exploring HR onboarding experiences using Viva, Mesh, AI, and Copilot, while Jeremy Sinclair described his collaboration with Microsoft employees as “exhilarating,” highlighting the value of cross-functional teamwork. These stories reflect Microsoft’s commitment to celebrating MVP impact and fostering inclusive, community-driven innovation. How You Can Join the Story Even if you’re not an MVP, you can still be part of the movement: Learn more about the MVP Program and its role in the Microsoft ecosystem. Watch the MVP Program video for inspiration. Curious about becoming an MVP? Check out the FAQs to see how to apply. Innovation Starts Here The Microsoft Global Hackathon isn’t just an event - it’s proof that grassroots innovation can change the way we work, live, and connect. Whether you’re joining in this year or simply cheering from the sidelines, we invite you to follow along, share your thoughts, and celebrate the people who make it possible. What’s your MVP story? Drop it in the comments or tag us on social media. Let’s inspire the next wave of innovators and community leaders!Project Methane Leaks - Unit8 Climate | Climate Hackathon
Climate Hackathon, took place online 22-26 March 2021. The goal was to raise awareness about the Climate issues and at the same time create a platform for our developer audience to develop innovative solutions with our Azure Services. We interviewed the team behind the winner of the Carbon track, Methane Leaks - Unit8 Climate to get to know them, their motives to join the hackathon, as well as their learnings during the hackathon and how they want to apply these learnings in their upcoming projects.
Hack Together! AI + Power Platform = ❓❓❓
From September 14th – 28th, Hack Together: The Power Platform AI Global Hack will be in full swing! This is your chance to get skills in AI and low-code/no-code tech that will bring your ideas to life in no time! Get signed up, it's free! This event isn’t just for AI and Power Platform pros, this is a chance for people to come and get a handle on the latest AI and low-code/no-code tech with the support of our Microsoft community! If this is your first time, come on in!Unleash Your Entrepreneurial Spirit at Hack Together: Power Platform AI Global Hack!
Are you a student with big dreams of creating the next AI-powered startup? An aspiring entrepreneur developer who envisions building groundbreaking solutions? Or perhaps you're a seasoned startup entrepreneur looking to level up your AI game? No matter where you are on your entrepreneurial journey, we've got an exciting opportunity for you! Power Platform AI HackTogether 2023 - Events | Microsoft LearnGet Ready for the Powerful Devs Conference + Hack Together 2025
We’re excited to invite students and educators to participate in this year’s Powerful Devs Conference + Hack Together, starting on February 12, 2025. This event is your chance to learn, innovate, and create impactful solutions. The conference will be followed by a two-week Hack Together, ending on February 28, 2025. Whether you're a student eager to expand your skills or an educator looking to inspire your students, this event is for you to harness the full capabilities of the Power Platform. About the Powerful Devs Conference On February 12, 2025, the one-day online Powerful Devs Conference will showcase how the Power Platform can empower you to build smarter, faster, and more efficient applications. Designed for creators of all experience levels, this event will teach you how to use cutting-edge tools like Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, AI Builder, and Copilot Studio. Highlights for students and educators: Students: Discover how AI and app development can shape your future career. Connect with professionals and gain insights into building solutions that solve real-world problems. Educators: Learn how to incorporate these technologies into your curriculum to prepare your students for the workforce of tomorrow. Our expert hosts, Scott Durow and Kendra Springer, will guide you through an inspiring day, including a keynote by Leon Welicki, who will discuss how professional developers and future innovators (like you!) can harness the Power Platform to build secure, enterprise-level applications. Whether you're just starting or have some experience, the sessions will provide actionable insights, from learning how to use generative AI in Copilot Studio to building cross-platform apps with Dataverse and .NET MAUI and even scaling solutions for millions of users. Our agenda is designed to inspire and equip developers at every level. The full list of sessions can be viewed here. About the Powerful Devs Hack Together From February 13-28, 2025, the Powerful Devs Hack Together is a 2-week global online hackathon where students and educators can apply their creativity and knowledge to build innovative solutions using the Power Platform. Be sure to check out the hackathon details at https://aka.ms/PowerfulDevs/Hack and star the repo! Hack Together is open to anyone who wants to explore the endless possibilities of using the Power Platform for enterprise app development. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner, advanced maker, admin or a professional developer – all are welcome! Check out solutions submitted from the last Hack Together and get inspired to build something that’s innovative with AI What's in it for me? Students: Gain hands-on experience with tools that are highly sought after by employers, work collaboratively in teams, and make your mark in the tech community. Educators: Lead your students in an engaging, practical learning experience and inspire them to think outside the box while solving real-world problems. During the hackathon, we’ll host additional sessions on topics like AI, automation, security, and extensibility to fuel your creativity. You can register here for both the Conference and Hack Together sessions! In order to participate in the hackathon, you must register for a session. Your registration will be for both the selected session and the hackathon. Prizes and categories There are exciting prizes for the top 8 projects from the Hack Together, with each winning team receiving a cash prize of $550! A panel of expert judges, including Microsoft engineers, product managers, and developer advocates, will evaluate submissions based on innovation, impact, technical usability, and how well they align with the following hackathon categories: Best Overall Best in Power Best in Integrations Best in Automation Best in Applications Best in Agents Best in Pages Best in AI Learn more about the rules and regulations in this video: To participate in Hack Together, you must register for the event at https://aka.ms/powerfuldevs/register. Registering for any of the sessions counts as a registration for the hackathon. You will also need to have your own access to a Microsoft 365 account with a Power Platform license. Once you have registered and have access to the Power Platform, you can start building your solution! We’ve created a Learn Collection to help you get started: https://aka.ms/PowerfulDevs/Learn. Be sure to join the Hack Together community hereby starring the repo! This discussions board will be your hub for all updates and information related to the hackathon, including Office Hours, Session Q&A, Project Submission Guidelines, Winner Announcements, and more. You’ll also find helpful resources to get started and learn about the Power Platform. Plus, this is where you’ll submit your final solution. Introduce yourself and join the conversation at https://aka.ms/PowerfulDevs/Hack/Discussions to ask questions, share ideas, and get feedback from Microsoft experts and other participants. You can look for teammates for the Hack Together as well! Your team can submit your solution through GitHub Issues any time before February 28, 2025, at 11:59 PM PST. Your submission should include: A short video demo showcasing your solution. A brief description of the problem statement and your solution overview. Any other relevant details Projects can be submitted using the Project Submission Form, and detailed guidelines are available in the GitHub Repo at aka.ms/PowerfulDevs/Hack. So, what are you waiting for? Students, take the first step toward building your skills and showcasing your talent. Educators, get involved as well and inspire your students to innovate and learn through hands-on experience. Register now and start hacking—we can’t wait to see the amazing solutions you create! 😊 For more information about the event, visit our site: aka.ms/powerfuldevs.Creating a Power Platform solution for insulin calculations
In this Low Code Revolution episode April Dunnam talks with Moustapha Isaac Diaby, CEO and founder of Schoolink. Moustapha and a few of his university friends from Edinburgh, Scotland participated in their first hackathon. Moustapha will share his experience and walk through the Microsoft Power Platform solution they created - an insulin calculator from just taking a picture of a recipe.
