This Thursday 21 October, first and second-year Master's students in Digital Strategy at Digital Campus Montpellier gathered for their annual Hackathon.
The partner company for this edition was Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR), a Top 14 rugby union club with an impressive international track record — most recently winning the Challenge Cup this year, having already claimed the title in 2016.
Following a presentation covering the club's key challenges and issues, along with a Q&A session with the project sponsor, students joined their groups in their assigned rooms and the Hackathon was underway.
This fully Montpellier-based Hackathon ran over two days and brought together 12 working groups and more than 140 Master's students.
Thomas AUGER, MHR's Marketing Director and project sponsor, presented the company and delivered his pitch, framing the following challenge for our students: How can digital and innovative tools be used to enhance the spectator experience and attract new customers?
We were delighted to revive the partnerships established two years ago, which had unfortunately been put on hold due to Covid-19 health restrictions. Columbus Café, a partner of Campus du Millénaire, provided students with breakfast over both days, while Domino's — with 60 pizzas — helped students unwind on Thursday evening. Several fun activities were also on offer that night: a music blind test, a rugby initiation session, a giant hide-and-seek, a treasure hunt, a Nerf battle… plenty to reward the most playful among them with a few prizes.
After 36 hours of work, students presented their projects in oral pitches. Flora's group — team number eleven — was the most convincing, with a thorough approach featuring an interactive digital strategy that spanned from before the match right through to the post-match festivities. The strategy presented was comprehensive, including a detailed retrospective timeline and budget.
Both students and staff look back on the event with great fondness, and once again warmly thank the MHR club and the school's partners for making this moment possible.
A huge congratulations also to the MHR players for their outstanding performance in the match that followed — to which all campus students had been invited!