Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) Software Club, Digital Game Design Club and Google Developer Student Clubs (DSC) combined a Game Jam and a Web Hackathon to organise the “HKU Game & Web Innovation Marathon 2024”, which took place over the weekend with intense participation. The non-stop 48-hour marathon brought together 100 software developers. The event began on Friday at 11:00 with a panel held exclusively for the competitors, continued as a non-stop 48-hour marathon with the participation of 20 teams, and ended on Sunday at 17.00 with the announcement of the results.
TWO DIFFERENT TOPICS, TWO DIFFERENT FIELDS COMBINED IN ONE MARATHON
The event combined two different fields: the game theme was “Puzzle”, while the web theme was set as “Educational Technologies”. At the start of the event, expert panellists Computer Engineer Mehmet Kadir Kalkan, Trunçgil Teknoloji Founder and Web Development Specialist Ümit Tunç, Rotatelab Founder and CEO Abdurrahman Koçak, Head of the Department of Digital Game Design at the Faculty of Communication Asst. Prof. Dr. Batu Duru, OSB Teknokent Director Ekrem Tekin and Varil Çorba Restaurants Board Member and Industrial Engineer Ahmet Şahin shared important knowledge about their areas of expertise, inspiring participants to develop their technical skills and work on innovative projects.
At the end of the 48-hour marathon, on the Game Jam side, where games suited to the “Puzzle” theme were developed, the “Kamplumb Agalar” team came first with its game in which a character with Alzheimer’s learns about his personality by solving different puzzles; the “Rivendell” team came second with its game in which people trying to escape from a spaceship advance through levels and floors by solving puzzles; and the “Paradox” team came third with its game about the character Öktem, who travels through various worlds via portals and discovers new ones. On the Web Hackathon side, where projects on the “Educational Technologies” theme took part, the “Code Commanders” team came first, aiming to offer users personal libraries for learning and to support them with practical tools such as simulations, experiments and code learning; the “Code200” team came second, aiming to build a bridge between university clubs and students and prospective students; and the “Error404” team came third, offering users Hackathons, Game Jams and similar competitions and providing educational content about these competitions.
WE ARE DETERMINED TO LEAD IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
In his speech at the event’s award ceremony, HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli underlined that such marathons will also contribute to the software development ecosystem in Türkiye, saying: “As HKU, we are determined to lead in the fields of software development, technology and innovation. With events like these, we aim to support young software developers and designers and to help them develop their talents. We believe that the ideas, projects, games and software that emerge from here will shape the future of the relevant sectors and make a positive contribution to society. This marathon is not only an arena for competition but also a unique opportunity for knowledge sharing, collaboration and meeting the industry. The effort each of you has shown is a great inspiration for us. We thank our students, our teachers, OSB Teknokent, our student clubs, our mentors, our jury members, our stakeholders, our sponsors and all participants for their support.”
