World Coding Club Japan Inter-School Hackathon 2021
Join Tokyo’s Largest Inter-School Hackathon For International School Students!
Win Cool Prizes at the American School In Japan!
About The Event
The Tokyo Inter-School Hackathon was a large coding event in March of 2021 for elementary, middle, and high school students in Tokyo to work together, learn about coding, and challenge themselves to create a working idea for the sake of bettering society.
Main Organizer
Co-Organizer
Communications
SPONSORS
Participating Schools Include
Hackathon Schedule
Monday, March 8 - Friday, March 12
4:00 – 7:00 PM – Ideation & Building
Saturday, March 13
1:00 PM – Submission Deadline
Sunday, March 14
10:00 AM – Announcement of Winners
Themes
- Healthcare
- Travel & Tourism
- Remote Education
- Remote Working and New Working Environments
- Mental Health
- Aging Population
- Retail & Logistics
- Sustainability & Environment
Prizes
– High School Category –
1-Night Stay at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel
+
1 month TCC Mentorship
3 month CIC Membership
+
1 month TCC Mentorship
3000 yen Quo Card
+
1 month TCC Mentorship
– Middle School Category –
5000 yen Quo Card
+
1 month TCC Mentorship
3000 yen Quo Card
+
1 month TCC Mentorship
1000 yen Quo Card
+
1 month TCC Mentorship
Free Coding Pre-Sessions (Optional)
In partnership with Tokyo Coding Club, we will be holding free coding lessons on Zoom teaching Python prior to the Hackathon. Python is one of the easiest and most popular programming languages to learn, which is why we recommend it for everyone. Participants are allowed to use other programming languages they are more comfortable with, but please be aware that Hackathon mentors may not be able to offer as much support.
Elementary School Events
While the coding-intensive Hackathon is oriented for middle and high school students, we are holding special Saturday morning events for elementary school students to get interested in coding through Minecraft.
Elementary Special
Minecraft Club Hangout/Competition by Tokyo Coding Club
10:00 – 11:30 AM
(check-in at 9:30 AM)
February 27, 2021
March 6, 2021
Middle & High School Pre-sessions
Pre-sessions will open 30 min in advanced for check-in.
All participants will be required to keep their camera on during the pre-session for security purposes.
There will also be an optional Spatial Chat open after each session for participants to socialize.
Beginner Classes
For those who have zero programming knowledge
9:00 – 10:00 AM
(check-in at 8:30 AM)
February 13: Python 1
February 20: Python 1
February 27: Python 2
March 6: Python 2
Python 1: variables (strings, integers, booleans), print statements, if-else statements, basic functions
Python 2: Loops, lists, advanced functions, and coding challenges
Intermediate Classes
For going beyond just Python to create complex programs
10:00 – 11:30 AM
(check-in at 9:30 AM)
February 13:
Packages for Data Science (Anaconda, matlibplot)
February 20:
Python + Django + HTML (part 1)
February 27:
Python + Django + HTML + MySQL (part 2)
March 6:
Python for AI and Image-Recognition
Need extra help?
Due to the high volume of participants, it may be difficult for all students to be given enough attention during the pre-sessions. If you require more help in preparing, our sponsor Tokyo Coding Club will be running a special on classes from Feb 13 – March 12 for 15,000 yen/group per 1-hour lesson. For more info, contact [email protected] or visit the Tokyo Coding Club website for a free trial.
Join Our Discord
The event will use Discord for official Hackathon communications. Discord servers are separated by elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Access to the Hackathon Discords can be found on school Hackathon flyers, and will be emailed following successful registration.
About Discord: Discord is a popular, free group messaging and voice call app. You can make an account for free using an email address. If you do not want to create an account, you can simply enter a username to chat (you will need to join the World Coding Club server every time using this page). For more information regarding the safety of Discord, please refer to our FAQs.
FAQ
Here are some of our more frequently asked questions.
If you have a question, please feel free to ask us in the dedicated Discord server (if registered) or contact us (if not already registered).
The Tokyo Inter-School Hackathon is a 100% virtual event, from March 8 – March 12, from 4 – 7 PM every day.
During this time, all instructions, team meetings and communications will take place online via Discord. You will work with your team to create an idea and build it with code. Mentors will be active on Discord if you have any questions.
Anyone is welcome to join from participating schools.
Participation is open to teams of 3-5 people as well as to individuals.
We hope to have groups of 3-5 people in order to encourage collaboration and teamwork.
If you are in a group of 2, we may assign additional members to your group.
If you are not in a group and want to be, we will randomly assign you to a group prior to the start of the Hackathon.
If you do not want to be randomly assigned to a group, you are allowed to participate as an individual. Please note that individual projects will be judged on the same criteria as group projects.
Yes, you are allowed to join a group at another school. Prior to the start of the Hackathon we may assign you to a group if you are still without a group.
Please note that if your group mixes students from different category levels, your group will be judged based on the higher category. For example, if your group has both middle and high schoolers, your project will be judged in the High School category.
All you need is a laptop or computer and a stable internet connection.
The Hackathon will be using Python — but don’t worry if you don’t know how to code!
We will hold free lessons prior to the Hackathon on Feb 13, Feb 20, Feb 27, March 6 (Saturdays), for 9-10 AM for all beginners, or 10-11:30 for intermediate coders.
All teams will also have access to mentors consisting of experienced corporate engineers and Tokyo Coding Club instructors via the Discord.
It is strongly recommended to use Python.
With that said, you are allowed to use other languages, but please understand that you may receive less support from the mentors.
Students will be working from home, but are highly encouraged to complete the project on their own with the help from Hackathon-provided mentors. Students should do the best they can with their own efforts in order to challenge themselves to learn and expand their skills and to keep the competition fair for other students.
Yes, we love volunteers! Please send an email to [email protected] for more information.
Discord is a free group-chat application. It is easy to use via web browser, desktop application, or mobile app.
Like all group-chat applications, there is a potential safety risk of encountering inappropriate links, languages, and people, particularly when joining public channels. However, as long as you only accept friend requests from people you know, join group chats that you know are safe, and/or take cautions to not share your personal information, Discord can be used safely. All chats in the Hackathon Discord server will also be monitored by Tokyo Coding Club staff.