Intersec Hackathon: behind the scenes interview

Every year, Intersec sets aside two days dedicated to creativity, collaboration, and a healthy dose of competition. Now in its 16th edition, the Intersec Hackathon is an event where people gather to brainstorm and start new projects.

On June 5th and 6th, 2025, colleagues from R&D and professional services gathered to push boundaries and work together on projects that might shape the future of our products and processes. It’s an event that brings out the best in our teams, offering a unique chance to step away from daily routines and focus on innovation.

We sat down with Kamal, a long-time participant and valued member of our team, to take you behind the scenes and explore the spirit and impact of the Intersec Hackathon.

Listen to Kamal's interview:

Read the transcript:

In simple terms, what is the Intersect hackathon?

It's a way to test ideas to develop new projects or proofs of concept. The first edition happened in July 2014, one month after I joined, and now we are at our 16th edition.

Why does Intersect organize a hackathon every year?

It's another way to let great ideas emerge, because anyone can propose something. For participants, it's a good way to have a change of scene and they get their spirits up. And for the company, it's a good way to foster innovation differently and to identify topics that people care about.

How long does the event last and who takes part in it?

The event lasts for 2 days, always on a Thursday and a Friday. It is mostly focused on R&D, but anyone is welcome to contribute in any relevant way.

What kind of topics or problems do you work on?

Many different things: we can test new ideas for our products, improve our internal technologies, introduce new tools for work, or tweak our existing ones.

What tools or technologies are typically used during the events?

Well, anything that can help show a compelling demo. It can be our standard stack and what we use in our products, so that's C, Python, Vue.js, and TypeScript. But it can also be other languages if we want to experiment with external tools. In the past, we've seen projects in Java, Ruby, or even CoffeeScript. Anything can happen.

Have any ideas from a hackathon been used in real products?

Yes, of course. Actually, in lots of areas, not only the products. We made major improvements to our CI/CD and our build system to boost the team’s productivity. We demonstrated that we could interface our product with, for example, Prometheus and Grafana, which are standard solutions on the market and are used for better monitoring. And if we talk about the product itself, for example, the Help Center, which facilitates the onboarding of our products, it was originally an idea that came from hackathons.

What do participants personally get out of the experience?

It gives participants the opportunity to work on something different from their day-to-day tasks. It’s also a chance to develop an idea and try to convince others in the company that it’s something worth pursuing.

Are there any prizes to win?

Of course, the top 3 teams are awarded, and each participant can choose a small gift. The gifts are mostly geek gadgets; they can be mugs, board games, or similar items.

How would you describe the atmosphere during those 2 days?

Well, in three words, it's intense, technical, and joyful.

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