Back in mid-October 2023, just as the weather outside was growing colder, our brains and keyboards were heating up. Our Tech & Product department organised our company’s first AI Hackathon. The goal of this shindig? To develop and validate our own ideas connected to Kaufland e-commerce and the Kaufland marketplaces. All colleagues, tech-based or otherwise, were able to participate and showcase their proof of concept. The topic could be anything from improving our products (customer or seller-facing solutions) to enhancing internal processes.
We talked to Maureen, our Tech & Product Executive Office Manager, who co-organised the event together with our Event team:
We decided on the motto “All ideas are welcome” because we did not want to limit creative thinking in any way.
Before the event officially started, the teams submitted their ideas in a template with a brief explanation of what they want to do and why they want to do it (which problem should be solved or which opportunity taken advantage of).
Out of office: The AI Hackathon at the Wohngemeinschaft in Cologne
For three days, the 12 teams had the chance to connect, hack and pitch their ideas. With sufficient Tech power behind them, each team could bring their ideas to a new level. To make sure that this all happened in a neutral environment, the Hackathon took place at the Wohngemeinschaft in Cologne. Various conference rooms, chillout areas and a bar gave the participants enough space to think, work together and present their results in front of the others.
A speech by our CTO, Fabi, kick-started the Hackathon. After a morning full of hacking and a yummy lunch, Xavier Amatriain, the VP Engineering – AI Product Strategy from LinkedIn, provided a keynote speech for all participants, but also for all interested KECse at home (the speech was also accessible via Teams). A dinner and get-together ended the first day.
On day two, the teams were able to work intensively without any disturbances except for lunch and dinner.
Day three marked the final part of the Hackathon. In the pitches, which started at 2pm, the teams presented their ideas and the jury (consisting of our CEO Gerald, CTO Fabi and COO Claudia) evaluated the ideas based on their business impact, originality and the expected return on investment.
In the evening, the 4 winning teams were announced at another event in front of the whole company. They get to go to Barcelona for one week to further develop their idea and actively bring it to life. We’re really excited to hear about their innovations and how they will improve our daily working life and the online marketplaces of Kaufland.
Why AI and why do we need a Hackathon?
We believe that the power of AI technology will leverage our products and our daily working lives. With the Hackathon, we want to foster creativity, collaboration and problem solving among our teammates. For 3 full days, the teams could solely focus on new topics: Aside from their daily workflow, the Hackathon can spark creativity within the teams and help them to think outside the box.
Another big plus for Maureen:
We had some teams where people came together from different departments that don’t usually work together on a day-to-day basis. It was super cool to see such a great exchange of knowledge and skills happening here with the result of several cross-functional ideas with great potential!