Coding with company: introducing the Cathay Hackathon 2024

An intense, fast-paced weekend of collaboration, coding and communication – that’s just a fraction of what the Cathay Hackathon 2024 participants can look forward to later this year. 

To understand more about how this annual competition bridges rising talent in the digital industry with an opportunity to understand and make an impact in the aviation industry, we spoke with a few of our people.  

“The hackathon is a large-scale event held every year. Through this event we bring in external technology, ideas, and suggestions into Cathay,” says Aldric Chau, General Manager Digital at Cathay Pacific. 

Beyond the competitive nature of the event, it provides those looking to develop a career in technology with a chance to gain valuable experience with up-and-coming technologies. Participants will also learn about the pain points of the aviation industry, meet experts and peers in the field, and explore the possibility of working in aviation in the future. 

“Cathay places great emphasis on nurturing the next generation of IT and digital talents in Hong Kong. The hackathon is a wonderful opportunity for them to learn about new technologies,” Chau says, adding, “It’s also an opportunity for young talents to understand the airline and the challenges we face at Cathay. At the same time, it encourages them to consider developing their careers at Cathay.”

Chau recognises the value of casting a wide net: “[We strive] to become a digital leader. It’s one of the reasons we host the hackathon. When we strive for innovation, we can’t just depend on our own team. Through [the Cathay] Hackathon, we get to hear different voices and ideas. That’s how we innovate together.”

NAAR, the champions of Cathay Hackathon 2023, took home more than just the title of the team with the best-presented idea – the experience itself was just as rewarding. “The events that were planned for us, the opportunities to participate in different workshops and even the fun games which... helped us bond, were really beneficial to the overall progress [of our team].”

The coach of the winning team, Kev To (Assistant Manager, Automation), attributes NAAR’s victory to a combination of curiosity and communication. “They’re very interested in what’s going on in Cathay and the aviation industry,” he says. “During the hackathon…we share with them real pain points that we’re experiencing. They’re exposed to real-world challenges and provide great creative responses. They pulled [together] a lot of different technologies and experiences, and [combined] them all into this solution for the [Cargo] team.”

For his role as the coach, he focused on providing guidance where it was needed, influenced by his own experiences with the airline.

“I started as a Digital & IT Graduate Trainee at Cathay. I wanted to share my passion and what I’ve learned about this industry to help my team succeed and win. University students may be creative and have good presentation skills, but they don’t have any industry experience, so I guided them on what the judges are looking for.” 

The team came armed with great ideas when To came on board as a coach. This was in large part due to a series of pre-engagement activities that took place before the hackathon such as visiting tech companies like Google and Microsoft, and meeting with industry experts and partners. However, there was still some refining to do. 

“I advised them to lock down the problem statement,” he says. “You shouldn’t be starting from the technology or the solution, you should be starting with the pain points.” To explains that being customer-centric and thinking in this way aligns with Cathay’s values.

Ultimately, To believes this approach helped his team claim victory – and served as a two-way learning experience. “One thing I learned from the team: they have a good [understanding] of how they can succeed. They’re clear about thinking from the customer’s perspective, and they’re not shy about reaching out to our extensive network of coaches and subject matter experts for advice and feedback. That’s why they’re able to succeed.”

For David Ho, a previous hackathon winner and current Digital & IT Graduate Trainee with Cathay, it was the fast-paced and collaborative nature of the competition that enticed him. “At the same time,” he continues, “I got the sense that it was not just a competition – I could also gain a better understanding of the tech and aviation industry, in addition to visiting tech companies like Google.”

Though he didn’t have much prior experience with the aviation industry, the event helped increase his exposure to current issues in the field. Better still, it gave him and others a chance to develop their hard skills. “Besides learning more about aviation, we’re also able to practice and apply the hard skills we learned like coding, technology-specific knowledge and how to make a prototype that could benefit a company.”

Soft skills are also front and centre of the hackathon; Ho describes how participants practiced collaboration and learned how to split work efficiently among each team’s specialists, which may consist of a designer, a developer or a product master – someone with a good understanding of the problem. 

As a hackathon winner, Ho's application to the Cathay’s digital graduate trainee programme was fast-tracked. The top three winning teams were also awarded Business class tickets with Cathay Pacific.

Cathay Hackathon 2024

This year’s hackathon will take place from October to November. Ready for your next challenge? Find out more about the event here . 

Applications close on 20 September.