Hack Pompey is a FREE social hackathon taking place on Saturday March 28th at the University of Portsmouth.

We welcome people from all backgrounds and disciplines to join us, learn something new, and build something awesome together!

Anything you want!

People tend to make apps, games, services, widgets or even just presentations. We know how daunting coming up with ideas can be though, so we've made things a little easier by setting some challenges relevant to our Portsmouth100 celebration:

Social Good - How can you improve your local area? We have loads of suggestions here from our hack club events that we run most months.

100 - This is intentionally vague! You could do anything related to that number. Be adventurous, we want creativity here.

The next 100 - Build something to shape the next 100 years. What will UI look like? Will we finally have flying cars?

Want some specific ideas?
Go to the ideas page

We believe that people have the most fun and build the best things when they work together.

If you don't yet have a team, don't worry! There will be plenty of opportunity to form a team at the event.

• Community over contest
  Everyone is welcome, we care about Hack Pompey being a safe and fun environment.
• Free food and drink
  Breakfast, lunch, snacks are provided. We gotta keep you fueled throughout!
• Bring your tools and equipment
  Laptops, craft supplies, pen & paper, Raspberry Pis. Whatever you need for your hacking/making!
  
  Note: the use of soldering equipment or any other equipment that can cause damage to furniture or materials at the venue are not permitted. If in doubt, please contact us before the event.

• 09:00—09:45: Doors Open - the event begins!
  Time to check-in and get your lanyard, grab some free breakfast, drink some much needed coffee and mingle with like-minded hackers!
• 
  09:45—10:15: Opening talk
  We'll introduce ourselves, go through some housekeeping, then give you our top tips for making the most out of a hack day.
• 
  10:15—13:00: Hacking begins
  You will either start hacking away if you know what you're going to make, otherwise you can join our group and idea forming session where we’ll help you to come up with a game plan for the day.
• 
  13:00—13:30: Lunch
  Enjoy some tasty food and relax for a bit!
• 
  13:30—16:00: Hacking continues
  After lunch comes the crunch, only 2 and a half hours to get your projects and presentations to a "good enough" state.
• 
  16:00-17:00: Show & Tell, and voting for the People’s Choice Award!
  At the end of the day we’ll have an opportunity for teams to share their creations with the crowd. We’ll have some awards for the teams that do well.
• 
  And, if you fancy it...
  
• 
  17:00–Late: Hack Pompey Mixer
  After the event has finished and the pressure’s off, those that want to can join us down at the Guildhall Village where we can let our hair down and shoot the breeze over a well-earned beverage.

Here’s what past hackers had to say

“I felt immediately welcomed and inspired by the energy and creativity of everybody involved.” – Dan Branch

“Being able to ask someone ‘how do they do that’ and then being able to have a go has been invaluable to my business’s research & development.” – Helen Goss

"Hack Pompey was an incredible experience! As someone relatively new to hackathons, I was nervous at first, but the supportive atmosphere and the challenge itself really inspired us. The feedback from the judges and other participants was invaluable, and it's definitely motivated me to keep building innovative tech.
Can't wait for the next one!" — Ruchika Jha

“When I went the theme was Sustainability. My team’s project was Deathlaser, a browser-based game about destroying blocks which, in my opinion, is about as sustainable as it gets.” – Jack Travis

"Hack Pompey was my first ever hackathon and it was totally worth it! The entire team was very welcoming and the challenges allowed you to build something that truly interests you. I was able to meet great new people and would definitely recommend this to others." — Neerav Durve

Fancy a longer read?
Check out these write-ups from the community

My First Hackathon by Michael Parker (2025) “I want to start by saying Hack Pompey was an absolute blast – thank you so much to the Hack Pompey team and Sea Change for putting this together. I'm writing this two weeks later, so I may have forgotten a few minor details, but this is how I won...”

Hack Pompey: Portal Kombat by Robb Knight (2025) “On Saturday I attended Hack Pompey which was in collaboration with Sea Change this year... The day ran smoothly as usual and I'm looking forward to the next one.”

The Power of Innovation by Andrew Zak (2023) “Very occasionally, Loadbalancer lets me out into the real world. Madness, I know. And the break from the office to participate in this local hackathon was just what the doctor ordered...”

Blahbarian by Zoe Aubert (2023) “We didn't know what we wanted to do and were hoping to find some inspiration when we got there. In the office, we have a Blahaj, and it's been the centre of a few shenanigans. In a moment of inspiration, I came up with the idea of...”

Or take a look at our own write-ups
of recent events

We’ve been running Hack Pompey events for over 10 years!
Some other events we’ve done include Hack the Unexpected, Good Vibes, Sustainability, Hack the Home, Fashion Hack, Wearables, Open Data, and the original Hack Pompey way back in 2014!

If you have any questions at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or on our Discord.