Virtual Hackathons - A Novel Approach for University-Industry Collaboration.

Pandemics with their lockdowns have proven that radical collocation, collaborating intensively in a same physical space in the same time is not always possible. However, radical collocation is one of the necessary attributes of hackathons, one type of innovation contests. Yet, digital platforms enable virtual collocation, i.e. collaborating at the same time in a virtual place. This paper addresses the virtual hackathon as an innovation contest method for uses in situations, where radical collocation is unfeasible. Specifically, it focuses on virtual hackathon as a method for university-industry collaboration. Although collocation in general plays an integral part in hackathon process, either radical or possible virtual collocation has not yet been the focus of hackathon research. Therefore, this paper presents a case study of a university-industry collaboration involving five organizations in Finland. As a result, the paper reveals benefits, disadvantages and challenges collocation in virtual format causes to the hackathon as an innovation contest event. Presenting conclusions for both academics and industry, the paper contributes to the literature on hackathons used particularly with virtual collocation in the university-industry collaboration.