The State of the League (2017)

These are the slides from my annual MLH State of the Union address in 2017. As a B Corp, we publish an annual report each year that highlights all the work we've done toward our mission of empowering hackers.

This presentation was delivered at our annual user conference, Hackcon.

Transcript

2. The official student hackathon league.
3. This has been a HUGE year for student hackers. This has been a HUGE year for student hackers.
4. Hey! I’m Swift. I tweet from @SwiftAlphaOne. I email from swift@mlh.io.
5. 2017 Hackathon Season Fall 2016 & Spring 2017
6. Hackathons 238
7. of all MLH powered hackathons happened in 2016 alone. 50%
8. 15 Hackathons Served Simultaneously.
9. Organizers Strong. 2,000
10. Miles Flown by MLH Staff 504,532
11. 9,480 Hours Serving Hackers
12. 10,000 Hardware Devices Checked Out
13. 750+ Mini-Events Organized
14. Cups Stacked by Hackers 188,000
15. 244,653 Hacker-Pride Stickers
16. 24,000 T-Shirts
17. Freebies for Hackers $7,988,708
18. We did all that for one reason…
19. Major League Hacking’s mission is to empower hackers.
20. Our mission is so integral to who we are, we made it official. That’s why we became a Certified B Corporation in 2016.
21. Hackers Served 65,000
22. Why do hackers attend? Besides the swag…
23. The 3 main reasons hackers attend: Learning, Networking, & Fun.
24. I am gaining skills at hackathons that I am not getting in the classroom. “ ” Source: MLH Attendee Survey, June 2017 88% of Students agree…
25. of MLH hackers got a job directly from the skills they learned. 41% Sources: MLH Attendee Survey (2017)
26. of hackers got a job at a company they met at an MLH hackathon. 33% Sources: MLH Attendee Survey (2017)
27. Hackers say MLH hackathons are the best hackathons in the world.
28. Our mission is your mission.
29. This has been a HUGE year for student hackers.
30. Stories of Hackers (& other superheroes!)
31. Meet Swift.
32. I wanted to be a lawyer.
33. This is me at my 1st hackathon in 2010.
34. My story is not unique. This community is changing lives every single day.
35. of hackers register & don’t attend due to a misconception. 32% Sources: MLH Attendee Survey (2017)
36. 50% First Time Hackers
37. 50,000 people wondered “What is a Hackathon?”
38. More content to help you introduce newbie to the community is coming! #1
39. We are scaling our support.
40. We’re rolling out Team Formation Workshops as a formal benefit. #2
41. We’re training MLH representatives to be even better mentors. #3
42. Meet Ike Orizu.
43. Ike found a community that was as passionate about technology as he was.
44. Ike’s classmates weren’t interested in hacking. They lacked confidence in their technical skills.
47. +
48. Andy took Ike & his team under his wing.
49. HackHouston became an official MLH Member Event.
50. GitHub Grants Awarded $90,000
51. Ike drove from Houston to San Francisco.
52. Ike’s perseverance & passion paid off. The hackathon was a HUGE success.
53. Ike was worried that the excitement would fizzle out.
54. Ike knew he needed to get the CS club meeting more regularly. He had to create content himself or find it.
55. Think about hackers, not content. https://localhost.mlh.io/
57. The Texas Southern Computing Society is alive & well today. Next semester, they aim to run a workshop every single week.
58. We’re launching 12 weeks of Localhost curriculum this Fall. #1
59. “Building Your First Website” is coming to MLH Localhost this Fall. #2
60. MLH Localhost is for everyone.
61. We’re launching priority access to MLH Localhost as a League benefit. #3
62. You don’t stop being a leader when the hackathon ends.
63. Meet Sharon Lin.
64. Sharon didn’t really know what hackathons were about.
65. Sharon felt intimidated. Her team didn’t want to demo because they felt it was too buggy.
66. A wild mentor appears! Sharon’s team ended up winning an award for the “Best High School” Hack
67. Sharon was hooked on hackathons.
68. Sharon went to 12 hackathons that year.
69. Sharon’s administrators didn’t understand the value of hackathons. She reached out to MLH for support.
70. Over 150 hackers attended Sharon’s Local Hack Day.
71. Stuyhacks was a big success.
72. “MLH Coaches are hackathon superheroes, without the capes, masks, & lassos.”
73. Today, Sharon is a rising star in the MLH Coaches Program.
74. Sharon found ways to keep supporting her community year-round. She’s off to MIT to help empower hackers there.
75. MLH supports leaders throughout their career.
76. Simultaneous Local Hack Days hosted around the world. 160+
77. Local Hack Day will be back for the 2018 Season & bigger than ever! #1
78. December 2nd, 2017 https://localhackday.mlh.io/
79. The main reason hackers & organizers can’t participate is scheduling.
80. MLH Localhost: Hackday will make LHD available year-round. #2
81. What should you do now? Here are the 3 things I think we should focus on in the coming year.
82. Never forget why we do what we do. We empower hackers. #1
83. #2 We are stronger together than we could ever be as individuals.
84. Being a leader doesn’t end when the hackathon does. Keep going! #3
85. Got Questions? I’ve got answers!
86. Happy Hacking! I tweet from @SwiftAlphaOne. I email from swift@mlh.io.