It was a win for gender equality at this year’s Get Good Done 48-hour ideas hackathon. The winner of the weekend, Gender Equalitick, designed a certification system for organisations that are working towards gender equal employment policies and practices.

But overwhelmingly it was a win for all involved as participants were awed by how much they could achieve in just 48 hours and commented on the huge range of entrepreneurial and transferable skills they had learned during the hackathon. They also realised that it isn’t an easy process and that a lot of work goes into starting a venture.

Get Good Done is the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s programme for participants to come together to help make a difference in the world. University students and staff were invited to be part of a high energy weekend to solve the biggest environmental, social, and cultural issues of our time – based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“The Get Good Done programme unleashed my dormant potential in public speaking, team collaboration and project management, which has helped me gain confidence and developed skills that will last a lifetime,” student Kyla Klintworth said.

“Get Good Done was an amazing challenge that I was fortunate enough to take part in! Working with a group of like-minded people to achieve a common goal was challenging, educational and inspiring. I learnt so much about the ideation process and the mentors’ advice was so valuable. I would love for our idea to take off in the near future. I would definitely recommend participating!” student Denisha Thomas said.

Get Good Done was generously sponsored by Ports of Auckland and the Ministry of Youth Development. Over the weekend, nine teams worked hard to develop and start ventures that will change the world. These venture ideas ranged from mobile applications to measure the amount of food waste University students create, selling bras where the profit will impact and improve the lives of India’s Dalit women, a platform to connect millennials interested in the restoration of their local stream, to a service to assist charities with obtaining donations of physical goods.

“Ports of Auckland is delighted to be sponsoring Get Good Done this year,” Diane Edwards of Ports of Auckland says.

“Sustainability is at the heart of our strategy, with clear goals set for social, environmental and financial sustainability, and a firm commitment to report on our progress through integrated reporting. Within our established industry, sustainability has not been a priority, and this is something we want to change.

“Through Get Good Done we’re keen to hear the fresh perspectives of student thinkers to enhance our understanding of youth priorities and learn from their ideas.”

The Ministry of Youth Development’s vision is to provide youth development opportunities that enable young people to acquire the skills and confidence they need to participate and contribute to the social and economic growth of New Zealand and its future. Partnering with the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as a sponsor of Get Good Done felt a good fit for the Ministry as part of their social investment approach to support quality youth development opportunities for young people.

“Get Good Done was a high energy, action-orientated weekend, where participants worked incredibly hard to bring to life solutions to some of the world’s most gnarly challenges,” Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme Manager, Jenna Ash, said.

“What we were so impressed by was the sheer amount of effort and energy that went in over the weekend, which transpired into well thought-out, validated solutions that really have the potential to impact our world in a positive way.

“Participants got a lot out of the weekend; coming in on Friday with nervous anticipation and un-formed ideas, and leaving on Sunday with confidence in their ability to create positive change, well-articulated ideas, and enthusiasm to take on the world.

Participants were kept nourished and fuelled with healthy food to get through the weekend and they highly appreciated the (huge) boxes of Fairtrade bananas donated by All Good Organics.

This exhilarating opportunity for students and staff would not have been possible without the tireless and enthusiastic support of the mentors, judges and sponsors and the facilitation team. A big thank you to all involved and for your time and energy given to enable this ideas hackathon experience.

Get Good Done will run again in 2019. Check the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship website for further details.

Participants of the Get Good Done 48-hour ideas hackathon.