My husband's company uses student hack-a-thons as recruitment tools.  It
gives them a chance to see what the students can do, talk to them in a
casual manner, offer mentoring ect.  Generally, they sponsor a prize as a
thank you for letting them observe the hack-a-thon.   On the flipside, it's
a great marketing ploy on the organizers end, since a lot of senior
students are starting to look for potential job opportunities, and will
participate purely for that reason.  You could probably contact your
university career center to help you find an interested/local sponsor.

Good luck!  I hope it turns out well.

On Wed, Feb 11, 2015 at 9:37 AM, Craig Boman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear Code4Lib,
>
> Has your library ever hosted a hackathon for university students? If so,
> would you do it again? Anything you wish you had known before hosting the
> hackathon?
>
> From the list archives, it looks like most of the hackathons at libraries
> have been for librarians, rather than university students. Please feel free
> to share any ideas.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Craig Boman
> Applications Support Specialist
> University of Dayton Libraries
> 300 College Park
> Dayton, OH, 4569
>