How An Internal Hackathon Drives Innovation at WellDev
- Uwaiprue Marma
- Oct 22
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 19
At WellDev, turning ideas into scalable solutions isn’t just what we deliver to clients, it’s how we work every day. To bring this mindset to life, we hosted a full-day hackathon where developers tackled coding challenges and problem-solving tasks. The day encouraged creativity, gave developers a chance to experiment with new technologies, and showcased their skills. See how ideas turned into impact and who emerged as the hackathon champions.
Table of Contents
Hackathons 101: More Than Just Coding Marathons
What Is a Hackathon?
A hackathon brings together problem-solvers to create technological solutions in a collaborative, time-bound setting. Teams work to design, code, and present initiatives such as apps, software tools, or prototypes. Hackathons encourage creativity, teamwork, and forward-thinking, making them a popular way to generate new ideas and rapid solutions in the tech industry.
How WellDev Brings Hackathons to Life
At WellDev, the hackathon went beyond just coding. It served as a platform for creativity and cross-functional teamwork. What made this event special was its hybrid format, featuring two challenges: a Capture the Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition and a project-based task to build apps or web apps that address real-world problems. Each team had three members, and a total of 28 teams joined the competition.
Cracking Codes and Building Skills: The Capture the Flag (CTF) Challenge
What Is CTF, Really?
CTF (Capture the Flag) is a cybersecurity competition where participants solve challenges to uncover hidden “flags” such as secret codes, tokens, or pieces of data. It tests skills like reverse engineering, problem-solving, and network security.
Inside WellDev’s CTF Competition
Participants faced a wide range of challenges across multiple cybersecurity domains. Classic web vulnerabilities like Stored XSS attacks, SQL injection, and cross-tenant security bypasses required deep application security knowledge. There were also system-level challenges like local file inclusion and path traversal leading to permission bypass, testing developers’ ability to exploit misconfigurations and insecure file handling. Forensic enthusiasts tackled tasks like analyzing a network dump, while reverse engineers and developers engaged in code inspection exercises to uncover hidden flaws. Beyond these, many other creative and advanced problems were introduced, making the event a comprehensive testbed for real-world security scenarios.
From Wild Ideas to Real Projects
Many teams focused on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, producing initiatives that demonstrate how AI can support human work rather than replace it. One of the most impressive initiatives came from the team that built the “AI Guide to Internal Docs.” The core idea was to show how a relatively small model like Llama 3.2:3B could be leveraged for internal use cases in a short timeframe. Instead of fine-tuning the model, the team implemented a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline, enhanced with a re-ranking layer using the ms-marco-MiniLM-L-12-v2 model.
This allowed them to fetch the most relevant internal documents and deliver precise, context-aware responses through a clean and user-friendly interface. This project highlighted technical skill, creative problem-solving, and practical innovation. It showed how WellDev developers use cutting-edge AI and machine learning to build solutions with real business impact.
Evaluating Projects with Creativity
The hackathon was structured for fair and transparent evaluation. The judging panel included WellDev’s COO, Deputy COO, CTO, Tech Lead Engineers, and Senior Software Engineers, combining leadership and technical expertise to review projects from both business and engineering perspectives. The evaluation took place in two rounds. The first focused on the Capture the Flag (CTF) challenge, testing problem-solving and security knowledge under pressure. The second round centered on project presentations, where teams demonstrated their apps or web apps designed to solve real-world problems. Each of them had three minutes to present, explain the problem they tackled, and highlight the potential business value. Judges asked detailed questions about design, coding decisions, scalability, and impact. Employees also voted for their favorite initiatives, ensuring results reflected both technical excellence and company-wide appreciation. This approach reinforced WellDev’s emphasis on a problem-solving mindset, cross-functional effort, and quality in every initiative.
Team Spirit in Action: Culture Beyond Coding
The competition was more than just coding. It highlighted WellDev’s collaborative culture. Each team played a vital role in the event’s success, with lunch and snack breaks, deliciously prepared by our amazing kitchen team, keeping energy high and enthusiasm driving the day forward. Participants noted that the two-round format, which included the project implementation with a live demonstration and the Capture The Flag (CTF) coding challenge, fostered true partnership and ensured every member actively contributed, showing why top talent loves working at WellDev.
The Moment of Triumph
After a full day of coding, group innovation, and creative presentations, the team Renegades, who built the “AI Guide to Internal Docs”, took the top prize for their outstanding project. They were recognized for both technical achievement and innovative thinking. Judges, HR, and organizers were also acknowledged for making the event run smoothly. The recognition highlighted that this was a company-wide effort, emphasizing teamwork, learning, and forward-thinking solutions.
Conclusion: Pioneering Innovation at WellDev
WellDev’s internal hackathon proved that innovation is part of our everyday culture, not just a one-time event. It highlighted the company’s commitment to forward-thinking solutions, teamwork, and creative problem-solving. By bringing together diverse teams, the event strengthened collaboration across departments and resulted in projects that applied advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to real-world challenges.
This event is just the beginning. By fostering tech-driven initiatives and hands-on collaboration, WellDev empowers employees to explore new ideas and push boundaries. From hackathons to future innovation programs, this spirit of creativity and problem-solving fuels everything we do. This strengthens our expertise in delivering impactful solutions for clients.
At WellDev, we translate this same drive into helping businesses turn ideas into scalable solutions. Our internal hackathon shows this in action by giving our teams space to experiment, collaborate, and innovate. Whether it’s custom software development, AI and machine learning, or providing skilled developers to extend your team, we combine creativity, technical excellence, and practical problem-solving to make every project a success. Get in touch with us today and let's explore together how WellDev can support your next software development project.
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