Programmer Community in Europe

In just a few short years, HackerEarth has grown to become one of the world’s largest programming communities. With users stretching from all corners of the globe, programmers have diverse experiences in their local communities.

In order to learn more about the programming culture in Europe, I traveled and met with developers and HackerEarth users from over a dozen different European countries.

So, before we explore the different countries and their programmers, let us understand the difference between Hackathons and Programming Challenges.

Pair up with a friend and travel together to compete in hackathons, or take it as an opportunity to meet new hackers!

Universities across the UK are hosting hackathons. In February, Birmingham City University hosted their first ever hackathon – BCUHack. Some hackathons are organized for students from any university, while others – such as BCU – host internal hackathons directed for just their own students.

In general, hackathons are pretty well-known and popular in universities across the UK. Students compete and travel, sometimes even with the same team, to nearby hackathons.

Denmark

Strut your skills and projects in front of top companies.

Other hackathons are focused less on competition and more on learning and creativity. In April, the first ever Copenhacks was hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhacks brought together many first-time hackathon attendees and students from all backgrounds. Staying true to its openness, even the organizer of Copenhacks is a physicist.

Some hackers at Copenhacks pointed out that in their experience as a students in Denmark, hackathons are important for building skills and new experiences and showing off your talents to companies.

Germany

Organizers should leave no stone unturned when seeking sponsorship for their event!

Hackathons in Germany are gaining in popularity, particularly in Munich and Berlin. In Munich, the fourth Burda Hackday saw participants from all across Germany. The wide-ranging pool of participants was nearly as diverse as their sponsors ranging from media outlets like Playboy to tech companies like Microsoft.

Many new organizers gain inspiration from hackathons they’ve participated in. The founders of Hackaburg, traveled to Stanford’s TreeHacks last year and decided to bring the idea to their home university OTH-Regensburg.

Poland

Not into hackathons? Try out a coding competition or marathon.

Despite being home to many of the world’s top programmers, comparably hackathons are not as popular in Poland. Instead, many devs participate in competitive coding competitions or marathons. Though onsite challenges are less frequent because of the extensive logistics and problem setting that needs to happen, coding marathons allow competitive programmers to solve challenging questions over several days.

Olivia Goldstein

Olivia is a growth hacker by trade and passion. Originally from the US, she's worked and lived in Russia and India. You can usually find her reading and sipping espresso.