The Hackathon
Sponsored by the U.S. Mission Italy, the 4-Day Innovation & Product Design Hackathon is facilitated by Wily International, a team of experts based in the U.S., in partnership with Isola. The event will be held at Isola’s beautiful event space in Catania. The event is free. Advance registration is required and seating is limited to ensure a high quality experience.
The 4-day Hackathon provides a framework for purposeful innovation and prototyping that can be applied to any problem or process. Real world experience and techniques are layered into the sessions to provide key insights, best practices, and pitfalls to avoid during the design process.
The Experience
Our 4-Day Innovation and Product Design Hackathon at a glance:
A series of hands-on workshops and labs facilitated by our dedicated team of experts.
Small group activities and team-based learning to ensure a high-touch, high-value experience.
Designed around a real-world challenge that is relevant to the local context.
Participants “learn by doing” using a proven innovation process.
Map challenges, generate ideas and develop robust solutions.
Build realistic, physical and digital prototypes that leverage tools and tech such as IoT, 3D printing, Figma software, etc.
Test and refine solutions based on user feedback.
Develop and deliver compelling pitches.
Network with professionals and peers.
Attendance for all 4 days is required.
Boost Your Skills
The Hackathon is great for boosting your skills and building your résumé whether you are a student, entrepreneur or professional.
Gain confidence and practical skills that can be immediately applied to any challenge:
Map out a challenge and choose the most important place to start
Identify crucial business and product questions
Sketch a solution with confidence, even if you're not a designer
Make smart decisions without lengthy discussion
Choose the right prototyping method for your product or service
Test hypotheses before you invest months of work and millions of dollars
Improve productivity, solve big challenges, and foster innovation
“The Hackathon was a way for me to learn a whole new skill set that I will definitely be applying in the future. The instructors were so honest and giving with their advice and expertise that I have no doubt the whole experience will prove to be invaluable.”
—Ian Broadfoot, University of Exeter
Meet Our Instructors
Eric Gorman is the founder of U.S.-based Wily LLC and has designed and facilitated hundreds of innovation workshops for Fortune 500 companies, universities, and governments. Eric also works with medical professionals, programmers, engineers, product developers and CEOs to prototype and test solutions for start-ups. Internationally, Eric has led innovation workshops in Ghana and Thailand (for USAID), the Dominican Republic and Namibia (for the U.S. State Department), and the UK (for business leaders and university professors, staff and students). He has also taught design thinking classes at Davidson College and Wake Forest University.
Julia Jackson, Strategist and Facilitator at Wily, creates world class experiences for clients. With over 20 years of experience, Julia is adept at designing and facilitating innovation workshops, strategy, and project management. Julia balances big ideas with a pragmatic ability to execute these creative visions. She’s passionate about working with individuals and teams to unleash their potential and has led training for students and business leaders in the US, the UK, and the Dominican Republic. Julia’s facilitation and training strategies are featured in the recently published The Remote Design Sprint Guide — a primer written by Design Sprint creator, Jake Knapp.
Jeremy Losaw is a YLAI (Young Leaders of America) alumni and currently the Director of Engineering at Enventys Partners which is a product development and launch agency. He has delivered innovation and IoT training in the US and the Dominican Republic and has developed a six-week Internet of Things training class for coding school, Tech Talent South. He has more than ten issued patents and many products that have been launched via crowdfunding and brought to mass production. In addition, Jeremy is a former NASCAR auto racing engineer and experienced prototyper, and has contributed more than 100 articles to Inventors Digest magazine.
