Between 4–6 April 2025, I had the opportunity to represent the Wikimedia technical community as a Mentor at HackByte 3.0, the annual flagship hackathon hosted at IIITDM Jabalpur. The event brought together hundreds of students for 36 hours of building, learning, experimenting, and exploring new ideas — and this year, Wikimedia played a meaningful role.
About HackByte
HackByte is IIIT Jabalpur’s signature hackathon and an official MLH Member Event — a vibrant space where developers, designers, and innovators gather to create impactful solutions. The 2025 edition, organized by The Programming Club (BitByte TPC), continued its tradition of fostering creativity, curiosity, and collaboration.
The energy on the ground was electric. Teams worked through the night, ideating, prototyping, and pushing past challenges with the kind of enthusiasm that makes hackathons truly special.
How Wikimedia Got Involved, and how I Became a Mentor
Wikimedia’s presence at HackByte 3.0 began when the organizing committee reached out to the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group (IMWDUG) for mentorship support. Thanks to my ongoing technical work in the Wikimedia ecosystem — from contributing patches to mentoring new developers — I was nominated by Ankit Kumar Verma (Project Coordinator, WikiClub IIITH), KCVelaga (WMF), and Praveen Das (WMF) to take on the mentorship role for the Wikimedia Track.
It was a privilege to step into this space, introduce participants to the Wikimedia technical world, and help them build projects that reimagine how knowledge contributors can be onboarded and supported.
The Hackathon Challenge: Gamifying the Wikipedia Learning Experience
The assigned problem statement focused on designing a game-based onboarding experience for new Wikipedia editors — similar in spirit to The Wikipedia Adventure.
Teams were encouraged to explore:
- Breaking down core Wikipedia concepts into intuitive, bite-sized steps
- Designing interactive quizzes, challenges, and learning flows
- Making the entire experience fun, engaging, and beginner-friendly
To help participants understand editorial guidelines, I prepared a simplified explainer on the Wikipedia:5 Pillars and other key policies, which many teams used as a foundation for their game mechanics.
Reference: Documentation I prepared
Mentoring at HackByte 3.0
Throughout the 36-hour marathon, my role involved guiding teams on both technical and conceptual aspects:
- Helping them understand Wikipedia’s values and editorial norms
- Supporting architectural decisions and technology choices
- Refining the scope of their projects so they could build functional prototypes within the limited time
- Reviewing their demos and offering feedback before the final submission
Despite the intensity, the discussions were full of curiosity and creativity. Many participants were encountering Wikimedia tech for the first time, yet they embraced the challenge with impressive enthusiasm.
Top Submissions in the Wikimedia Track
Multiple teams produced impressive prototypes. Here are the top five:
Full Performance Data Sheet of the top performers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bIFaCxoDgxEOCkbL79itv2tgbaTGdQI9R2YFvWc8tyg/edit?usp=sharing
Judging + Announcing the Results
Once submissions closed, I joined the judging panel to evaluate the projects. The variety of approaches — from narrative-based journeys to quiz-driven modules and animated storylines — reflected how powerful creative freedom can be.
Announcing the final winners on stage was a proud moment. The reaction from the crowd and the enthusiasm of the teams made the long hours worthwhile.
A Weekend of Learning, Collaboration, and Community Impact
Looking back, HackByte 3.0 was more than just a hackathon. It was a space where:
- Students discovered Wikimedia beyond just “Wikipedia”
- New developers wrote their first lines of code for open knowledge
- Teams explored how technology and storytelling can make learning joyful
- Conversations sparked ideas for future collaborations with educational institutions
Several participants even shared their experiences on social media, talking about how they “never knew Wikipedia had such a big tech ecosystem behind it” — a reminder of why outreach matters.
The event was a powerful example of how technical communities grow: one conversation, one idea, and one hackathon at a time.
A Note of Thanks
My heartfelt thanks to:
- Indic MediaWiki Developer User Group (IMWDUG)
- Ankit Kumar Verma
- KCVelaga (WMF)
- Praveen Das (WMF)
…for their trust, coordination, and encouragement.
And a big appreciation to the entire HackByte Organizing Committee for creating such a thoughtful and well-executed event.
Wikimedia’s presence at HackByte 3.0 was meaningful — and I’m glad I could play a small part in bringing open-knowledge values to a new generation of contributors.
For more about the event, visit the Official site.
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