Fostering interdisciplinary working within global surgery at an undergraduate level: A hackathon based approach

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of a virtual hackathon in fostering interdisciplinary working amongst undergraduate students in global surgery. METHODOLOGY: In this study, we developed a 3 day event consisting of guest lectures, a documentary screening and a hackathon supported by academics and experts in the field, to provide students with the opportunity to learn more about and work in interdisciplinary teams within global surgery. Students had the option to attend just the lectures or both the lectures and hackathon. Quantitative and qualitative results were collected through a pre and post session survey. RESULTS: A total of 21 responses were received for the hackathon and 26 responses for the general event (response rate for event = 26 %, response rate for hackathon = 24.7 %). There was a significant improvement in understanding of interdisciplinary working in global surgery between the pre and post-session survey, with an increase in median from 3 (IQR = 2–3.5, n = 21) to 4 (IQR = 4–5, n = 21) (p < 0.05). Respondents noted that the benefits of a hackathon were that it was very engaging, and brought in diversity of thought and expertise. The drawbacks to the hackathon were that it was fast-paced, required prior knowledge and the virtual platform it was hosted on. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that hackathons are an effective, inclusive and equitable way for students to engage in and learn about interdisciplinary working. It is important that as institutions recognise and develop global surgery courses, these courses reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the field.