A hackathon for 2 months on a remote island!

MUMBAI/KUALA LUMPUR: A hackathon for two months on a remote island! Sounds quite adventurous, amazing and exciting — isn't it?

Certainly that's what Walter Heck, the brain behind 'ComeHackWithUs' is aiming for. He is looking to creating a unique experience through his upcoming two-month hacking event on a far unnamed island in Asia Pacific region.

''I had participated in a couchsurfing.org volunteer project in Alaska in 2008, where 25 people working on the couchsurfing website were in a house for three months. The experience was magical and life-altering, so I am looking to create something similar to that through the hacking event,'' says Heck, a location independent entrepreneur from Holland.

According to Heck, the objective of CHWU is to give 12 people an extremely nurturing environment without any distractions so they can work on their project without being bothered and adds that two months will give good time to finish a first version of their product.

Though the event venue is yet to be finalized, Heck informs, CHWU will start around end of 2012 or beginning of 2013.

''Because I experienced that being in a location where you have no-one but each other, the bond grows strong. If you do it in a city people will go out of the house for small reasons. Not to say they are not allowed to do so but I just want to encourage the group to work together,'' reasons the 31-year-old technopreneur.

Applicants from any location with good knowledge, experience and skills in UI (User Interface) or UX (User Experience) along with strong mental strength are eligible for this hackathon.

''As long as they are smart, motivated and fit the psychological profile they are more than welcome. It is open to all across the globe,'' said Heck.

''But we will look for strong technical skills and will look carefully at the psychological profile. Even one bad apple can ruin the atmosphere in such a place,'' Heck explains on the selection and eligibility criteria.

However, their applications will be thoroughly examined followed by tests and online interviews after which the lucky 12 members will get a chance to go on this exotic hackathon.

They will be provided food, staying facility but will be asked to pay a small fee, which is still under consideration.

''We will try to set up a transparent selection process. There will most likely be a Skype interview of sorts and also we are thinking about for instance asking for character witnesses,'' Heck adds.

Already, some 500 people have sent emails showing their interest to attend the event. During the two-month long stay, the selected coders can work on their on-going project or can work on the idea of someone else. 

Beside this latest exotic hackathon dream project, Heck has a company OlinData, which provides Server Monitoring as a Service and is an open source enthusiast. Also he is working on an open source project Tribily, which is similar to Drupal and Zabbix.