Forming teams

You will learn how to build your own team or join another team during a hackathon

Participating as a team is one of the most popular ways to participate in a hackathon. It offers several benefits that enhance both the learning experience and the quality of outcomes. 

In this article, we will learn about how to form a team.

Prerequisites

• You must have a HackerEarth account.
• You must be registered for the hackathon that you want to participate in.

Ways to participate

When you register for a hackathon, a team of one is formed by default and you are the leader of that team.

The team size—a team of one or more—is specified on the hackathon page. 

^{Image 1}

^{Image 2}

In Image 1, you can see that the allowed team size is specified as 1. This means that this is a hackathon that accepts only individual participation.

In Image 2, you can see that the allowed team size is specified as 1-4. This means that in this hackathon, you can participate individually (as a team of one) or in a team that has 4 individuals or less.

Roles and permissions

A team leader and a team member have a different set of permissions.

Team formation

You can either build your team, where you are the team leader, or join another team as a team member.

Building a team

Only a team leader can invite other profiles to become a part of the team. There are three ways to do this:

• Invite a participant using their email ID
• Browse through the list of registered participants and invite them to join your team
• Show other participants that you are looking for teammates

Invite through email ID

Important

• You must have the participant's email ID to be able to complete this step successfully.
• It is assumed that you have registered successfully for the hackathon.
• You are a team leader.

To invite using an email ID, follow these steps:

1. Click View Team
2. On the Team page, click the Invite teammates by using their email lD tab
3. Enter the email ID
4. Add a note if required. This could include information about the type of skills that you are looking for, your idea or approach, or anything else that you want to convey to your team members.
5. Click Send Invite.

The participant will receive an invite through email to join your team.

Once they accept the invitation, you (the team leader) will:

• Receive an email notification that the participant has joined your team
• Be able to see the participant on the hackathon dashboard

Invite participants to join your team

Important

• It is assumed that you have registered successfully for the hackathon.
• You are a team leader.

To browse all participants and invite them to join your team, follow these steps:

1. Click View Team.
2. On the Team page, click the Browse all participants tab. You will see a list of participants who have registered for the hackathon, along with the skills that they have declared (if any).
3. Click + Invite to invite the participant to join your team.

The participant will receive an invite through email to join your team.

Once they accept the invitation, you (the team leader) will:

• Receive an email notification that the participant has joined your team
• Be able to see the participant on the hackathon dashboard

Allow participants to send you requests

Important

• It is assumed that you have registered successfully for the hackathon.
• You are a team leader.

To browse all participants and invite them to join your team, follow these steps:

1. Click View Team.
2. On the Team page, toggle the I'm looking for teammates toggle switch to Yes.

This will allow other participants to see that you are looking for teammates.

They will also be able to send you a request to join your team.

Joining a team

Important

• It is assumed that you have registered successfully for the hackathon.
• You do not want to build your own team.

Anyone who has registered for a hackathon can join a team. When you join a team, the following actions take place:

• You will join another team as a team member and not a team leader.
• You can not build your own team while being a team member.
• All your ideas will be moved to the Drafts section of the team that you join.

To join a team, follow these steps:

1. On the Team page, click Join a team. You will see a list of teams that are accepting team members.