The act of hacking usually means working with software. Because of this, Hackathons were originally events for programmers to collaborate on software, yet they have since expanded to encompass any kind of innovative problem solving, according to Communications for Entrepreneurs teacher Brittany Stevens. She defined “hacking” a problem as coming up with a creative solution, which may or may not involve coding.

The first Hackathon at the high school, “Hackathon BHS 2020,” is on Saturday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students who registered for the event will work to identify and solve problems pertaining to the high school, with a focus on the school’s future.

Stevens and Elon Fischer, who teaches Communications for Entrepreneurs with Stevens, worked with parents in the entrepreneurship community as part of their class. One of these parents was also working with Ron Taylor’s STEAM group at the high school, in which a group of teachers work to integrate project-based learning related to science, technology, engineering, art and math into curricula. According to Stevens, this coincidence served as the catalyst for connecting STEAM and entrepreneurship.

The culmination of this connection is the Hackathon, which Stevens said teachers and parents have been working to prepare since fall 2014. MIT students will mentor students in the type of thinking required to “hack” problems.

“Hackathons are based in something called design-thinking, which is a process to identify and solve problems,” Stevens said. “And that’s what really entrepreneurship is also based in. You have to know how to think about and recognize problems to succeed in solving them.”

According to Fischer, the Hackathon could be the start of a closer relationship between MIT and the high school due to the close proximity of the schools.

“Lots of kids here are ready to do college level, real world work, not just twiddling your thumbs while you’re waiting for it,” Fischer said. “Having a chance to do real work, that’s the future. That’s where we’re going. And this will be a great start as a way of bringing MIT into Brookline.”

Although parents and teachers have organized the event, Stevens said students’ ideas will determine what direction that Hackathon takes. The ultimate goal is for students to find solutions and then receive support in implementing those solutions from adults in the community.

“We want the day to be about students telling us what they think the problems are,” Stevens said, “because I think that’s a very important part of making the school what it needs to be in the future.”

Kate Finnerty can be contacted at [email protected]