diverge · Ideation, Knowledge Sharing · 180–480 min · 12-200 people · high energy

Promptathon

A hackathon for prompts. Small teams pick a real work challenge and spend a few hours writing, testing and improving prompts for a generative AI tool to solve it, with roaming helpers on hand. Each team then shows what it tried, what worked and what did not. It is a peer-learning format: people learn AI by using it on their own problems together.

When to use Promptathon

Use to build practical AI skills across an organisation, when one-way training has not changed how people work.

What it solves

People attend AI webinars and still do not use the tools on their actual work, because they never tried with a real problem and help nearby.

How to run Promptathon, step by step

  1. Before the event, collect 6-15 real challenges and set up one board area per challenge.
  2. Welcome, schedule and rules: what is expected, which tools are allowed, what is shared (15 min).
  3. Short introduction to prompting for newcomers, with a live demo (20-30 min).
  4. Present the challenges; people form teams of 3-5 around one each (15 min).
  5. Team work: write, test and refine prompts, recording versions and outputs on the board. Helpers circulate (90-240 min with breaks).
  6. Showcase: each team presents the problem, what they tried, what worked, what did not, what next (5 min per team).
  7. Debrief and commitments: each person names one prompt they will use at work next week (15 min).

Materials needed

  • Laptops with access to an AI tool
  • Online whiteboard with a frame per challenge
  • Breakout rooms or team tables
  • A few experienced helpers

Facilitator tips

  • Use real, current work problems. Invented challenges produce prompts nobody reuses.
  • Mix experience levels in each team so newcomers learn from practised users.
  • Agree data rules before the start: what may and may not be pasted into the AI tool.

Common pitfalls

  • The introduction runs long and eats the hands-on time.
  • Results stay on the board and are never shared afterwards. Plan where the prompt library will live.

Variations

  • Async promptathon: post challenges in a team channel and collect prompts and results over a week, with one live showcase.

Running it online or hybrid

Can run on site, online or hybrid. Online, use breakout rooms of 3-5 and one whiteboard frame per challenge for prompts and results. Decide upfront whether everyone uses the same AI tool (level playing field) or their own (more varied experience).

What it produces

A set of tested prompts per challenge, documented on a shared board with what worked and what did not.

Origin

The format was announced by the University of Hamburg's computer science department in 2023 and adopted by Deutsche Telekom; this guide by the Corporate Learning Community (Martina Pumpat, Jochen Robes, Marcel Kirchner, 2024) documents how to run one. — source

Build a session around Promptathon

METODIC places Promptathon inside a complete, timed session plan — agenda, worksheets, facilitator guide and slides — matched to your group and goal.

Generate a session with Promptathon · Try METODIC free