

Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School - limist
http://hackerretreat.com/europe-alternative-hacker-school/

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lquist
I hope you're doing this because you're passionate about it, because my
understanding is that Hacker School doesn't make much profit.

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thumbtackthief
They profit in changing lives.

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limist
Thanks! We think at least a few people from our last Fall batch would agree to
that. We're intending more people to say that when this next session/batch is
done.

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terhechte
Looks cool, do you only have the May/June/July batch option? I'd be interested
in applying, however this June I'm in the US for WWDC and other business
trips, so I'd need to wait until next year, or do you also offer a Winter
batch?

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limist
Thanks! Short answer is, it depends. If we get really strong interest and
commitment (like 20 people who will definitely be there), we'll do another
batch in the Fall/Winter. Someway or somehow, space will be conjured up again
and we'll make it happen. :)

One idea your question brought to mind is a form/list of people who really
want to come and do it, just at a later date. Will set that up...

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terhechte
Thanks for the quick reply! I signed up for your newsletter, so I'll hopefully
see it when there's another batch. Coming from Hamburg, Berlin is a much
better fit than NY :)

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ErsatzVerkehr
Important details are really hidden on the webpage. For example, who are the
mentors? Second: unlike the Hacker School, it's not free. Both of these items
should be addressed under "The Essentials".

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limist
Depends which page you're referring to.

The article/link above makes the price clear, and also why we charge - we keep
things simple and don't do the recruiting model.

The homepage doesn't mention price nor mentors; we wanted to keep it short.
We'll likely add the price there.

Both the price and prior mentors (some are very likely to return) are clear on
the offer landing page: [http://hackerretreat.com/batch-
next/](http://hackerretreat.com/batch-next/) The exact lineup of mentors is
TBD because we want to be sure to bring in people that participants want/need.
You can judge from our past mentors, and our posts, what the caliber of
mentors generally is.

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illumen
There's this hackership thing in Berlin as well...
[http://www.hackership.org/](http://www.hackership.org/)

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limist
Yep, they target a different audience. They're more for beginners who want an
apprenticeship in coding. Whereas Hacker Retreat is for intermediate and
advanced coders who have their own projects, and want to learn and apply
advanced techniques.

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nazgob
I'm thinking about applying but 2 months is a bit long for me. One month would
be ideal. Is it possible?

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urlwolf
I'd not stop you, but once your are here, I'm pretty sure you'll be sorry that
you can stay only one month... apply though.

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pantalaimon
> Where: At Microsoft Ventures, Unter den Linden 17

It's at the Microsoft product showrooms? I mean this is pretty much
Microsoft's take on the Apple Store, I wonder how corporate/marketingy this
'retreat' will be.

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limist
No. There's no product showroom there, just a cafe on the ground floor. Hacker
Retreat is happening in the space above, where MSV's incubated startups
usually are. They agreed to let us use the space in between their startup
rounds.

~~~
pantalaimon
Thank you, I had a bit of a feeling this might be some kind of marketing ploy.
I guess I'm more used to the classical Hackerspace (of which there are quite a
few in Berlin [1]), but I appreciate that you are doing mentoring and
imparting best practices. I think 'hacker retreat' gives a bit of the wrong
vibe as it sounds more like a place for social gathering (aka a hackerspace)
when in fact it's more in the spirit of e.g Games Academy (especially
considering the price).

[1] [http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Berlin](http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Berlin)

~~~
limist
Thanks for the compliment. We certainly enjoy socializing, but effective
learning and working take precedence, and we expect an atmosphere of
"enthusiastic intensity" at HRet.

The people at MSV have been cool with us. And while they certainly want to
have visibility for their program, they've given us all the freedom we need in
using their space.

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venti
Another (non-profit) initiative from Berlin:
[http://www.opentechschool.org/berlin/](http://www.opentechschool.org/berlin/)

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waltherg
I understand you are not looking to make huge profits and I greatly appreciate
the idea behind this and your sister program over at Data Science Retreat.

Unfortunately, I am a PhD researcher just finishing their thesis this summer
so I would not believe that my financial situation will allow me to pay for
both the retreat and living expenses.

Are the folks you attract mostly financially settled i.e. holding down real
jobs?

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mbrundle
I'm dead interested in this (just applied) and I'm definitely not financially
settled - actually the opposite, finished a postdoc and am currently
bootstrapping a startup. But the value of this looks amazing, so if I can put
the funds together, I'm sure it'll be well worth it.

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wallzz
great initiative, I hope something similar will be organized in Paris

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prosh
another great initiative in collaborative workspace culture, keep it up

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idiotb
never graduate!

