Miscellaneous
December 1, 2017
min read

The Story Behind Online Learning Platform Instruqt

Katy Andreeva
Growth Marketer

It all started spring 2016, when HashiCorp asked Xebia to organize HashiConf EU. We wanted to step off the beaten track of standard conference booths, give-aways and leaflets. We wanted something different, something new, something fun. Relying on positive experiences with self-paced hands-on workshops, we developed the HashiContest.

HashiConf Europe

For each participant, we set up an environment, allowing them to play around with the HashiCorp toolset. We added the element of gamification to give some guidance. Developing challenges, puzzles and a reward system kept participants on track.The success was overwhelming. Within a day, more than hundred players had joined he contest, almost breaking down the conference Wifi. Adding a competitive element and a prize to win, people even rushed away from the venue to their hotel where they could access a faster Wifi to finish the challenges.It occurred to us… this might be something…At HashiConf 2016, we presented this vision in our session ‘Learn Data Center Automation Through Gamification’.The popularity and positive feedback encouraged us to pursue this idea, building the platform and testing it on meetups and events.

Google Cloud Next team

We refined the platform and launched instruqt at Google Cloud Next in March 2017.We developed competitions for the Google Cloud Platform, Elastic, HashiCorp and more. At the peak moment we had more than 1000 players competing. We got a lot of feedback, and people liked the way we teach new technologies.The feedback we received from thousands of users worldwide encouraged us to pivot the platform. Over the last few months, we organized several competitions. We learned that some people like the competition element, but most people focus on learning new technologies. So we’ve pivoted towards a learning platform with a solid SDK. You can still create competitions, but our main goal is becoming the best hands-on learning platform.Today, we are happy to present this new version of instruqt. Join the meetup or follow the livestream at instruqt.com

It all started spring 2016, when HashiCorp asked Xebia to organize HashiConf EU. We wanted to step off the beaten track of standard conference booths, give-aways and leaflets. We wanted something different, something new, something fun. Relying on positive experiences with self-paced hands-on workshops, we developed the HashiContest.

HashiConf Europe

For each participant, we set up an environment, allowing them to play around with the HashiCorp toolset. We added the element of gamification to give some guidance. Developing challenges, puzzles and a reward system kept participants on track.The success was overwhelming. Within a day, more than hundred players had joined he contest, almost breaking down the conference Wifi. Adding a competitive element and a prize to win, people even rushed away from the venue to their hotel where they could access a faster Wifi to finish the challenges.It occurred to us… this might be something…At HashiConf 2016, we presented this vision in our session ‘Learn Data Center Automation Through Gamification’.The popularity and positive feedback encouraged us to pursue this idea, building the platform and testing it on meetups and events.

Google Cloud Next team

We refined the platform and launched instruqt at Google Cloud Next in March 2017.We developed competitions for the Google Cloud Platform, Elastic, HashiCorp and more. At the peak moment we had more than 1000 players competing. We got a lot of feedback, and people liked the way we teach new technologies.The feedback we received from thousands of users worldwide encouraged us to pivot the platform. Over the last few months, we organized several competitions. We learned that some people like the competition element, but most people focus on learning new technologies. So we’ve pivoted towards a learning platform with a solid SDK. You can still create competitions, but our main goal is becoming the best hands-on learning platform.Today, we are happy to present this new version of instruqt. Join the meetup or follow the livestream at instruqt.com

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