About a year ago, Bilue embraced JD Dillon’s Modern Learning Ecosystem (MLE) framework at an organisational level to accelerate growth and development opportunities within our team. If you’re not familiar with the MLE, it challenges traditional Learning & Development (L&D) methods, often criticised for being slow, outdated, and disengaging. Instead, the MLE offers a more dynamic approach, emphasising the availability of existing knowledge and a structured pathway to foster continuous growth.
The MLE operates on a simple premise: when an employee seeks help, there’s a good chance that the question they have has already been answered, either within Bilue or externally. Employees are therefore encouraged to utilise tools that surface this information for them—what we call [Shared Knowledge]. This could be as simple as using Slack’s search functionality, consulting Confluence, or interacting with our custom AWS BedRock chat agent in a private Slack conversation to find the answers they need (yes, it’s as cool as it sounds!). If the information isn’t readily available, employees are then guided to seek help through various channels—be it a Slack group, service desk, or a colleague [Performance Support]. Additionally, we focus on what employees should retain from their learning [Retention], encourage continuous growth through [Coaching], and provide avenues for self-directed learning [Pull Training] as well as mandatory compliance training [Push Training].
Our transition to the MLE was smooth, thanks in large part to the vast amounts of Shared Knowledge, support, and performance coaching already embedded in our culture. A key element we continue to emphasise during times of change is reinforcement learning, which helps solidify the knowledge and skills gained after training. At Bilue, we ensure learning is a continuous process through Microlearning, applied learning, social learning, and feedback loops. These initiatives have proven to be highly successful, but in the spirit of continuous improvement and with technology rapidly evolving, we decided it was time to challenge our learning approach further—and what better way to do that than with a competitive hackathon?
From the outset, it was clear to the leadership team that if we were going to do this, we were going to do it right: in our Sydney office, with everyone together, lots of food, and an 80’s arcade theme to encourage our teams to break out of the ordinary in a fun way. After a brief introduction to the event (and a quick round of finger aerobics to warm up), the challenge was set at 9 a.m. on Friday, and the race was on. Each team was given just under 18 hours to ‘innovate, iterate, and demonstrate—building solutions that elevate.’
Teams were given the flexibility to form their own groups within guiding parameters, allowing them to jump straight into focus mode. Some teams adopted an analytical approach, planning with whiteboards and wireframes, while others dove right into their code editors, leveraging tools like the Apple Vision Pro and AWS SkillsBuilder.
To keep the creativity flowing outside of the digital realm, our 80’s arcade-themed hackathon also featured ‘Sideshow Alley’—a space filled with impromptu tasks that individuals and teams could tackle at any time for a quick mental break and the chance to win prizes. This area saw various kinaesthetic challenges, from whale sculpting to a paper aeroplane throwing competition, which some employees approached with an edge, thanks to a pre-event cipher that hinted at the surprise challenge. Adjacent to ‘Sideshow Alley’ was our power-up station, where employees could relax with a massage and recharge for the challenges ahead.
As the night drew on (or just began, depending on whom you asked), we had one final surprise for the team. No 80’s arcade-themed event would be complete without Ben and Jerry’s setting up a sundae station in the office, right? With flavours like ‘Coffee Coffee buzzbuzzbuzz’ fueling a sugar rush, some employees experienced a final burst of peak performance and focus before inevitable exhaustion.
Day two kicked off with a hearty breakfast, fresh fruits, juices, and lots of coffee. Teams had just a few hours left to finalise their projects and rehearse their presentations before taking the stage to showcase their innovations to the other teams and the judges.
The presentations were nothing short of impressive. ‘Path Quest Pro’ kicked things off, demonstrating an indoor routing solution for the Apple Vision Pro, designed to help users navigate large, unfamiliar corporate spaces. Next up was ‘Sentify,’ which developed a reporting dashboard to capture and visualise the general vibe of any Slack channel using AI. Following this was ‘Bilue-vation, innovation, celebration,’ a client-facing workshop aimed at speeding up the user feedback cycle. The ‘Mood Magic’ team presented an app that visually represents a user’s emotions, while ‘Pals’ offered a platform to connect with new friends based on shared interests. Finally, ‘Pet Connect’ showcased a solution to link users with pet adoption and care services.
After intense deliberation - and an honourable mention for ‘Bilue-vation, innovation, celebration’- the judges announced ‘Pals’ as the winner, with ‘Mood Magic’ and ‘Sentify’ securing second and third places, respectively.
Circling back to our initial focus on reinforcement learning, the hackathon was a resounding success. It challenged our employees to reflect on previous learnings and apply them in new contexts. Through gamification, like ciphers, teams earned bonus points for completing internally pushed training content, which they then integrated into their pitches. The event also introduced new challenges, whether through emerging technologies or simply revisiting long-neglected skills—like one engineer who “found it really hard to not write tests when coding.”
As we conclude this journey, it’s clear that the hackathon wasn’t just about winning or losing; it was about pushing boundaries, embracing new ways of learning, and cultivating a culture of continuous growth at Bilue. The energy, creativity, and camaraderie displayed by our teams perfectly encapsulate what we strive for. By blending technology, fun, and competition, we’ve not only reinforced existing knowledge but also laid the groundwork for new skills and innovative ideas.
