Challenges come in various forms, often focusing on specific problems or goals within a field. They can range from technological and scientific challenges to social or environmental ones. Companies, organizations, or even governments host challenges to encourage innovative solutions. These could involve coding challenges, design contests, business proposals, or even creative endeavors.

Hackathons are intensive events where individuals or teams collaborate intensively within a set timeframe, often a day or a weekend, to create working prototypes or solutions to specific problems. They're prevalent in tech but have expanded to other domains. Participants brainstorm, design, and code, aiming to come up with a functional product or solution by the end of the event.