ShipIt, Atlassian’s longstanding internal hackathon, is gearing up for its 60th edition, embodying a culture of innovation and autonomy that empowers employees to explore new ideas and solve challenges across the company’s global teams.
- ShipIt is Atlassian’s 24-hour global hackathon focused on innovation and developer joy.
- The event encourages cross-team collaboration and experimentation outside regular duties.
- Awards and themed celebrations boost participation and align with company values.
What happened
Atlassian is approaching its 60th ShipIt event, a nearly two-decade-old tradition that encourages employees worldwide to dedicate 24 hours to innovation sprints. During ShipIt, team members can focus on passion projects separate from their regular responsibilities, fostering creativity and problem-solving. The company maintains a consistent quality experience across all regions including APAC, EMEA, Americas, and India by carefully coordinating themes, activities, and technology support.
Participants submit short demo videos explaining their projects for asynchronous voting using Atlassian’s own tools. The event culminates in a finals session featuring award announcements, games, and after-parties, with both in-person and virtual options available to embrace the hybrid work model. This structured approach helps ensure engagement and excitement remain high across diverse locations.
Why it matters
ShipIt embodies Atlassian’s core value of empowering employees to ‘Be the change you seek’ by creating a safe space to experiment, innovate, and learn outside of their typical workflows. This openness drives product improvements and nurtures a culture of continuous innovation and collaboration that benefits both employees and customers.
The event’s design promotes cross-departmental connections and motivates participants through numerous award categories such as People’s Choice and Founder’s Choice. This reinforcement of community and recognition encourages ongoing dedication to creative problem-solving, strengthening Atlassian’s competitive advantage in the software market.
What to watch next
As ShipIt continues to evolve, some key areas to monitor include how Atlassian adapts the event to maintain engagement amid changing workforce dynamics, especially in hybrid environments. The expansion of award categories and regional connection gatherings signals a growing emphasis on inclusive participation and sustained motivation across global teams.
Additionally, the innovations generated during ShipIt will remain a valuable pipeline of ideas that could influence Atlassian’s future product roadmap. Watching which projects gain traction beyond the hackathon could reveal emerging trends and priorities in software development driven by frontline engineers.