You may hear a unique rumbling deep in Nashville in mid-July – the sound of excited keyboard clicks, coffee percolating, and cheers of equally successful code compilation and PowerPoint slides.
Different from the usual Main Street tones, this is the symphony created by the participants of CU Build, and the results rival any music award earned in this same town.
Unleashing Creativity, Coding Skills, and a Collaborative Spirit
As the CU Build website touts, “CU Build is an event known as a build-a-thon, where credit union professionals can participate in building solutions for the credit union industry in a cooperative, innovative, exciting, and competitive environment.” It was born to leverage the underlying original principles of cooperative credit unions – technologists, in cahoots with credit union analysts, marketers, lenders, and leaders alike, making full use of an opportunity to focus, collaborate, innovate, and deliver during a dedicated weekend.
What was originally a hack-a-thon at American Airlines Credit Union has grown into a visionary weekend full of transformative creation mixed with some healthy competition for credit unions leveraging Jack Henry’s Symitar® ecosystem.
At the end of the weekend – after sleep has been forgone to make deadlines, and when all the Mountain Dew bottles have been recycled – teams show off their contributions to the credit union community, vying for the prize: actually seeing their solution built out and shared with the credit union industry as something that will deliver true benefits to members across the United States.
Cracking Code, Building Community: The Credit Union Hack-A-Thon Revolution
Wait, a hack-a-thon? That sounds ominous. (Don’t worry, it’s not. Not even a little bit.)
The phrase “hack-a-thon” has evolved to a mainstream concept from its original underground roots: collaboration at a precise time to deliver a goal.
Whether that is to ensure security and resilience of computer systems, flex technical prowess, or supply a positive disruptor to a faction just itching for new solutions, codefests like these deliver innovation in the most rapid of paces. It highlights innovation within specific groups while bringing attention to causes relevant within the industry.
It goes without saying, then, that a hack-a-thon for credit union technology is focused on the mantra all credit unions subscribe to: people helping people through cooperation.
What has set CU Build apart from other collaborative experiences is that it is made up of ALL aspects of a credit union’s ecosystem. This isn’t just an IT battle royale; it truly involves anyone who serves a member at a credit union or supports a system or integration that members benefit from.
The overall goal of teams is to ensure that they are varied: software engineers lean on system analysts to help translate goals from lending and deposit subject matter experts. Veteran credit union leaders mentor those who have fresh eyes. Experienced public speakers coach their more behind-the-scenes brethren on how to advocate for their ideas. And while the teams are vying for prizes, it brings healthy “coop-etition” as teams collaborate to see everyone’s ideas come to life.
Innovation in Action
This year’s focus of “Innovation Starts With Inspiration” couldn’t be more timely.
The only consistency this year has been the lack of consistency: every sector, every region, and every field of membership is engulfed in economic change, rate and regulatory adjustments, and uncertainty about the future. What better time for credit unions to step up and offer precisely what their members need?
The goal is vast but simple: don’t just identify a problem that you see in your credit union’s space – solve it!
CU Build participants return to their credit unions full of valuable experience: exposure to technologies they may not have day-to-day; information and documentation they wouldn’t have thought to ask for; and networking relationships with like-minded innovators – plus contact information of some subject matter experts they may never have had an opportunity to collaborate with if they didn’t attend.
The Ultimate Playground for Cutting-Edge Credit Union Solutions
It’s a large effort by many diverse people and groups who are committed to the advancement of credit unions.
A large, secure infrastructure is built and maintained to provide the most innovative battleground for the participants. Vendors in the space, competing against each other for business, roll up their sleeves and show off their best technical offerings, integrating their unique solutions into the aforementioned playground.
All these technical folks come on-site for real-time collaboration, discussion, and – let’s be honest –system restarts and bug fixes. Folks from different credit unions, with different experiences, huddle over screens to compare efficacy of tools and sit directly with vendors and experts alike to quickly make changes or learn some new tricks off some historical system knowledge.
The sheer amount of system resources and time donated and volunteered to this event help build the foundation of support that you’ll feel: your ideas matter, and they will be seen, heard, and shared.
Making a Real Difference – Together
CU Build is an opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself. You aren’t just tackling real-world problems; you’re providing suggestions and solutions to industry leaders and executives.
So bring your ideas, your innovation, and your “let’s just try it” fortitude and you won’t just be listening to the keyboard sounds – you’ll be part of the orchestra.
I hope to see you there. I’ll be behind a pile of beef jerky wrappers and Mountain Dew cans, typing as fast as I can to support every single attendee’s goals.
The credit union space is truly inspirational … in what we can deliver – and in how much sugar we can consume in a weekend.
Let’s come together and set some new records!
Meg Bannister is a Sales Engineering Manager at Jack Henry who leads a team of experienced Symitar subject matter experts that work with clients and prospects year-round. She has been in the Symitar credit union industry since 2005, and at Jack Henry since 2013.
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