Engineering
ApyHub goes to Hack This Fall 3.0
Key highlights and learnings on how to get the most out of a hackathon; and engage the developer community
SO
Sohail Pathan
Last updated on February 15, 2023
Key highlights and learnings on how to get the most out of a hackathon; and engage the developer community.
Hackathons, Developers and problem-solving
In a bid to promote problem solving and engage the wider developer and student community, we’ve been actively taking part in hackathons- an increasingly popular way for developers, designers, and entrepreneurs to come together and create something unique and innovative in a short period of time.
The Hack This Fall 3.0 hackathon held in Gandhinagar, India was no exception.
From the moment the hackathon was announced, there was a buzz of excitement among the tech community. Participants from all over the region converged, eager to be a part of the experience. The atmosphere was electric, with teams huddled together, brainstorming ideas, and working on their projects.
Throughout the hackathon, there were workshops and guest speakers, who provided valuable insights and inspiration to the participants. These included workshops delivered by organisations like GitHub, Postman, and Storyblok. This was a great opportunity for the participants to learn new skills and techniques and network with like-minded individuals.
ApyHub in action
The ApyHub workshop focused on ‘Building Leaner Applications’, discussing how developers can optimize development time, avoid code bloat & lengthy integrations, as well as build leaner and scalable applications. We also discussed the pros and cons of using utility services, as opposed to building from scratch or integrating with utility libraries.
The role of utility services was a central part of this discussion and we were very pleased to hear first hand the participants’ experience of discovering and consuming utility APIs.
There’s an API for that
After 36 long hours of building, coding and innovating all the teams presented their projects to a panel of judges, who evaluated them based on various criteria such as innovation, impact, technical feasibility and UI/UX.
The presentations were a testament to the hard work and creativity of the participants. More than 15+ Teams used ApyHub APIs to get qualified for the Best Project Built Using ApyHub Category in various domains including Blockchain, Internet of Things and AR/VR.
After careful evaluation, the following three teams made the cut and claimed track prizes.
Best First Project Built using ApyHub
A KYC (Know Your Customer) verified crowdfunding application is a platform that allows users to raise funds for projects or businesses through crowdfunding campaigns. They were able to perform KYC validation using Email DNS validation and India Postal Code API.
Best Second Project Built using ApyHub
An application that identifies tourist attractions from travel blogs and presents them in a visually appealing way, making it easier for people to plan their travel itinerary. They used the ApyHub Extract: Text from Webpage to extract the content blogs and pages.
Best Third Project Built using ApyHub
An IoT-based web application which creates a smarter and more connected home by integrating various household functions and providing real-time data about the home. They used Bar Graph API to show the temperature and future predictions. Other than announcing the winners and encouraging them to continue down this path of innovation, we had the chance to meet, mingle and network with participants at the hackathon.
We even ran a Twitter competition for participants to win exclusive ApyHub swag!
Key Takeaways
- Hackathons, much like APIs, are about building cool things, in a quicker way, which is why sponsoring and featuring in hackathons is both meaningful and relevant for us
- While webinars and conferences are also a great way to build relationships and networks with developer audiences, the great thing about hackathons is developers actually using your services and offering real-time feedback
- It’s interesting to see the various use cases and interesting ways in which your services can be used. Hackathons can be a good stress test for your platform or application as well- and if leveraged well, can help you get a good user base up and running- We got the highest number of signups ever, on the day of the hackathon!
- Our key learning from interacting with other developer tools and platforms was how the key focus is, and should always be, ensuring a smooth developer experience
That being said, the success and what you can get out of a hackathon depends heavily on how well it’s organized. So a shout out to the organizers who ensured everything ran smoothly and that all the participants had everything they needed to get started
In conclusion, the Hack This Fall 3.0 hackathon was a fantastic experience for everyone who took part. It provided a platform for tech enthusiasts to showcase their skills, network with others, and create something impactful- all within 36 hours!
Thanks, everyone!
Interested in ApyHub and what we do?
See you in the next Hackathon!