My team consisted of two girls and four boys: Anu Priya, Harshit, Beeplov Sharma, Manish Sah, Roshan Yadav, and my pathetic self (just kidding). We developed a solution for the following problem statement: Develop an ML model-based solution to refine CAPTCHA.
There was intense competition since the Smart India Hackathon is the world's biggest open innovation model, sponsored by the Government of India. We had been trying to become "The Chosen One" since our 1st year. When the SIH finally opened for idea submissions, the brains of the entire community of innovators started storming. Teams began building, friendships began evolving, and YouTube videos about how to become finalists started rolling in. Each topic was limited to 500 idea submissions. Some topics did have 500 submissions (which means more than 500 teams attempted to submit to that particular problem statement), while others had 30 or maybe 40 submissions.
Takeaway 1: Select a topic that has a probability of fewer submissions.
This way, you will have less competition to worry about. (Since we are ignorant humans, we worry more about others and less about our actions.)
There were 186 problem statements in the software domain. We were in search of that one magical problem statement for which we could build something meaningful. All 6 of us divided the problem statements, and each of us went through all of them. We didn't ponder much on the ones we didn't like or that wasn't our cup of tea. All 6 of us made a list of problem statements that ignited our visceral train of thought, i.e., how to approach the problem and what to build. This was done within a fixed deadline, after which a meeting was held, and we identified our divine problem statement.
Takeaway 2: Select a problem statement from which you (as a team) believe you can build something meaningful.
All members should know what will be built and what their contribution to the team will be. If there is a primary working member (this arrangement is more common than might be apparent at the surface level), then the other members should assist that person in whatever way possible.
Takeaway 3: Make a list of all the tech stacks that you will need to build your proposed solution.
Include the technologies you would need to scale up your solution to production-grade. Include this in your PowerPoint presentation or pitch deck. The list should be made available to everyone on the team.
Takeaway 4: The importance of a detailed and well-structured flowchart is quite underrated.
I would like to emphasize the importance of pictures and infographics. Try to use graphics to design the architecture of your proposed solution. Websites like Canva, Polotno Studio, or any other software/website of your choice can be used. Detailed flowcharts give insights into your thought process, and demonstrate the validity and scalability of the proposed solution.
This is a screenshot of the problem statement.
You can view more such problem statements at the official website of the SIH.
Here is the link to the ppt of the proposed solution that we had submitted.
Our joy skyrocketed when we learned that we had been selected for the finals. Here is the link to our ecstatic LinkedIn post.
Although we had been selected for the finals, we could not make it to the hackathon because we had our end-of-semester exams on the same day. If we had skipped our end-of-semester exams for the hackathon, it would have been considered a backlog in our academic record. So, the choice made out of sheer desperation was obvious. After innumerable sleepless nights, countless silent prayers, and multitudes of long, arduous hours, our patient wait to attend this grand hackathon in person remained a distant dream, a goal never achieved, a wait that never ended.
"I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter."
-Linkin Park (In The End)
This, however, is not true. It does matter. We are developers. We always learn and implement; that's what we do. The journey to becoming a finalist in SIH 2024 has been hugely rewarding and immensely humbling and was a great learning experience in itself. I extend my deepest gratitude to each exceptional member of my team for their unwavering support, seamless collaboration, and the treasury of memories we've created together.
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