Well, success is no accident! The title was clickbait, if I had to give this blog an original title it would have been 'From being unable to clear checkpoints of a local hackathon to winning a national one🏆'

First things first,

Imagine Cup is an annual competition sponsored and hosted by Microsoft Corp. which brings together student developers worldwide to help resolve some of the world's toughest challenges. It is considered the "Olympics of Technology" by computer science and engineering and is considered one of the top competitions and awards related to technology and software design.

Our Progress:

My team 'IoT Trailblazers' emerged as the National Winner of the Microsoft Imagine Cup in the health category.

We participated with teams from all over India in multiple rounds and made it to the finale, also being declared the winners in our category.

We also won a Surface Go each and a Mentorship session by Mr. Arvind Upadhyay(CEO- 8chili Inc).

My Untold Journey:

I still remember my sophomore year of college; how clueless I was about everything. Participating in hackathons is on another side, I was even unsure about whether or not to pursue tech ahead. Yes, you read it right! (Although I found Tech to be my calling later ^_^)

With this not being enough, Covid wave and online classes were cherry on the cake. I was completely cut off from my college life and peers. After a lot of courage, I asked a friend of mine to take part in a college-based online hackathon and ask some developers to join us. The day arrived; it was my first hackathon and right after the first checkpoint. Everyone was tired and gave up.

When the results and lucrative swags and prizes were announced the next weekday, I was disappointed not because of not winning my first hack but because of being unable to complete it till the end!

On that day I made a promise to myself, that one day I will surely upskill myself well enough to win one hackathon however small it might be, I will make it till the end of it. Not only does it end here, but I also promised to find a determined team that will never give up till the last minute of the hack. (Spoiler- A year later Yes, I was finally able to fulfill the promise I made to myself! 🥺🚀 )

Why am I sharing my failures and downfalls?

I have seen a lot of juniors or peers worrying over 'not having it all figured out'. This is my way of conveying 'been there, done that' out loud.

We all start somewhere, even if it's a failure or a success however small it might be. The only thing that matters is: It's okay to fail but it is definitely not okay to give up, to not introspect over what went wrong, to not upskill yourself for the next hack, interview, exam, competition whatever it might be!

I do not wish to write a blog highlighting only my achievements and winnings. The main purpose of writing this blog is to let you know, If I can do it then you can too! Never settle, never give up! Everyone fails somewhere, so in case you have not been able to win your dream hack or even your first hack, then it's alright. Just hang in there and keep improvising, you surely will win someday.

Bonus Learning🌟

So is winning a hack everything? Yes and No. Yes, winning is equivalent to all your hard work, all-nighters, and last-minute changes paying off. But is it everything? No, Hackathons are much more than a prize.

Here's a snapshot of my recent hack experience and learning:

I did not win the first prize in this one although I was fortunate enough to win a prize under the special category sponsored by AB InBev. Networking, working, collaborating with an amazing team, fun-filled and insightful sessions, and the skills I learned by the end of the weekend were greater than any other prize! 🤧❤️‍🔥

Shifting back to our Imagine Cup Discussion

I got the golden opportunity to present with my team LIVE in front of a notable jury; the pioneers I look up to Anant Maheshwari, Shradha Sharma, Trupti Mukker, and Awais Ahmed, although we could not secure the opportunity to represent India in World Finals. This journey has been empowering and inspiring at the same time. 🌻

Here's the link to the event broadcast:🏆🚀

That's all for this blog folks! I'll be sharing my detailed imagine cup journey and an overview of the project in my upcoming blogs.

I wish you the best of everything, you got this! :D

Happy Coding and Hacking! 👩‍💻

Hasta la vista,Techies