Huskies Hack with IDS took place last month in the ISELF building at the College of Science and Engineering (COSE), marking an exciting event for the students. Sponsored by Immersion Data Solution (IDS), this hackathon witnessed the participation of over 50 enthusiastic students eager to showcase their skills. After lots of hard work, four student teams took home prize money from IDS.
On Friday evening, students were welcomed with pizzas, snacks and drinks before IDS announced the five challenges that would test their problem-solving abilities and teamwork. The decision-making was tough for students because they had to make two decisions at once: Which challenge should they choose and which group should they join? Luckily, IDS’ mentors were there to assist the students with these difficult decisions. Students broke into eight groups, then brainstormed with their teammates on how to tackle their chosen challenge from IDS.
Throughout the weekend event, the ISELF building was completely available to students to work from during the 48-hour hackathon with all the facilities available, plus, food, snacks and drinks. On Saturday, a full brunch was served to give the students enough energy to work on their ideas. IDS team mentors supported the students by answering any questions and assisting teams when they hit an obstacle.
On Sunday, the final day, everyone was feeling lots of stress to finish their presentations with the hope of winning some prize money. Energy drinks and sandwiches fueled the students to push through. Matt Vorell, an SCSU Communications faculty member, coached teams on how to deliver quality presentations. Then the presentations got under way with IDS judges in the audience, including the company’s President, Mike Loukusa. IDS was impressed with the presentations and the solutions that students brought to their challenges, which made choosing winners a tough decision.
After discussing, IDS announced four winning teams. They originally planned on giving out three prizes, but were impressed enough to give out a fourth place prize. The first-place team, Super Dynamic Innovation, was made up of sophomores to seniors majoring in computer science or computer engineering. They secured a prize of $1000, with $500, $250, and $200 prizes going to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams respectively.
COSE is thankful to IDS for sponsoring this outstanding event and giving the students an opportunity to work hard on challenges from a real-world employer. Students learned teamwork, new technologies and when to ask experts for help—all skills that will serve them in their future careers.
1st Place: Super Dynamic Innovation
- Ashesh Nepal
- Brendan Chermack
- Jaymin Swedlund
- John Klein
- Matthew Molenaar
- Terrance Wallace
2nd Place: Team Rocket
- Brendan Kariniemi
- Dristi Barnwal
- Merina Khimbaja
- Muhammad Arham
- Prashant Dhaubhadel
- Rylan Loukusa
3rd Place: Capture Crew
- Abel Asfaw
- Ashray Shrestha
- Joshua Olaoye
- Simon Kuforiji
4th Place: Husky Tiles
- Alou Brehima Haidara
- Joseph Matoya
- Krithik Raja
- Mehtab Singh Khalsa
- Sauharda Shrestha
