JPMC Code for Good Hackathon

JPMC Code for Good — A national level hackathon

JPMC Code for Good Hackathon is an annual hackathon organised by JP Morgan Chase that brings together students passionate about technology to collaborate with experts in teams to solve real-world problems for nonprofits. Participants who perform well also get a chance for internship and full time offers at JPMC.

I was a participant and winner of this national level event in the year 2021 and in this blog I’ll be discussing the important details about the program as well as my experience. (This blog is with respect to Code for Good India)

There are two hackathons — Code for Good for 2nd year students and Code for Good for 3rd year students. I was in my 2nd year when I took part(kind-of xD as the hackathon happened during my summer break between 2nd and 3rd year)

Link for 2022 application:

1. For internships: https://jpmc.fa.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/210247021/?utm_medium=jobshare
2. For Full time roles: https://jpmc.fa.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/210245503/?utm_medium=jobshare

Code for Good happens across multiple countries at different times of the year:

Schedule for Code for Good

Selection Procedure:

Yes, that’s right unlike other hackathons, you can’t simply register and take part. The selection criteria was:

1. Applying on the site: Fairly straightforward procedure. Resume and past experience were asked. I didn’t have any experience when I applied since I was still in my sophomore year but my resume was strong.
2. Online Coding Round: 2 programming questions were asked and 60 minutes were given. They were easy-medium level and I was able to do both within 15 minutes.
3. Video Interview on HireVue: 2 HR questions were asked and we had to send our answers via a recording. Two attempts were allowed.

If all goes well you would receive a mail stating you got shortlisted for the hackathon.

However be calm and patient since the results are announced after quite some time. For instance, my Online Coding Round happened on 20th February and the result came on 30th April.

The Hackathon & More:

Finally after the long selection procedure the hackathon started. It was a 4 day event from 8th to 12th July. From over 8500+ applications around 650 were selected for the event. This itself was enough to put a smile on my face. Add to this the fun events, exposure to great ideas, talks from eminent leaders and an opportunity to contribute for NGOs that are impacting millions of lives, it was a memorable time.

Before the start of the hackathon many sessions were conducted on Git & Github, Kanban boards, and other tools to help us. All the communication took place on slack. The organisers were full of enthusiasm and were always willing to help. After this teams were divided and ice breaker sessions were conducted. It was around this time that we got assigned our mentors from JPMC. My mentors had a lot of experience and gave valuable inputs on our project.

Following this NGOs gave us the problem statements they would like us to work upon. All the teams had to give their preferences on what they would like to work on. You may or may not get your preferred choice xD based on the responses, but hey all the problem statements were 🔥

Once the final problem statements were assigned it was work, work and more work. The entire team did lots of brain storming, discussions over design, implementation, bugs and what not. The mentors were super helpful and also observant with what each team member was contributing. Being vocal, taking charge & showing leadership, as well as valuing others opinion and working as a team is important. Mentors also take one on one sessions to know you better. They assess not just technical skills but also your personality.

After a full day and night of work, the presentations were conducted the following day. After the initial judging our team moved to the finale. After another round of presentation we — Igniters (Team 70) were declared as the winners for our track. It was an unbelievable feeling.

Code for Good 2021 Goodies

All participants were given their Code for Good goodies and the winners were also given generation 9 iPads. Exemplary performers during the hackathons were also offered internship opportunities regardless of whether they won the hackathon or not, most of my team members got the internship offer 🥳

The hackathon taught me a lot, and if you are a 2nd or 3rd year student, do give it a shot, you won’t regret it!