It’s Real.
These students scored some awesome internships as a result of their Hack Western experience.
If you’ve ever been skeptical about the utility of hackathons — wondered if they’re really worth all the sleepless nights — well, we’ve got proof.
We caught up with some students who landed real-life internships as a result of Hack Western and asked them about their experience. Andrew, Umar, and Bailey are three students from Western University who all secured amazing career opportunities in slightly different ways.
Andrew and Umar were a part of the ChallengeLink team that succeeded in placing in the Top 6 at Hack Western and scored sponsor prizes for Most Creative App, Best Pebble App, and Best Use of Microsoft Azure. Andrew explains, “We built a scavenger hunt app that used geo-location to plot where items to find would go. We also implemented a smartwatch [application] to provide hints on where the plotted points would be.”
“The applications of the app extend beyond just a scavenger hunt, it could also be used for guided tours,” elaborated Umar, “and after presenting our app to the judges and other hackers, we were approached by representatives from a local startup called RaceRoster. We were invited to do a small presentation in front of the company.”
“They loved our idea and how we were able to come up with such a polished product in such a short amount of time and offered us internships where we would be building them a similar app for marathons,” Andrew said.
For Bailey, her team built a project called the Myo Helper. “We used a Myo armband to build a proof of concept which illustrated how a wheelchair could be controlled using the armband,” she said.
“While at the hackathon I started talking to a company called Magnet Forensics. They had an award for the idea with the greatest social impact. They took an interest in our design, and as a result, I spoke to them many times explaining our progress. After the hackathon I proceeded to send a few follow up emails thanking them for their help and interest over the weekend. From there I discussed whether they did 16-month internships, and as it turns out they generally don’t. However, they decided to make an exception and I interviewed for the role in June 2015. I was then informed I was being offered my internship for May 2016,” explained Bailey.
As for advice, here are some final words of wisdom from Bailey, Umar, and Andrew:
Bailey: Talk to everyone! Don’t just go up once and say hi, keep going back! I found a company I liked and that I thought “Hey, I may want to work here in the future” so I made sure they knew who I was and that they would remember me. Ask them for advice and ask about their jobs. You would be surprised what you might find! You could also make enough of an impression to have exceptions made to hire you! But, no matter what you do, have fun! That’s what Magnet Forensics remembered most about me, how happy I was and how much fun our team was having.
Umar: Talk with as many people as you can, from mentors to judges to fellow hackers! Hackathons are a hub of knowledge and there is a lot to learn. Mentors are great sources of this knowledge, they are usually from various companies and talking to them throughout your time at the Hackathon will help them get to know you and can result in great job opportunities.
Andrew: Meet as many people as you can. There’s a wide variety of people that attends hackathons. Even if you are not in computer science or engineering and have never coded in your life I think hackathons are a valuable resource to learn about fresh new ideas and network with other passionate students.
For more information about Hack Western, check out www.hackwestern.com.
