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How to Join and Win Hackathons with AI
My story of entering hackathons and how I learned to win at a high rate
Hackathons have been my life for the last year. Staying up until 4 AM every weekend building advanced projects under a time crunch produces an unmatched adrenaline rush. While hackathons are surely enjoyable no matter the outcome, it is not the same without a win. The prizes and swag help validate the hard work and lack of sleep over a weekend. However, winning is not easy, and learning how to do so can take a long time. As a result, many new hackers become discouraged and don’t continue. Lucky for me, this was not the case, as I was able to quickly develop strategies that helped me be successful.
Hackathons are great for any aspiring AI/ML/DS students and engineers. They are a great way to practice your skills and learn new domains and frameworks, such as PyTorch and TensorFlow. There is a misconception that hackathons are mostly about app development and not about AI, however, as I discuss later in this article, this is far from the case. Therefore, if you are interested in working on your AI skills in an efficient way, give it a shot. I actually learned a majority of my AI skills from a hackathon where I built a skin cancer diagnosis app. So even if you have no AI experience, hackathons are a great way to get a light introduction.