Smart India Hackathon 2022 Experience as National Runner-Up
After 5 rounds, our team made it into the finals of Smart India Hackathon 2022.
Our Center was MIT ADT, which is located in Pune. It is one of the best universities that I have ever visited.
Day — 0
So we took our flight from Delhi airport on the 24th of August 2022 morning. We all gathered from different cities and had planned to reach the center by evening.
We were really excited about the whole hackathon stuff and what we are going to do. To be honest, we were not at all expecting to win the hackathon.
We reached the university around 8 PM and had our dinner in the university mess. We made some friends there and planned what to do the next morning.
Day — 1
So finally it all starts and it’s 8 AM. We all are ready to kick start this journey.
We had our first mentoring session and got an exact idea about what we have to build and just brainstormed the possibilities and solutions regarding the same
Had our lunch and just explored the campus, believe me, it's really beautiful and we were just roaming there and had a photo session alongside the lakeside view.
In the evening, the university students organized Dhol Tasha for us. We had the privileged to witness such a beautiful celebration during Ganesh Chaturthi. I was literally having goosebumps during the whole music and celebration part.
In the evening, just before dinner, we had an interactive session with the honorable prime minister of India, Mr.Narendra Modi. He talked to a few students all across the country and motivated all of us with his kind words.
It was an awesome experience, never thought would be in the same meeting with the prime minister of the country.
Day — 2
The second Day was the most boring day I would say, because we were working the whole day, and no event happened.
We all had fun and just made a little progress in making the device in both, the software and hardware part.
Day — 3
On day 3, we meet a lot of startup founders and product designers who mentored us and told us how we can actually improve our product and what are some loopholes present.
We had completed the product by almost 50% by today and it was working by now, even though it was not useful, we had made progress and that was a big thing for us.
Day — 4
Now the product was almost ready, and we just had to fix some bugs and cover up some of our loopholes. We also got some recommendations from our mentors and guides that we have to add some more features.
In the evening, we all just went to walk near the lake and green corridor. It is always a good time when your teammates and friends are in the same circle. We really had a good time there, you know, doing things which friends do in the meantime.
At night, just before dinner, we also had an open mic event, where one can go and sing from all the teams.
Two of my teammates, also my closest friends at the university, had the courage and they went there to sing a song and were given a round of applause after their wonderful performance.
Day — 5
As we worked till 4:30 in the morning, we were already tired, just had our breakfast, and started working again around 9:30
Did all the things as soon as possible and compiled it at the end and this is how our final prototype of the product looked like:
Gave our presentation and practical implementation to the judges and we were not sure, whether will we win or not, because the judges had mixed reactions.
What we knew was that we have gave our best. We worked more than 70+ hours on this in the previous five days.
We went out and had our snacks and just did some chit-chat.
The award ceremony was there, and to be honest, I was in a very sleepy mood because I had not slept properly for the past 3 days and I was okay with whatever comes next.
But as soon as our category came,
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🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
They announced us as the National runner-up in the farming industry category of the Smart India Hackathon 2022. That moment was just so indescribable. We all just screamed out and went to the stage to receive our awards. It was such a proud moment for all of us.
We all got our awards and went back to our seats, the first thing that I told everyone was to call their homes and tell their parents about it.
If I have to describe that moment in a line, it will be :
I was with the best people during the best part of my life.
We all were being congratulated by so many students and mentors around there and that moment was so awesome. We clicked a lot of pics and thanked all our mentors, evaluators, and supporters for the same. We just had a small party that night and it all ended up so well and happily.
My experience as the Team Leader and some leadership qualities
As the team leader, I learned some of the best qualities of leadership and management.
No matter how much the team is demotivated or you are, you should always have the energy to lift the enthusiasm level of your team.
As a team leader, you should have the capability of listening to all the team members' opinions and then taking the best action for the team.
It's always a bit difficult to manage a lot of things at the same time, but believe me, it is totally worth it.
Conclusion and Learning
It was one of the best experiences of my life and I will always remember it🔥
You can even win if you started from the very last point, you just have to work hard, that's it!!
I learned a lot of things from it and I am grateful to the government of India and MIT ADT University for providing us with this wonderful experience✨
And all thanks to my teammates who always gave their best and made this whole thing possible!!💪
Also a big thanks to all my teachers and mentors who supported us and encouraged us to participate in the hackathon and give our best ✨
