Behind the Scenes of Arcesium’s Annual Hackathon
May 31, 2024
Read Time: 5 minutes
Unified Data
From in-person gatherings that tackled developer wish lists, hackathons have blossomed — spurred by technological connectivity — into global events that serve varying needs, from skills development to talent testing to more serious problem solving and invention. Hackathons are a popular activity for many organizations to foster team building, nurture innovative solutions, showcase talent, and enable connection and collaboration.
According to the most recent data from Hackathon.com, 5,636 public and internal hackathons were organized worldwide in a single year! Whatever their purpose, what hackathons all have in common is partnership, experimentation, and an intense focus on making ideas real.
Six teams claimed prizes in Arcesium’s most recent hackathon, a much-anticipated annual event that allows employees to showcase their ingenuity, design skills, and endurance. The vibe is embedded in the term hackathon, which celebrates the free-spiritedness of a “hack” with the competitive collaboration and tough countdown clock of a “marathon.”
Karthik Rajamanickam, Senior Vice President, Technology, says, “Fostering innovation and enabling team effort and bonding are at the core of our Hackathon and our employees love the opportunity to work on projects outside their domain.” In addition to the thrill of the prize, participants know that shortlisted or winning solutions will be further evaluated and may eventually be included in the company’s R&D roadmap and for future implementation. It’s high stakes.
RELATED READING: Why Your Company Should Establish a Hackathon
Arcesium’s 2023 Hackathon saw a significant increase in the number of participants — over 440 employees divided among 146 teams, more than double the number in 2019 (200 participants and 71 teams) and a significant bump since 2021 (330 participants, 105 teams). Participants drew from Arcesium’s five offices across the globe and could take part either in person or virtually.
The rising number of participants is also a nod to Arcesium’s accelerated growth. At its 2015 launch, the company comprised only 300 employees at offices in New York and Hyderabad. Now the firm employs nearly 2,000 software engineering, accounting, operations, and treasury professionals, with offices in London and Bangalore added in 2020 and in Delhi in 2021.
As in previous years, the 2023 Hackathon offered many ways for Arcesium employees to shine, regardless of role or geography. Self-selected teams of five members or more were capped at three Technology team participants. Teams that included at least two new employees (joined in 2023) were eligible for a special competition category, Newbie.
With six categories to pick from, ranging from The Best Hack to Best Data Analytics and Visualization, participants could choose how best to deploy their talents in 30 hours. Judging the teams’ results — code plus a demo or prototype presented in a five-minute video — were six company executives from Arcesium’s Technology, Product Management, and Client and Partner Development teams. To make the final selections, judges held a Q&A with each of the 12 shortlisted teams.
Each edition of our Hackathon defines a theme that is related to Arcesium’s ecosystem. The 2023 Hackathon Committee chose the challenge: Accelerating Data Strategy with Aquata.
Participants were encouraged to generate innovative solutions applicable to the domain-aware platform, competing for these categories:
The six judges were challenged to narrow this year’s submissions to six winning solutions. “Every year we get more and more implementations that are close to production ready,” said Mitya Miller, Senior Vice President and one of this year’s judges. “And every year we raise the benchmark for the following.”
Arcesium’s Aquata platform, named for the fluidity with which it manages data processes from ingestion to distribution, benefits from this year’s winners.
Here are the winning teams and their champion solutions:
We are proud of our winners and the client-centric approach they continue to demonstrate. From our pioneering roots launching a purpose-built platform for the investment community, we continue to seek solutions that enhance our clients’ ability to drive their businesses forward.
Find out more about how we do business and opportunities for creative thinkers at Arcesium.
Sources:
1 Infographic: Worldwide Hackathon figures in 2018 and trends to expect in 2019. January 18, 2019. Pierre-Jean (PJ) Quenardel. BeMyApp.com
Share This post
No spam. Just the latest releases and tips, interesting articles, and exclusive interviews in your inbox every week.
No spam. Just the latest releases and tips, interesting articles, and exclusive interviews in your inbox every week.
