Hackatons

Recently, I participated in the Hack.Moscow v2.0 hackathon, which took place from October 26-28 in Moscow. It was one of the largest events as part of the official MLH Season 2019, organized by the professional community Russian Hackers. The hackathon brought together 400 participants from 14 countries and became a true innovation hub, where young professionals and experienced developers worked for 36 hours to solve various technological challenges.

Hack.Moscow in Numbers:

• 1700 applications
• 400 participants
• 14 countries
• 36 hours of coding at a cozy venue provided by 1C
• 32 GPUs worth a total of $320,000 provided by partners

The hackathon featured diverse tracks such as AI, Big Data, Blockchain-CTF, Entertainment, Digitalization, E-commerce, Fintech, and more. Partners included major companies like IBM, Nvidia, REG.RU, Avast, HERE, HSE, MIPT, and many others.

What Happened at the Hackathon?

Participants were presented with various challenges from leading companies, including 1C, MTS, Rosbank, Sibur, REG.RU, WorldQuant, BANKEX, HERE, and Cleverbots. The event featured lectures and workshops led by mentors and experts from various fields. The hackathon was not only impressive in terms of its international scale and strong organization but also had an inspiring atmosphere of collaboration and healthy competition.

Our Victory: The ReView Project

One of the most exciting tracks was the challenge from 1C, which tasked participants with creating innovative solutions in the field of digital business. For this assignment, our team developed a product called ReView — a platform that allows users to scan product barcodes and compare their prices in online aggregators and nearby offline stores.

The core idea is that users can find products in nearby stores and compare prices with online retailers. If the price in the local store is lower than online, the app suggests visiting the store, helping customers save both time and money. We focused on user convenience by offering instant comparisons and flexible options. Our solution was highly praised by the jury, and we became one of the hackathon winners.

Conclusion

Hack.Moscow v2.0 was not only a platform for generating new ideas but also an incredible experience where we could test our skills in a competitive environment, collaborate with interesting people, and gain valuable knowledge from experts. This wasn’t my first hackathon, but each one offers a unique experience that allows both teams and individuals to grow and improve.

Articles:

1. russianhackers.org
2. hack.moscow

At the HR&Trainings EXPO 2018, I participated in a large-scale Hackathon where cross-functional teams of IT, HR, and marketing professionals tackled pressing labor market issues amid the shift to a digital economy. Over two intense days, we developed new, tech-driven HR products in real-time, culminating in presentations of our solutions.

Our team, Market.skills, which I co-founded, was a first-time Hackathon participant. We came together on the first day of the event, forming a team of five: myself, Petr Zhigulev (entrepreneur); Ilnur Salifov and Yulia Raylyan (HR specialists); Alexey Saraev (iOS developer); and Pavel Shevsky (marketer). We didn’t select team members based on specific skills or previous experience but simply gathered, chose a relevant task, and devised a solution that ultimately won us first place.

As it was our first Hackathon, everything was a surprise—from team formation to the announcement of results by the esteemed jury. I initially expected organizers to assign individual participants to teams, but it turned out to be a real-life scenario: if you wanted to join a team, you needed to pitch yourself or form your own team from others in the same situation. This is exactly what we did. Preparing for the Hackathon was challenging due to the uncertainty, so I focused on understanding competency profiles. As for the future, we plan to start with IT recruitment but aim to expand to other areas.

Our service enables employers to select suitable candidates from a digitized database based on specific tasks. It also assists small companies without competency profiles by offering templates on the platform to guide candidate selection.

Our HR product is designed for large and medium IT companies that constantly need specialists with varying skill depths. This platform will help HR professionals, agencies, and companies find the right employees quickly, saving significant time on resume screening and multiple interviews.

Team members: Petr Zhigulev, Alexey Saraev, Pavel Shevsky, Ilnur Salifov, Yulia Raylyan.

Sources:

1. HRbazaar
2. Aspect.by