We are delighted to be back with another excellent guest. Zubash Akmal is a 4th-year Interaction design student from Sheridan College who has participated in hackathons and has experience organizing hackathons. She started attending hackathons in her 2nd year of college by participating in a designathon organized by York University. The notion of creating a solution within a restricted time helped her push her limits on various aspects.
0:07 - Intro
0:48 - Zubash introduces herself
3:07 - How did you get into your network?
5:01 - What is NUVO Network?
6:01 - How long was your school project (to create Hack the NU)?
7:28 - What location is used for Hack the NU?
8:10 - How was organizing multiple hackathons, dealing with school, and applying for co-op?
10:03 - How was Hack the NU last year in comparison to this year, and what will it focus on/include?
11:17 - Are you still accommodating some in-person hackers?
12:04 - How will the virtual event look like?
12:38 - When is Hack the NU happening (already elapsed, sorryðŸ˜)
13:10 - The key to "winning" hackathons
14:22 - What's the most important thing to know when organizing a hackathon?
16:07 - How is seeing/meeting people gonna happen in the virtual space?
17:35 - The most important things to prepare/focus on for hackathons
18:32 - How is the industry changing due to the rise of hackathons?
20:33 - The demographic of "young professionals"
21:38 - Where to find Zubash
Zubash is currently working with the NUVO Network as a part of the organizing team for the upcoming virtual hackathon, Hack The Nu. She is not new to working with NUVO as her relationship with the company goes back to last year. When asked about her entrance into NUVO, she explained how a school project paved the way for the company. As a semester-long project, Zubash and her team pitched their idea of starting a Hackathon to NUVO. The company was impressed and hired her as a part of the organizing team to launch their first Hackathon, Hack the NU. The research methods and design thinking skills she gathered from the school courses helped her excel in the company. She shared her experience of planning and organizing the hackathon while juggling portfolio work and school projects simultaneously. Zubash shared with us how collaboration and delegation helped her manage all the tasks as smoothly as possible. Virtual hackathons come with their own set of pros and cons. She explains in detail about her new experience of organizing and coming up with a project plan for this year’s online event.
She considered the hackathon experience from networking to learning new skills as winning more than actually winning the 1st place. Zubash stresses the importance of young people participating in hackathons and on why it helps for both the participants and the company at the same time. Along with this, she also shared some tips and tricks on working behind the scenes in a hackathon and gave some advice that all of us can benefit from.
To hear about this and many other awesome things regarding hackathons, jobs/internship opportunities, networking, mentorship, and so much more, listen today!
