This past weekend I was honored to participate in JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Data for Good Hackathon in Columbus, Ohio!

Day 1: Friday October 14, 2022

  • 10 AM - 12 PM: Check-in and met with my team
  • 12 PM - 2 PM: Attended workshops
    • Hands down my favorite workshop was entitled “Effective Communication” where one of the JPM Data Scientists really explained the bread and butter of effective presentation skills ranging from engaging with your diverse audience/stakeholders to vizualization techniques that can make or break your presentation
  • 2 PM - 3 PM: Networked with fellow JPM employees
  • 3 PM - 3:30 PM: Listened to the client’s needs and goal to get a better picture of what our analysis needs to accomplish
  • 3:30 PM - Midnight: Coding, asking mentor for advice regarding the project and the professional world. Code, eat, code. Repeat!

Day 2: Saturday October 15, 2022

  • 12 AM - 3 AM: Code
  • 3 AM - 5 AM: Sleep
  • 5 AM - 12 PM: Code, create presentation, and rehearese with team and mentor
  • 12 PM - 1:30: Present to judges (3 presentations in total)
  • 1:30 - 2:30 PM: Awards and listen to the winning presentations

What would I do differently?

  • See business data science related projects online as industry related projects success not only needs the technical skills but also business acumen
  • Leverage upon your team members’ strengths
  • Ask quality questions

This hackathon taught me the importance of colloborating with new people in a fast-paced environment (e.g. working under pressure, knowing your team’s skillsets) and how to tie fundamental statistics and business goals into one. I leave this hackathon with a lot of lessons and skills learned as I continue my studies and advance into the tech industry.