Why Should You Read This Blog?
"Ever dreamed of winning a national hackathon? Here’s how Team BlazeBrains cracked the code, faced hilarious hiccups, and emerged victorious in SIH 2024. Whether you're a first-year student or a seasoned coder, this blog is packed with lessons, laughs, and a roadmap to success."
This would be really helpful for those aspiring to participate in Software Edition (especially Web Development). but others can also stay . Who knows you might across something helpful.
Background
In my First year me and my friends Himanshu and Sulabh dreamt of taking part in SIH but we got too carried away by the waves of sorrow that screamed we didnt get the college we deserved . If you didn’t or do not feel the same then Hey you are someone very special who holds a rare feeling. After the waves calmed and I found myself feeling grateful and also scared that we might have lagged behind compared to many of our peers in development while we focused real hard scoring a so called 9+ pointer and guess what I missed the target by a meter.
Here comes the start of our sophomore year. Participating in a hackathon had already made place in my new year resolutions beside the ones of acheiving a perfect physique. In October 2024 Himanshu my talented roomie and I went to EVOLumin a Hackathon arranged by Amritapuri Vishwa Vidyapeetham , Kerala. He managed and worked on the project from the initial rounds and I was the impact player, a last moment addition who in final round created a react native expo app for ambulance tracking using PubNub and adding minor improvments to the UI. It was our First hackathon and our First win.
This ignited our reaction and we were like ( bhai ab toh aage saare hackathon jeet lenge). It wasn’t out of overconfidence but disguised sarcasm.
The Start Of SIH (Smart India Hackathon) :
I’ll Stop beating around the bush.
Here’s How you can get selected for the final round :
With the initial ppt submission round. Here are a few things you should keep in mind to get selected.
Mention the Keywords present in the Problem Statement. In Ideas with more no.of Submissions they might use an ATS System to select or initial sorting of ppts.
Creating a Video Is a Must : We created a video showing our approach to the proposal solution . Initially a Figma design should easily do the job . Highlight the Mvp’s and how you solve their challenges. Basically Give them what they want ( Ok this doesn’t sound good).
Have a clean flowchart or diagram : explaining the architecture, use the template and dont be too fancy with the fonts. Afterall the content is what actually matters. Just make sure you make the words stand out which you aim to.
Adding Level of Progress : You made the Level of Progress or Completion of your project if you have started working on it, You may inflate the numbers but keep it realistic too. Eg: Level of Completion : 30%
Additional Strategies to get past the Initial Round :
- Submitting for Two Problem Statements : Yes This is Possible and If you are selected for both you have to choose any one of the statement or you may split you team in two and add new memebers to create two new teams in case if you want to go ahead with both the problem statements.
A Funny Incident :
One of our videos submitted for problem statement of automating Fire Noc’s was not even viewed. When I checked the stats I found out that It was viewd by only me and my teammates. So this might also occur. After giving a careful thought I found out that some problem statements demand the use of AI and ML technologies and some expect you to approach in a simple manner , Ok so now that’s something which needs a prediction model.
The PPt of PS: 1613 which got selected, the ministry expected a simple approach introducing AI and Ml models may have introduced unecesssary level of complexity so also keep that in mind. (
A Myth : PPT with less no.of submissions have sure chances of getting selected. For us the case was quite the opposite.
The Grand Finale: What to Expect and How to Prepare
Finally after giving in 2-3 months of complete dedication and countless sleepless nights the most awaited day has finally arrived.
The Schedule :
There are three mentoring rounds and three evaluation rounds : The mentoring rounds dont carry any marks but here try to create a genuine connection with the jury and extract as much feedback as possible. It’s the evaluation rounds that will decide the marks (this was quite self-explanatory)
The Evaluation criteria for each round will be provided : So plan accordingly and note for introverts:- (Dont plan the entire round in your head beforehand). Just know the points go with the flow and make sure you cover them.
Have Your Priorities Set Straight Up : Try to cover all the points but setting priorities will make you regret less if you missed anything. But still try to give equal attention to each and every point.
Know This:
You can not make significant changes on spot : So make sure you fix all the major and minor bugs and atleast have a proper functioning prototype beforehand . You can only improve your current prototype by 5 to 10 % so forget making extraordinary changes at the last moment.
You will spend some time sleeping on your desk, eating your meals and refreshment and most of the time procrastinating (avoid this at any cost).Get your Finances clear : This is mostly expected in the final round of evaluation . If you lean too much on technical side you may develop a wrong mindset that you should focus much on the product , It is right in some context but numbers and your market plan sets you apart from the other contestants. Our Teammate Ayan did the research and brought the numbers such as development,deployment cost and that we would gather funding of X amount as we would run in loss for a year then we would breakfree, exit plan etc. These terms with numbers may play the differentiating factor between you and other teams. Dont give a lot of time too this 1 - 1.5 min of clear and concise info is great. ( After all that binge watching of shark tank or think school should be put to use , right?).
Note Down the Feedback and get to work : Feedback may even demand you to entirely pivot your project in a new direction while this seems like practically impossible (even the jury knows it) but they expect to test your perseverance so do your best and show the progress that you have made. Have one of your teammate note down the feedback ( infront of jury, you know why?) .
Before Two hours of the final evaluation : Stop making any major changes , I would say ven minor changes. Get together to test and deploy your product and debugging. Because in final round the judges would use your application through and through.
Note : Dont add unecessarry Frontend whose backend is not ready or else It might get you in trouble as it is practially not usable. Also dont promise them features which you know will be difficult to complete or else you might end up with this problem of having only frontend.
Be Professional and Unbiased : You have to understand the jury will consist judges which have very different background from each other. Some maybe from technical background and some may focus on your business accumen would not care about your backend ( Will break the heart of your backend dev in two). Somemaybe talkative and some calm. SO while presenting and taking feedback make sure dont ignore any of the judges, maintain eye contact with everyone try to understand the views and concerns of all the judges and show them that you care and will address those issues.
Funny Incident:
During all the evaluation rounds, We felt like the judges were not giving us enough time compared to the other teams but this doesn’t always mean they are uninterested . Dont be discouraged or I would say don’t pay any heed to it. In our case even though the judges spent less time with our project but we made sure that we did our best explaining and get their views.
Afterall It’s in your hands. Make sure you get the chairs arranged , get them seated, keep your laptops infront of them with your product working on each of it. Show the presentation on another one. In short keep them engaged ( Now don’t end up singing or dancing there.)
Frontend Insights and Development Tips
So the FrontEnd of our website was made using ReactJs, libraries such as ShadCn, Tanstack table, Zod for client side validation etc.
Wcag or Accessibility is the key : If you are designing a website for the government or ministry , Follow the WCAG In short, Adding 3D models from spline, using parallex etc doesnt cater the target audience. Instead put your focus on accessibiltiy and make it look more elegant and professional so that it gives a better user experience to users with various backgrounds and challenges. ( Dont give your user epilepsy).Focus on accessibility to cater to diverse users. Use semantic HTML, ARIA attributes, and ensure keyboard navigation works smoothly.
Be Conscious of maintaing a clean code base : Now This is something I am still working on. (Cmon No one’s Perfect)
Error Handling:
Implement robust error handling in the frontend, such as meaningful error messages for failed API calls or invalid user input. here’s where zod schema with clientside validation helped
Dynamic Components : This needs a lot of time at start but It will surely pay off as you will start developing fast. Eg : As we had to display a lot of tabular data, I made a dynamic component of Table, Column, Drawer (Add, edit,Delete) components which resulted in a faster development pace and cleaner codebase. Same goes with the backend It’s hard to divide components so each serves a specific purpose but if you dont Later you will have to problems to combining
Please Have Mercy on your Backend Developer : As a Frontend developer It’s quite easy to suggest new ideas and implement its UI fast but that’s not the same with the backend. Be Realistic , communicate with them make them feel comfortable this way you would make sure that your team doesnt end up throwing punches and pulling up each other’s hair over there.
Mantras:
Learn to Adapt:
- "No matter how much you plan, things can and will go wrong. Adaptability is your best asset in any hackathon."
Divide and Conquer:
- "Assign roles early and trust your teammates. Clear division of tasks prevents overlap and confusion."
Focus on MVP (Minimum Viable Product):
- "Don’t aim for perfection. Focus on delivering a functional prototype that addresses the core problem."
The Power of Feedback:
- "Take jury feedback as an opportunity, not criticism. Even the harshest advice can refine your product."
Be Realistic About Features:
- "Every feature you promise should be deliverable. Over-promising and under-delivering can hurt your credibility."
Celebrate Small Wins:
- "Each milestone—completing a prototype, fixing a bug, or nailing a presentation—is a victory. Celebrate it!"
Take Care of Yourself:
- "Hackathons can be draining. Stay hydrated, take short breaks, and sleep when you can to avoid burnout."
Network:
- "Build connections with peers and mentors. These relationships can lead to collaborations or job opportunities in the future."
Keep the Spirit Alive:
- "Hackathons are just the beginning. Apply the skills you learned, contribute to open source, or even launch your own projects!"
Conclusion :
"If you’ve been inspired by our journey, start prepping for your next hackathon! Got questions or need guidance? Drop me a comment or connect—Team BlazeBrains is here to help!".