What are Hackathons? Their Importance in Data Science?

Data science is an emerging field that not only involves a lot of learning but also needs practice time to time.

Hackathons offer just that!

They are power-packed, high-energy events that make them ideal for data science enthusiasts to practice and get acquainted with new-age technologies.

What are Hackathons?

The word hackathon is derived from the word ‘marathon’ which signifies a long period of activity, in a short period of time, for the desired result.

You typically spend 1-2 days, building, creating, and delivering a challenge. The whole idea is to code together in an extreme manner, to start from scratch and end with a working prototype.

It’s often a sort of competition, where teams of programmers, developers, designers, and project managers come together to design and build working software. Once the tasks are announced, the participants of the hackathon are united into teams.

Sometimes a team may consist of just one person who is able to perform all the work independently. The optimal team members amount is 4 people, namely a front-end, a backend, a Data Scientist as well as a businessman. Participating in hackathons has a lot of benefits.

Why are Hackathons Important in Data Science?

1. Meet Like-minded People

Hackathons are an excellent way which brings creative minds from very different backgrounds together to work on complex data analysis and coding problems. In a very short time, a wide range of solutions and proposals are produced, which broadens the horizons of all participants.

They are also a great way to get involved in the Data Science community and meet like-minded people. It’s an excellent opportunity to get to know others that have the same interests as you and that are pursuing the same technologies.

2. Build Your Knowledge & Skills:

Data Science is vast and made up of three main fields: Computer Science, Statistics, and Business Intelligence. Not everyone has a FULL understanding of all these fields.

Participating in hackathons will improve your knowledge and your skills in many aspects. It will help you to face real-world/practical situations and challenges. It will help you to grow as a Data Scientist.

It is also a good opportunity to test the data science skills that you have learned over time. It is a great chance to practice the skills you have acquired. The more you participate, the more your Data science skills will be nourished.

Participation in such hackathons and competitions will make you more curious about learning new approaches to solve a given problem. It's also a great opportunity to use your domain knowledge and showcase your talent.

3. Acquire Soft Skills

Participating in hackathons not only improves your knowledge in a given field but also allows you to grow skills that are relevant in the corporate world.

You learn soft skills like teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. You very often create strong bonds, learn from others’ strengths and learn how to work with a team.

It’s also a great addition to your CV if you’re looking for a job in data science.

4. Get New Ideas

Whenever people are exposed to a new environment, different from their usual, they tend to get more and more innovative ideas.

A problem-solving environment, like a hackathon, encourages the development of new ideas. You never know what incident might spark a completely new and innovative idea in your head, in the field of Data Science!

Hackathons are a great way to gauge yourself and the level of knowledge that you have in a field. They are also a great way to improve & grow yourself exponentially.

Data science Hackathons can be difficult to crack, especially for beginners. For more information watch our video on YouTube:

Well, the other way is to study data science online and then find relevant openings in the market.

Board Infinity's Data Science Learning Path equips you with all the latest technologies in Data Science like R, SQL, Hadoop, etc, and lets you work on real-time projects. You learn from top industry experts in the Data Science sector. It also gives you a chance to interact with top industry experts in Data Science and offers placements.