Competitions are a window to real-world knowledge -Team Byte Warriors, National finalists, AB InBev Maverick 2.0 Bot-a-thon

We were overwhelmed and speechless when we were selected as one of the National Finalists. It was a moment of extreme joy as the hard work of our team paid off. We were excited at first because we competed with over 1500+ teams and managed to be a part of the finalists, but at the same time very much relieved to see that we successfully developed the product as per the specifications after endless team meetings. To delve deeper, here is a brief of our AB InBev Maverick 2.0 Bot-a-thon journey.

We love participating in hackathons and ideations. So we usually explore Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)to stay updated on the various opportunities and competitions. When we saw the AB InBev Maverick 2.0 Bot-a-thon banner and read details about it, we knew this is not worth missing. There were almost 1500 teams participating from the top universities in India, we were utterly motivated to see where our product development skills ranked among them.

Getting down to business

As a team leader, Shanu first searched for students who are good in AI/ML and are interested in this competition. Once the competition started and the problem statements were rolled out, we explored each of them thoroughly. It took a few days for our team, Byte Warriors in picking up the right problem statement, which not only matched our skills but also had real-time industry use. After finalizing the problem statement, it was completely a roller coaster ride where we spent hours on the meet to discuss the coding part and solve numerous errors.

We figured out our approach to the problem in a day or two, but the hurdles we encountered along the way while developing the product took almost a month to deliver it up to the expectations. We rigorously discussed ways to solve the problems and what can be altered to attain the desired results.

Removing the roadblocks to success

The most challenging phase was the day before the prototype submission when everything was working smoothly but suddenly a lot of unexpected errors appeared on running the file. However, we soon figured out the problem caused due to the update of the application and fixed it. Another challenge was communication and tracking progress. Synchronizing online meets was a matter of concern. So we decided to keep short meetings once in 2-3 days according to everyone's availability. We also made sure to share our progress in our WhatsApp group.

We also had some minor conflicts regarding the selection of problem statements, idea presentation, and code selection but we handled all these situations smartly. Actually, we never underestimated anyone's idea and weighed the pros and cons of those ideas. This helped us to solve our conflicts with mutual understanding. We always favored resolving them through dialogue and online meetings.

The inside-out of our ABInBev's Maverick 2.0 Bot-a-thon journey

The way in which ABInBev's Maverick 2.0 Bot-a-thon was structured was superb and that became the major point in taking part in such a competition. The competition was extremely good in terms of judgment, organization, and framing. All in all, we must say that it's extremely important to take part in such competitions because it gives you the scenario and knowledge behind the real-world industries and their problem statements.

ABInBev's Maverick 2.0 Bot-a-thon not only gave us a wider view of new technologies but also gave insights into making the product competitive, and definitely team-building skills. We learned about different ways to present ideas, how to tackle questions, and whatnot.

Not to forget mentioning that since each three of us were skilled in multiple domains, it posed as an advantage to us to have opinions based on different domains during implementation. We had a plus point in leadership and product development skills. Moreover, we had a mutual understanding and proper coordination. As a team, we were quite disciplined and used to stick with our deadlines. All of this gave an edge to our team over others.

As a team, we are so glad that we made it to the top 8 out of so many submissions from India's top colleges. The moment when we were informed about becoming the National Finalists after competing with hundreds of teams, shall always remain exceptional!

This article was submitted under the category of Story of how you won. If you have an interesting story to share with the community, click here to submit your story or mail us at editor@dare2compete.com

Read more such inspiring winning stories:

Team Byte Warriors - SRMIST, Kattankulathur

2018-2022

The team consisted of Shanu Mishra, Mukul Bhambri, and Sudarsan S., the pre-final year CSE students with a specialization in IT. A perfect mix of a developer, product manager, and content writer who believe in smart work and quality. This was their first participation together as a team in a competition.