Complete Guide On Hackathon Problem Statements & Actionable Tips

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Hackathons are one of the most popular modes of engagement in the corporate world today. Companies, big and small alike, from industries across the globe, are getting in the hackathon mindset and using them to tap into the top talent and get ahead in the recruitment race. Naturally, such events are a great way for you to land your dream job and polish your coding skills/learn new ones, along the way.

Hackathon problem statements are an integral part of the competitive hackathon process. These key statements describe the problem at hand that needs researching and solving. If you haven't started your hackathon/ competitive coding journey yet, know that the hackathon experience will be like nothing you've felt before. In this article, we will give you a brief on hackathons, hackathon problem statements, how to tackle them, and also provide you with a repository of sample/ mock hackathon problems for practice. 

What is a Hackathon?

A hackathon is an event where coders and developers from different areas come together for an intense session of coding competition. All individuals who are a part of the community hackathon tackle a feasible problem statement to come up with a solution, within a fixed time frame. There are multiple types of hackathons like science hackathons, data science hackathons, machine learning model hackathons, etc. The average duration of a hackathon is 24-48 hours, though the exact time varies from hackathon to hackathon. 

What is a hackathon problem statement?

A hackathon problem statement as the name suggests describes the situation/ problem that needs addressing. The major components of a problem statement are that it describes the current state of the situation, a desired future state, and why it is critical to address the issue. The purpose of the statement is to communicate all of this information in detail to the participants. Listed ahead are three tips that will help you tackle the problem statement in much lesser time and perform to the best of your abilities.

Tips to tackle hackathon problem statements

Here are a few tips to help you better understand the flow of hackathons, and tackle the problem statements easily:

Understand the Problem Statement

The first tip is to read the problem description properly and break it down into sections. Zero in on what the issue and its current state are, and also what the organizers want you to achieve through the solution. Once you know about these two points, you can start figuring out how to get from A to B in a more streamlined manner. 

Build an Approach

After you have a destination in mind, i.e. what solution you are seeking and why, start strategizing on how to move forward on your journey, given the time frame. Draft the ideal approach of model building/ code writing that focuses on purpose-driven innovation to solution for your specific case. Define the processes, techs, tools, etc. that are the best fit to tackle the hackathon problem statement. 

Get to The Coding Work

Once you have a good understanding of the hackathon problem statement and a fair idea of the approach you want to follow, get to coding. Work on refining and perfecting your code before locking it for idea submission. Work on your code and keep on refining it iteratively, till you are completely satisfied. Remember that your code is the hero!

Now that you have enough knowledge about hackathon problem statements and how to tackle them, let's proceed to the next part, which is practicing. Practice is imperative to improve upon anything and everything we do. The same holds for coding skills! 

Practice here to hone your skills

To help you sharpen your coding/ programming skills, we have prepared a practicing platform with a repository of hackathon problem statements (and more) with many impressive features that will make practicing super fun.

The repository compiles statements ranging from coding competitions for beginners to advanced-level coding challenges. You can select the level of difficulty of the statement you want to tackle from easy to medium to difficult. There is also an option to select the topics of the statements like arrays, subsets, data structure & algorithms, hashtable, tree, etc. You can also choose to practice the statements from companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Samsung, etc. and get insights into the challenges/ coding competitions for students, conducted by these companies.

If you are a novice hoping to participate in a coding competition for beginners you can go for the easier problem statements first and then increase the level of difficulty slowly.  The platform also has a leaderboard feature to help you keep track of your performance in comparison to other participants. Another cool feature is the badges section which attests to the level of coding skills. We are sure that with time and continuous practice you will be able to reach the top echelons of hackathon leaderboard on the portal. 

In a nutshell, the coding & hiring assessment section lists numerous problem statements, some from previous hackathons and some mock hackathons. These statements are sure to help you in deep learning and get your creative juices flowing. So what are you waiting for, head on over now!

Interested in being a part of an upcoming hackathon and testing your skills, check this article out & grab onto the right opportunity- Upcoming Hackathons 2024 Every Engineering Student Must Know!

You might also be interested in reading the following:

• A Beginner’s Guide To Hackathons In India
• Boosting Career Opportunities For Engineers Through E-School Competitions
• 259 Hackathon Team Names For Coding Challenge (The Best Collection)