Sun* Hackathon 2019: The journey of transformation for strong-willed dreamers

Overcoming difficulties

This year's challenge does not just stop at the topic of solving 6 social issues, but also the unfamiliarity of hackathon first-timers, or cropped up problems with the schedule of competitors through out the whole competition.

Signing up for Sun* Hackathon means a complete change in schedule, as they have to work in 36 intense continuous hours of Hacking Session, and if they are lucky to be in the Presentation Session, they will have to go through the whole presentation and refutation session with the jury board within 10 minutes. 

Many feel rather reluctant with the rules, but for the competitors of Sun* Hackathon 2019, the fierce spirit of competition is evident. Even for the ladies like Trần Thị Hải Hà - RnD Mix Team, also said: "If you are in the IT game, staying up late to fix bugs is no big deal.”

Even though the organizer provided all the necessary facilities as well as reminded teams to rest, some still stayed up all night or dozed off on the table while waiting for the results, with all the passion and enthusiasm for their "brainchild" to be born within just a short time.

Seeing the teams after 36 continuous hours of hacking, we have even more respect and appreciation for them. Neat clothes hastily worn on a worn out body and a weary face, always on standby for the results and the presentation if passed for the next round, all shows how serious they are with their products and the competition.

Fly Color Team: “We stayed up all night to finish our products. 36 hours are quite short compared to what we expect to have for this product. Also, continuous coding in such a short time drains us out quite a lot. But we can relax now, because the final product is completed.”

Nguyễn Trọng Toàn - Team Sun Bắn: "We have lots of feelings after 36 hours of hacking. The first thing is excitement when we start to work on our awesome ideas, then complete lost, not knowing how to fix bug effectively. We strive till the end.”

Hotfix Team also put a lot into this competition. With only 2 members in the second day, they did not give up and continue to complete the product till the end. 

One of the most common issues in teamwork is disagreement, and Sun* Hackathon is no exception.

Many teams have fierce debates to find the same ground in topic, orientation, programming, bug fixing... Not to mention, teams with members of different Units have great difficulties with understanding each other. 

Team Shadow with 5 members from Unit 3 struggled with deciding on ideas, as each people has different opinions, so they must discuss and vote to choose. Tu - the youngest team member said: "Unity is our most valued factor, so despite being in batch 2 with many strong competitors while having never been to any hackathons, we are still confident that we will be eligible for the Presentation session.”

Moreover, building a Business model for the product was also a struggle for many teams. Why would the jury board choose their product? What is the output and the market competitiveness? Most teams encounter that problem. 

Nguyễn Thế Vinh - Homie Bois Team said: “One thing we feel quite regret is that our preparations and ideas are not well-received. We also lack experience, as during the elimination round, we did not think of "Where's the money", so when asked, we had nothing on our hands.”

Or the Seseam product (topic Digital transformation) of RnD Sunkey left judge Nguyen Tiep - CEO Astra with a close call, as it is highly valued in terms of ideas, but the competitiveness is not really a focus. 

Leaving impression

Coming to the competition, two types of contestants intrigue the organizer and the participants. The first type is the newbies, and the second is the seniors of Sun*. 

RnD Sunkey said in modesty that the team is still young and naive compared to experienced developers. Nevertheless, wild idea and a serious method prove that they can play in the same ground with the seniors, which is compelling to the judges. RnD Sunkey made it into the Presentation session (Top 9) with a fascinating presentation.

Another surprise for the organizer is the participation of leaders in a ground full of young talents. They are Bùi Quý Tuyên - GL Unit 2, Nguyễn Văn Vượng - Team Leader Unit 3 and Nguyễn Anh Tiến - GL R&D Unit, with the nickname "greyhound" given by Nguyễn Ngọc Tuấn - Manager Sun* Startup Studio. It shows the passion and devotion of the Sun* seniors. Despite being experienced, they still wish to challenge themselves and “get risky”, not confined to the safe zone. Their participation is an encouragement for their members, for “be a team” spirit - because we are a team, “to go far, go together”.

The 24 teams must have devoted lots of efforts for their innovations. Even if there can only be 9 products for the presentation session, but it is enough to see how creative and thoughtful the young Sunners are. 

From organ donation support device to emergency aid, from waste treatment to medication intake reminder, or products that enhance studying or working, etc... All those ideas aim at the same direction, making the world a better place. That is the spirit of a Sunner. 

More than a competition...

There are winners - losers everywhere, but for this competition, it doesn't matter anymore. 

Teams had valuable experiences after 40 hours of coding - eating - sleeping with Sun* Hackathon 2019. Those include process of creating product, methods of optimization, to understanding teammates, respecting the time, working wholeheartedly till the end.

The performances in the last 3 days are the signature of a young generation of Sun* who dares to think - dares to act, who is always ready to get out of their comfort zone, who is up for creativity and changing mindset to bring values that matter to the society. 

It doesn't matter what they do, they just do it with all their heart as if the product is their own child, and aim towards the positive things, and surely, together with the whole society, they will flourish. 

They are the strong inspiration for the Sunners in particular, and the professional IT community in general. 

RnD Ignite - Third Place even surprised us more with emotional and earnest sharings after the competition: "Teams work together for the Third Place with the organ donation device for humanitarian aid. We plan to use all of our 3,000,000 VND reward to donate to the family of the little Thao in the program of Sun* Charity Club.” - Aren't we using technology to create a better world?

Even though the competition has come to an end, it still left lasting impression in the participants like a beautiful memory of Sun* youths. It also proves that there is nothing we can do, and with our yearning for learning, thinking, working with our heart and trying our best, we will be able to overcome any difficulties and achieve any goals. 

"It doesn't matter who we go against, what matters is what we can do" - The words of Nguyễn Văn Giáp, the 22-years-old of Team 4ru3_SBK left a lasting impression throughout all of Hackathon. Giáp not only declares his team's confidence and determination, but also portrays correctly and impressively the spirit of all the fighters of Sun* Hackathon 2019.

This article is our most sincere appreciation and gratitudes to the fighter of Sun* Hackathon 2019, the people who have worked wholeheartedly to “make awesome things that matter”.