From October 25th to 27th, Start NTNU hosted its three-day coding competition, aiming to connect students and businesses through innovation.
By Vilde Falck Husum
Not Your Average Business Presentation – Interactive, Innovative and Intense
We have pillows and duvets ready. We don’t leave until the last students want to go – Ajanan, Project Manager
Participants had 48 hours to tackle and present their solution to the given case. Over 50 students, divided into a total of twelve teams, made the office locations at Regus their temporary base for the weekend.
The project group behind Start Code wanted the case to be relevant, both in terms of generating value and promoting innovational spirit. Project Manager Ajanan Nimaledran explained that they chose a startup to present the case instead of a traditional corporate company. Since Start Code is all about innovation, they wanted this year’s business to reflect that as well.
After interviewing startups from Gründerbrakka, focusing on who could provide relevant hands-on challenges and mentorship, they landed on a candidate. The honor went to Enmo, a software company that develops smart energy management systems to optimize the use and storage of energy from solar panels and batteries. Through their technology, they utilize weather data, electricity prices, and consumption patterns to enhance decision-making processes.
By attending, Enmo hoped that Start Code would provide valuable insights and give them a chance to connect with skilled and motivated students for future recruitment. They expressed how they carefully crafted this year’s case to make it beneficial for both themselves and the students:
Our startup is very technical overall. We have isolated the cases so that you don’t have to understand the whole startup to understand the problem. Our challenges lie in scaling our product, and the students are testing out how they can scale the technical solution so that we can reach more customers. – Enmo
Providing an Arena for Mutual Learning, Development and Networking
Aligned with Start NTNUs slogan, «we create Norway’s future», Start Code has proven to be a valuable event for both companies and students. Project group members Ajanan and Henrik shared how they work to uphold Start’s values through Start Code:
Last year, the team that placed second formed a consulting team and collaborated with the case company for over a year. Now they are recruiting and expanding their client base. – Henrik, Project Group Coordinator
The main goal of the event is to create an arena where participants can connect with like-minded peers and apply their skills in a real-world context. It’s not just about competition; the event emphasizes networking and innovative spirit, showcasing what it’s like to work with a startup. However, a trip to Switzerland worth 35 000 NOK to compete in Start Hack globally adds motivation.
When selecting a winner, Enmo focused on the overall delivery. Evaluation was based on completion rate, understanding of the problem at hand, practical application, and level of innovation. Code quality, scalability, and minimal errors were also crucial criteria. Although it was a close race, the team Stash Poppers won by two points. They presented a solid frontend solution for information gathering. Enmo further reported that participating in Start Code provided them with fresh perspectives on their challenges and how to create potential solutions.
Scaling Up From Trondheim’s Biggest Hackathon to Norway’s Biggest Coding Competition
Participants experienced the event as well-organized and valuable. The event included a workshop on large language models by ReLU, and representatives from Enmo and Start were present to offer guidance to the students. Despite few hours of sleep and high consumption of energy drinks, students highly recommend participating. They concluded that Start Code is a great opportunity to test out your skills, learn and network.
By prioritizing participant experience, the project group decided to keep the number of attendees manageable to ensure quality, despite the potential for larger capacity. They provided meals, beverages, movie breaks, and guidance, aiming to create a positive experience throughout the weekend. However, Start Code has ambitious plans as they aim to become Norway’s biggest coding competition. The project group is already in dialogue with international sponsors who have their eyes set on NTNU as a promising arena for collaboration.
Additionally, they are also committed to increasing female participation. Through partnerships with organizations like Boost Henne, they are working to increase the number of female attendees. Marketing efforts aim to reframe Start Code as more than just a «hackathon for guys», highlighting it as an arena for skill development and creative problem-solving:
We’ve rebranded it as a coding competition instead of a hackathon. We want to show that it is an arena for developing coding skills and working creatively with case solving, open for all, also when it comes to academic fields – Ajanan, Project Manager
Looking ahead, the project group envisions expanding the event beyond the scope of Trondheim-based students. They are already in discussions with other universities that have expressed interest. Hoping to cover travel expenses for students from other universities, their goal is to scale Start Code to a national level. Start Code truly embodies its slogan of creating Norway’s future, bringing together skill-building, networking, competition and pitching. Most importantly, it has shown to be an initiative that fosters innovation that creates lasting results.