A participant’s testimony - Axelle Bessede

Before learning about the Junior Enterprise’s Hackathon, I had never heard about this type of event so I really did not know what to expect. After a friend pitched me the project, I decided to participate for the experience and to experiment a new way of working in a different environment. I was aware that we were asked to work in groups on a project concerning mobility. However, I was skeptical about getting ideas that people working on the subject all year round did not have already. I ended up being surprised by the creativity of all the groups.

The Hackathon started at 6:30pm on a Friday night, you have to be motivated to participate! After the event and the problem were presented, we got to meet our teams. I immediately got along with mine: two students from TSE and one from ISAE-SUPAERO, an engineering aerospace school. The next day, we met at 8 in the morning, an early rise for a week-end! Yet, after a quick breakfast, everybody went to their assigned room to work on the winning project. Everybody was very motivated so it was a great atmosphere to be in.

After a few hours of discussion, we settled on a solution for the problem of easing mobility in Toulouse through its demographic growth. We then had quite a hard time making our idea into a concrete project we could present as we had too many ideas for a single solution and did not find much help in the resources furnished. We finally managed to produce slides and have a clear idea of our project before the time limit. Thankfully we pitched to the jury quite soon after that so we did not have much time to stress. After everyone had presented, we gathered in the lecture hall to attend a round table with actors of the mobility sector in Toulouse and finally discover who the finalists were. The finalists then pitched their project in front of everybody. Their projects and speeches were really incredible. We got to vote for our favorite and they received their prizes. I was happy that the group I voted for won the first prize. Their project was very well thought.

 Finally, we got to enjoy a very good buffet while debriefing the event. After this, those who wanted to extend the Hackathon’s ambiance continued the evening in a bar.

 Overall and in every small detail, I must say that the Junior Enterprise did an incredible job in organizing the event. Every detail had been thought of and everything went very smoothly. The intervention and speeches in the lecture hall were interesting and the ambiance was really positive, motivating and inclusive all along the event.

To conclude, I have been very happy to participate in this event and would do it again. It is an experience I will remember, especially the fact that we should not underestimate how much of an interesting work we can produce in a team.