Gear up for the Qualifiers of HT Code-a-thon 2022
In today’s tech-based world, coding has emerged as the ultimate new age skill for the young generation. In fact, coding has become so mainstream that it has the power to reshape the careers of all students who are interested in the field of technology. With that in mind, HT School returned with the second edition of the long-anticipated HT Code-a-thon. Deemed as one of the largest coding Olympiads for school students in India, HT Code-a-thon 2022 is open to all students of grades 4 to 9. As many as 12657 students registered for the contest. The highest numbers of registrations have come from Delhi (6850), Chhattisgarh (1272), Uttar Pradesh (1222). More than 600 candidates will participate in the Qualifiers that is scheduled for 11th April, from 1pm to 5pm. The Finale, on the other hand, will take place on 15th April.
The online Pan India coding Olympiad will be the one-stop platform for all school students to get acquainted with the basics of coding, practise them extensively and ultimately demonstrate their skills. The icing on the cake is of course prizes worth INR 5 lakh, alongside grand media exposure and certificates of completion and participation. The second edition of HT Code-a-thon is presented by the Chhattisgarh Government, while Acer is its technical partner and Intel its partner.
Both the Qualifiers and the Finale will have 25 questions each for a duration of 45 minutes. The first 15 questions will be single correct answer based, where students will score 1 mark for each correct answer. There will be no negative marking. The next 5 questions will be multiple correct answer based, where students can earn 2 marks for all the correct answers (more than 1). However, if one of their answers is incorrect, no mark will be awarded. Likewise, the final 5 questions will also be multiple correct answer based. However, the only difference is that, here, students will get positive marking for the correct choice and negative marking for the incorrect choice. Here, each question will carry 2 marks, meaning if a question has 4 correct answers, each answer will carry 0.5 mark. Similarly, in case of 3 correct answers, each answer will carry 0.67 mark, while for 2 correct answers, each answer will have 1 mark. For any incorrect choice, there will be a negative marking of 0.5. All the answers will be auto-graded.
Top 100 scorers from each grade will qualify for the Finale, wherein top 3 students from each grade will be declared as national winners.
Ahead of the Qualifiers, it is mandatory for students to complete their different learning modules existing on the official website by 7th April. They comprise of bite-sized videos, concept notes and course quizzes. Grade 4 students will begin their coding journey with game designing using Scratch, while grade 5 students will learn all about app designing using the MIT App Inventor. In contrast, grade 6 students will grasp how to design and develop their own websites and grade 7 students will focus on developing games on the Unity platform. In addition, students of grades 8 and 9 will primarily deal with the Python programming language. There, they will get the opportunity to tackle real-world issues using Python and Python with AI. After going through the learning modules, participants will have to attempt the course quizzes at the end. If they score 60 percent or above in these quizzes, then only they will move on to the Qualifiers.
Talking about HT Code-a-thon 2023, Shri Bhupesh Baghel, the Honourable Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh said, “A platform like HT Code-a-thon garners inclusivity through healthy competition as well as personal and adaptive learning. We at Chhattisgarh Government are always looking forward to associate ourselves with such innovative and interactive initiatives; which is why we are proud to join hands with Hindustan Times for HT Code-a-thon 2022. Coding is a vital skill in this tech-driven age and we hope that this coding Olympiad inspires students to use technology to advance their academic and professional lives, besides giving them the opportunity to develop new age life skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, innovation and emotional intelligence.”
Echoing a similar spirit, Sooraj Balakrishnan, Head of Marketing, Acer, India and Bangladesh shared, “Acer's vision is completely aligned with HT’s Code-a-thon initiative. We both believe in developing the right skills at the right time. Coding is an important skill which can unlock enormous potential with regards to one’s career. In fact, coding also affects the society with the ability to bring in products which can have transformative effects. This programme will prepare students for the future and give them a platform to showcase and improve their coding skills.”
HT Code-a-thon 2023 is in full swing with exciting experiences on the way. Stay tuned for more updates.