Meet the top web developers of HT-Code-a-thon 2021
Coding has emerged as a necessary tech skill for the millennial learners. Keeping this in mind, Hindustan Times kicked off its first coding initiative in 2020. It was known as Hindustan Times Code-a-thon. The second edition of this coding Olympiad started in August last year and concluded with a virtual felicitation ceremony on 20th January 2022. The official partners of HT Code-a-thon included reputed brands such as SpeED Labs, IBM, Intel, Hindu Tamil Thisai and Lufthansa Airlines.
HT Code-a-thon 2022 was conducted in three age-appropriate modules divided between North and South Zones: App Development for grades IV and V, Web Development for grades VI and VII and Game Development for grades VIII and IX. This national-level coding competition gave budding coders an opportunity to learn and practise coding remotely, interact with their peers and exhibit their coding talents. Contestants were provided with coding resources such as video lectures, practice modules, quizzes and mock practices for the competition. Following the announcement of the HT Code-a-thon champions, HT School spoke to the North and South Zone toppers of the Web Development Category. Here’s a sneak peek into the minds of these coding wizards.
Saion Gupta, Springdale School, New Delhi, Grade VII
Rank: 1 (North Zone)
Saion has been coding since the last two years on platforms like Hackerrank. However, HT Code-a-thon was his first attempt at a coding Olympiad. “It was all my coding knowledge put together for a test of a sort,” he shares. Saion found the HT Code-a-thon course structure as well as the instructors to be very effective. “I got to learn many new coding concepts, such as ViaFrame and Bootstrap,” he says.
Saion is a self-motivated student who keeps upgrading and challenging himself through skill assessments on LinkedIn. However, he attributes his success to his father. "It was his constant motivation that pushed me to keep pursuing coding. Coding has helped me focus better. Also, I thoroughly enjoy chancing upon errors and solving them,” says Saion.
Champion’s tips: If someone is really passionate about coding, they should search for tutorials and books. After learning the basics, try and develop your own apps. Above all, one should always believe in oneself, stay positive and try out new things.
Veeranjay Singh, Ryan International School, Sec-31, Gurugram, Grade VII
Rank: 2 (North Zone)
For Veeranjay, the winning moment of HT Code-a-thon 2022 is one of the greatest achievements of his life so far. While he found the courses and quizzes to be really helpful, he enjoyed doing the projects the most as they improved his portfolio. " I am looking forward to the next edition of Code-a-thon as well. Next time, I will encourage my younger brother also to participate,” he shares candidly. What made this edition of the coding Olympiad especially memorable for Veeranjay was the fact that he had to juggle between his school tests and the competition.
Veeranjay was also part of the HT Code-a-thon 2020. The intention was to gather knowledge in this domain. “I have participated in other programming prior to this: Codechef by Unacademy and Geeksforgeeks and I owe my success to my elder brother,” he adds.
This budding coder had started his coding journey in the fifth grade with game development and later tried out web development too. “Web development is my least favourite part of coding, although I do like creating new websites. However, success in this category has motivated me,” he signs off.
Champion’s tips: One should learn in theory and then simultaneously try things out practically.
Akshat Gupta, Rukmini Devi Public School, North Delhi, Grade VII
Rank: 3 (North Zone)
Akshat was a novice in coding until he had joined the first edition of HT Code-a-thon in 2020. That was his stepping stone in the coding journey where he learnt all about HTML, CSS and Java. “In this edition too, my experience was extremely insightful and enriching. I mostly referred to YouTube tutorials and did the rest of the preparation from the Code-a-thon video lectures,” he shares.
According to this budding coder, HT Code-a-thon was neither too easy nor too difficult, which made the journey all the more worthwhile. Apart from Code-a-thon, Akshat enjoys coding on platforms like Visuals and StudioPOD.
"I keep aside 2 hours for just practising coding every day. Currently, I have shifted my focus to AI and want to learn more about it,” he says.
Champion’s tips: One should pursue coding as it is not only fun but also educational. Make your own apps, games and websites. It will give you a feeling of great accomplishment.
Saurish V Bihani, RN Podar School, Mumbai, Grade VII
Rank: 1 (South Zone)
Saurish is grateful to his school for selecting him for HT Code-a-thon. He found the course to be very well-structured. “I explored their study content and realised it was very well organised. The study materials were also well-chosen while the courses, quizzes and mock tests were really helpful,” he shares.
As part of his final prep, Saurish referred to video lectures and tried his hands out on web development projects on other coding platforms. He closely follows tech giants like Google and Microsoft and wishes to work for them someday. “That is why I started pursuing coding. HT Code-a-thon helped me the most because it is where I started to learn from my own (coding) mistakes,” says Saurish.
Champion’s tips: Start with app and web developments, improve your fundamentals and then move on to game development.
Anshveer Singh Bindra, Oberoi International School, Mumbai, Grade VII
Rank: 2 (South Zone)
Coding has become an addiction for Anshveer, one, that he doesn’t regret for sure. “At the initial stage of the Code-a-thon, I found it tough to grasp a few concepts. But eventually, I figured it all out,” he says. This young coder was pleasantly surprised and thrilled too, when he had finished way ahead of time. “I might have an actual chance at winning after all, I thought to myself,” shares the budding coder. After qualifying for the finals, Anshveer once again went through the video lectures and the mistakes he had made till then.
“Game designing and AI are my favourites in coding,” shares Anshveer, who had taken up coding last year, prompted by his father.
Champion’s tips: Understanding the fundamentals and watching the video lectures over and over again is a must.
Param Dipak Vasoya, MKVV International Vidyalaya, Grade VII
Rank: 3 (South Zone)
“Hindustan Times Code-a-thon was a great learning experience for me,” says Param. “It was age-appropriate and pretty balanced,” he adds. His preparations for the finals included going through several coding resources on Google and listening to the video lectures of the Code-a-thon itself.
This budding coder owes his success to his mother. “Someday, I’ll make her proud by becoming a professional coder. Currently, I wish to learn more about game designing,” shares Param.
Champion’s tips: There are multiple coding resources available on the internet. Try them out.