Winning MachineHack's AI Hackathons as a High Schooler—8 Tips to Help You Out

If you’re a high schooler interested in data science and all things AI/ML, consider applying for hackathons to test your coding, problem-solving, and analytical skills! Such challenges are a good way to explore topics, find unique solutions to problems, pit yourself against competitors, and complete challenges in a time-bound and efficient manner, making you a better coder.

Moreover, if you plan on pursuing software engineering, data science, coding, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI) in college, hackathons can introduce high-level coding concepts and add significant value to your student profile. They show curiosity, competitiveness, and sustained interest in a subject, skills college admissions boards value highly.

In this blog, we will review MachineHack’s AI Hackathons. Here, you will find general information on the hackathon, eligibility criteria, rules, competitiveness, and tips to help you succeed!

What are MachineHack’s AI Hackathons all about?

MachineHack Gen AI hosts several community-oriented hackathons that test and improve your AI and ML problem-solving skills. The challenges you face here simulate real-world problems like predicting the price of flights and houses and estimating air quality. These hackathons are competitive and open to all, aiming to improve your skills and prepare you for AI/ML jobs. 

MachineHack is an online network of generative AI professionals that aims to showcase the field’s potential through hackathons and other challenges. The platform emphasizes knowledge sharing by providing practice sets and answer keys. You can use MachineHack to upskill, test yourself against peers, and learn more about generative AI. 

While MachineHack is aimed at professionals, its hackathons are open to all. All you need are the skills to succeed!

How do I apply for the hackathon?

Applying to MachineHack’s Hackathons is simple: go to the website, register yourself, and select the hackathon you’re interested in!

How much does participation cost?

Nothing! Participating in MachineHack hackathons is free.

What do winners get?

There is no monetary prize. However, some hackathons offer certificates and winners get serious bragging rights! Participation in multiple hackathons will give you a ranking on the overall leaderboard.

Is the Hackathon prestigious?

The MachineHack Hackathons can be considered prestigious, especially if you participate and win as a high schooler. You will likely compete against college students and professionals, making winning or achieving a high rank commendable. The number of participants for each hackathon varies greatly, ranging between 100 and 5,000. In all, MachineHack has 100,000+ registered users who participate in its hackathons.

What are the program dates?

The start and end date depend on the specific hackathon. The challenges can remain open for several years.

What are the Hackathon rules?

The rules vary depending on the hackathon, but here’s a sample list: 

• Register before participating

• Only have one account

• Provide the code for the work done

• Code output should match the submission file

• Cannot share your submitted code

• Cannot submit more than nine solutions in a day

How are entries evaluated?

Evaluations will be done by calculating the root mean squared error (i.e., the difference between the predicted and actual values) between the submitted and result files.

How do I prepare for these Hackathons?

Before beginning, you should have a strong base in coding and be familiar with generative AI concepts. Although the specific skills required vary for each hackathon, here’s a sample of tasks you should be able to execute:

• Clean data and handle missing values in data sets

• Be familiar with time series and spatial analysis

• Be knowledgeable with statistical modeling approaches like ARIMA, SARIMA, and ETS. Familiarity with ML models like Random Forest, XGBoost, LSTM, GRU, or CNN will also benefit you.

Additionally, once you register, you can access the MachineHack community and ask peers for any questions you may have. MachineHack also provides resources (notebooks) to help you with specific challenges. 

What kind of challenges can I participate in?

MachineHack sets generative AI challenges based on real-world problems. Current hackathons include:

• Demand Forecasting for Bicycle Rentals: develop a time series regression model that accurately forecasts the demand for bicycle rentals for a particular month based on historical data

• Criminal Incident Rate Forecasting: develop a predictive model to estimate the number of crime incidents at a monthly level based on day and hour-level data. The information available includes crime types, coordinates, and locations.

• Rental Bikes Volume Prediction: create a model to predict the volume of bikes rented per hour 

• Predict The Price Of Books:  build an ML model to predict the price of books based on data that includes book title, author, edition, reviews, ratings, genre, synopsis, price, and discount, if any.

• PM10 Air Quality Estimation: predict PM10 values and different time intervals

8 tips to help you ace hackathons

1. Understand the problem statement thoroughly

Ensure you are clear about the task, the solution needed, and the skills and knowledge required to complete the challenge. Resolve any questions you may have about the problem statement before beginning.

2. Start learning and practicing early

MachineHack hackathons are open to everyone with challenges ranging from beginner to advanced. You’ll be competing against college students and working professionals with much more experience than you. Beating them will definitely be a feather in your cap, but to do so you need to familiarize yourself with statistical time series modeling techniques and AI/ML concepts like Random Forest, XGBoost, LSTM, GRU, and CNN.

3. Make use of available resources

Once registered, you’ll be able to access participant community boards and MachineHack’s challenge-specific prep material (see the “notebook” tab). Use these resources to learn more about the challenge and better prepare yourself.

4. Clear any doubts you may have

You can contact MachineHack with any queries about the challenge or even have your doubts cleared with peers through the discussion forums. Doing so ensures you complete the challenges to the best of your ability.

5. Submit solutions early and repeatedly

MachineHack challenges let you submit several solutions. Moreover, the hackathons remain open for a long time (in some cases, a few years!) allowing you to iterate and improve your solutions.

6. Use cross-validation techniques

Doing so can fine-tune your predictive model and ensure less deviation between the submitted and result file, helping you earn more points and win the challenge!

7. Manage your time wisely

Split the work you have to do into three main stages: data analysis, modeling, and refinement. Track how much time you spend on each and recognize when it's time to move on, especially if returns are diminishing.

8. Don’t forget to have fun!

Hackathons can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience that test your skills in a controlled environment. The MachineHack challenges are relatively low-stakes, allowing you to submit multiple entries over a long time. Use this opportunity as a learning experience that can help shape a future career in data science and analytics.

One other option - the Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you want to apply your skills in the field of research, you could also consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!