UH students take first prize in Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI) hackathon

 

POSTED ON Jan 07, 2021

 

A computer information systems senior at the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV) won the first prize, along with a University of Houston-Downtown student, in the Data Analytic Hackathon at the 2020 Great Minds in STEM (GMiS) conference. According to UHV, Prabha Sapkota was one of five students who attended the virtual conference.

The hackathon is hosted by the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI) and is open to all college student attendees pursuing a degree in computer science.

The interactive learning event includes aspects of professional computer security work. Students work in teams to solve challenges that test their cybersecurity skills. Participants attend mandatory cybersecurity workshops in preparation for the hackathon.

“The Great Minds in STEM conference is the nation’s most prestigious place for computer science and computer information system students to present their work, build networks and find internships and jobs,” said Qi Zhu, a UHV computer science professor. “It is a great pleasure for me to see that our students could use what they learn from their classes and take on the challenge with great energy.”

The UHV students awarded travel sponsorships to the Great Minds in STEM conference this year were Artee Shrestha, a senior studying computer information systems, Susana Samayoa, a senior studying computer science, Jocelyne Martinez, a senior studying computer science, and Blaise Wangmeni, a senior studying computer science, and Sapkota, who would like to pursue a career in data science.

“It was all worth winning the competition and knowing how accurate our calculations came out,” Sapkota said.  “The whole conference was a great experience, and I recommend students apply for next year’s conference. Thank you to Dr. Zhu for this opportunity and to all my professors for the guidance throughout classes. I am glad to be part of UHV.”