News

Highcharts Hackathon Oct 2023

by

Mustapha Mekhatria

6 minutes read

In the vibrant city of Bergen, on the 3rd and 4th of October 2023, Highcharts hosted a Hackathon centered around the future of personal finance management: “Fremtidens personlige trener for din privatøkonom” (the future personal trainer for your finances). With innovative minds coming together, this event sparked a waive of creativity and ingenuity, shaping the landscape of financial technology.
We witnessed teams collaborating, coding, and innovating to create groundbreaking solutions that redefine how we manage our finances. In this blog post, I will share some insights from a Q&A session with the brilliant minds who emerged victorious. Join me as I uncover the ingenious ideas and passion that fueled the winners’ success.

The winners
Mouad Azmani: IT & E-buisness,
Jonas S. Arnesen: Fullstack Software Development
Khalil Ibrahim: Artificial Intelligence (ML) and data scientist
Henrik Tennebekk: Computer Science
Endre Georg Svendsen: Fullstack Software Development

What motivated you to participate in the hackathon?

Mouad – My curiosity about innovations and technology, coupled with the excitement of networking with new people, often leads me to events like this one. It offers an opportunity to apply my skills in real-world situations, which I find immensely valuable for learning—not just technically, but also for developing my soft skills. Although this isn’t my first time participating in an innovation event, each experience is uniquely enjoyable and presents new learning opportunities.

Jonas – I was intrigued by the prospect of exploring new technology. It’s always thrilling to work with something unfamiliar. I’ve attended multiple events like this, and it’s always a stimulating experience to be challenged by unfamiliar tasks, putting my skills to the test. Moreover, it provides a chance to network and interact with diverse individuals in the industry, listening to their stories and experiences.

Khalil – In our fast-paced world, rapid skill development and effective collaboration with our team and resources are essential for driving innovation and achieving outstanding results. My curiosity about innovation and technology motivated my participation in the hackathon. Engaging in a hackathon like this allows us to explore, learn, and master new concepts and technologies, enriching our existing knowledge.

Henrik – Curiosity led me to participate. I had never attended a hackathon before, and I learned that one of my friends was going. I was intrigued and decided to join to see what it was all about. This hackathon emphasized the importance of collaboration, clear communication within the team, and working together toward a shared vision. We exchanged experiences, knowledge, and ideas, fostering an innovative and creative environment for us to thrive.

Endre – I always enjoy a good challenge and delving into innovative solutions. When I saw there was a hackathon, I knew I had to sign up. Having participated in similar events before, I gained more knowledge and a better understanding of effective teamwork. Moreover, I could apply my skills to real-world problems and expand my capabilities.

How did you brainstorm and refine your idea before settling on the final concept?
We began with a 15-minute-long brainstorming session, during which we came up with numerous ideas. We needed to focus on each individual’s opinion regarding why and how this implementation could be meaningful. We tried to put ourselves in the customers’ position and used voting to determine which idea was the most popular.

Can you explain the key features of your solution and how it addresses the challenge?
Our solution was designed to provide you with enhanced oversight of your subscription expenses from month to month, as well as their cumulative total. Additionally, it offers the ability to compare your spending with that of others who have a similar salary, providing a practical reference for potential savings. Furthermore, you can manage your subscriptions within the application, streamlining the handling of recurring expenses.

Moreover, we incorporated two other functions to facilitate financial management and potential savings. These features assist in automating the process of seeking better deals for electricity and negotiating more favorable mortgage rates from banks and power companies.

This solution is notably beneficial for the average individual in multiple ways:

By providing a transparent and comprehensive overview of all subscription expenses, users are empowered to identify and eliminate any unnecessary expenditures.
Through enabling comparison with peers, it provides a realistic benchmark for potential savings and encourages mindful spending.
The automation of negotiating for better rates on significant expenses, such as electricity and mortgages, not only saves money but also valuable time, reducing the effort typically required in manual renegotiation.

Were the Highcharts documentation, API, or blog useful during your development? Did you find any particular resources or examples that were especially helpful?

Our experience with Highcharts was relatively smooth; the library provided ample documentation, facilitating straightforward implementation. While the available documentation was helpful, we wished for more specific examples tailored to various frameworks. We managed to implement desired features by leveraging resources like blog posts and examples, enabling us to achieve our goals effectively.

Did you reach out to the Highcharts community or forums for help during your project? If you did, how was your experience with their support?

No, we didn’t need help from the community since we only worked with the library a bit, and we didn’t face any major issues.

Did you encounter any challenges during integration?

Most examples we found were using Vanilla Javascript, but we were using Vue.js. Luckily, there was enough Vue.js documentation on the Highcharts website to help us out.

Did you face any challenges during the event, and how did you overcome them?

The main challenges were related to time constraints. We only had two days to create a prototype and minimum viable product. So, we focused on implementing only the essential functions to showcase our vision effectively.

What was the most valuable lesson your team learned from participating in the hackathon?

Firstly, we got to explore a new tool, Highcharts, which was incredibly exciting. We also learned a lot about time management, problem-solving, teamwork, innovative thinking, and, importantly, how to explain technical concepts clearly.