This year Samsung R&D Institute Poland (SRPOL) had the honor of hosting a Samsung Ads Hackathon event that took place between the 22nd and 24th of April. It was a huge event for the whole Samsung Ads project, with participants from all over the globe and from many different time zones. It was not an easy task, but we were up to the challenge and we can definitely call it a success. This was the first time our center had such an opportunity and we managed to gather around 50 teams from 5 countries and 170 participants in total.

Samsung Ads Hackathon is a cyclical event that happens twice a year in the Samsung Ads project. The idea is to design and prepare a solution which can improve our project in one of four categories: Tech, Product, Tools & Processes and Machine Learning. Each event is organized by a designated R&D center in one of five countries. Participants have exactly 72 hours to come up with their implementations, and the winners receive some cash prizes. During the hackathon, attendees can work on their projects during standard working hours or even stay in the office after hours. This unique initiative is a great opportunity to present some clever, cost-cutting, ingenious and out-of-the-box ideas to the management, prove them they are working and get a chance to implement them in a project in the future. Additionally, this is a good opportunity for employees to integrate even between the centers, as some teams were cooperating with people from other countries.

We are very proud to say that the first place in Machine Learning category and also a Grand Winner of the whole Hackathon is “SRPOL Creative Project” made up by our colleagues: Łukasz Mączewski, Paweł Zborowski, Angelika Szyszka and Karolina Pierścińska. What is more, the second place in the Machine Learning category was also won by another SPROL team: “Audience Builder Smart Assistant” consisting of Dariusz Bielawski, Katarzyna Siudek, Cezary Kręt and Jędrzej Alchimowicz. The teams were honored to receive their prizes and the diplomas from SVP Eldad and VP Herve during their visit in SRPOL in June. Our VP guests acted as judges and unanimously chose these projects as winners, plus pointed out how important Samsung Ads Hackathon is, and how Machine Learning is needed in the near future for Samsung Ads. We are very proud of our accomplishments, since this was the first time when SPROL won a whole category.

Samsung Ads Hackathon is a very entertaining and competitive event where people can test their skills and knowledge. Also as organizers, we had a great chance to meet other members of Samsung Ads from Korea, the USA, Canada, India, and we had a lot of fun working with everyone on a shared goal.