Inside “Electron – a Hackathon by LSE & ETTI” – My Role as a Jury Member

As a graduate of the Faculty of ETTI from the UPB, I was honored to be invited as an industry expert to serve as a jury member for a hackathon organized by a student NGO (LSE) and the faculty. The hackathon featured ~100 participants and three contest sections related to technology topics:

Electrify the Campus (Tech stack: Internet of Things, Sensors, Intelligent Systems)
Capture the Flag (Cyber Security, Signal Processing, Computer Engineering)
ESP Connect&Control (Sense & Control, Embedded Systems, Applied Electronics)

It was an exciting 24-hour event that took place over the weekend.

As a jury member, I was responsible for evaluating the projects and selecting the winners. The competition was intense, and the creativity and innovation on display were impressive (even for some participants that were still in high school). I was privileged to work alongside other industry experts, university teachers, and the Head of the Jury – the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Ing. Mihnea Udrea.

In addition to being a jury member, I also had the opportunity to present a workshop on “how to research“. It was an honor to share my knowledge and experience with the participants, to listen to them, provide feedback and help them develop the skills they need to succeed in the tech industry.

I was delighted to see that the event had the support of several important company names in the tech industry (such as Vodafone and Microchip) – a sign that they are willing to invest in education in our country and develop the next generation of tech engineers. Their involvement added to the prestige of the hackathon and made it clear that the work being done there was relevant and significant.

For me, serving as a jury member at the university hackathon was a rewarding experience. It was a privilege to be part of an event that showcased the creativity and ingenuity of future tech leaders.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated and I want to congratulate the organizers – LSE, their leaders (Bogdan Carp – the project coordinator, Calin Iorga – NGO president, Teo Mirzan – NGO VP, Ana Nanu – event organizer) and my colleagues in the jury Ana Neacsu (for her contribution to contest rules) and Ciprian Zamfirescu (for Vodafone’s financial support to the event).