Hey there, folks!

So, my journey at SAP started just a few months ago, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s been a wild ride. Aawishkaar, the hackathon we participated in, is like the Coachella of tech hackathons, but without the mud and overpriced food trucks. I mean, who doesn’t love a good hackathon, right?

Now, I’m no stranger to these coding showdowns; I’ve hacked my way through college with these things. So, when I heard about Aawishkaar, I gathered some of my fellow team members from the team and decided to throw our hat in the ring.

The rules were simple – just build something cool around topics like Gen AI, Data, BTP, Sustainability, etc. Easy-peasy, right? We chose BTP and Gen AI because, well, they sounded snazzy (and we had a few tricks up our sleeve for the same)

Now, there were like 87 teams in the mix, so we had to be the Belle of the Ball, and that’s a lot of pressure for a bunch of coding geeks. All we needed to do was present our fantastic idea in a snazzy PowerPoint. But we kind of left it until the last minute, because TechEd was lurking on the horizon. Time management, who’s she?

Thankfully, our presentation went better than expected, even if we had no clue who was saying what. Bad coordination or just a bunch of procrastinators? You decide.

Fast forward a week, and guess what? We made it to the finals! 10 teams had made it, and we were one of them. We were over the moon but realized we had to put on our big-kid pants and get to work. We set up a detailed plan, but like any good procrastinators, we left everything to the last two days. Classic move.

Our idea was all about Gen AI and BTP, which meant diving into data, fiddling with neural networks, and creating a UI that could rival an Instagram filter. Oh, and let’s not forget crafting a mind-blowing presentation. Easy, right?

With minutes to spare, everything was ready for the big day. And there we were, in our matching “BTP is the choice” t-shirts, presenting our grand idea. Our colleagues showed up to cheer us on, and the competition was fierce. Some teams had some really cool prototypes. We were just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

Then came the dreaded wait. The results would be announced on T&I India Day, which was two whole weeks away. It felt like an eternity, but we had no choice but to twiddle our thumbs in anticipation.

Finally, the big day arrived. Our CTO, Juergen Mueller, graced the stage to hand out the prizes. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a butter knife. My teammates and I exchanged nervous glances, but there was one thing left: the announcement.

They started with the Idea stream winners, and I was on the edge of my seat. And then, it was our turn – the Implementation stream winners. I hoped they’d call our name, but I was secretly aiming for 1st place. When they announced us as the 2nd runner-up, I couldn’t have been happier. We’d scored an incredible win, and Juergen himself handed us a giant check and a cup. Yes, we did it!

None of this would have been possible without the awesome support we received from our team members at the Platform Adoption and Advisory team. This was one for the books, and I’m hoping to add more thrilling chapters to my tech adventure!

Cheers,

Aryan