Elon University / Today at Elon / Elon Women in STEM team wins Best Fintech Hack at Pearl Hacks 2023

8 Elon pupils attended the Pearl Hacks 2023 hackathon at the College of North Carolina-Chapel Hill on Feb. 10-12, with one team profitable Ideal Fintech Hack for their undertaking.

Anna Mitchell ’23, Sreyrath Poeun ’23, Anahy Felipe de la Cruz ’24 and Bridgette Mercier ’24 utilised information from Poeun’s MKT 3110 Ideas of Advertising and marketing System to produce a system to help economical institutions better predict no matter if consumers would settle for precise financial loan provides. Their challenge incorporated a entrance-finish user interface for consumers to enter their information and facts and a back again-conclusion code that used machine learning and information to provide outcome predictions to financial establishments.

Reps of Cash 1, a sponsor of Pearl Hacks, awarded the undertaking Best Fintech Hack. Pearl Hacks is a hackathon for gals and gender non-conforming men and women in engineering held each individual calendar year due to the fact 2015. Hundreds attend the occasion yearly. Hackathons provide teams of tech-savvy people together to clear up challenges applying info and coding.

Other Elon pupils who participated have been Maddie Volchko ’23, Sophie Halish ’23, Kai Indeglia ’26 and Bonnie Baffo-Bonnie ’24. All eight college students are users of Elon Women of all ages in STEM, a pilot system aimed at recruiting and retaining females and woman-figuring out pupils in STEM majors.

Elon Ladies in STEM is targeted on setting up community between feminine undergraduates and connecting them to qualified growth prospects that will guide to productive STEM careers. The program is a partnership among the Elon College or university, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Student Professional Progress Middle and Accelerate Good results. The software is in its very first yr and consists of peer-mentoring, conversations with and presentations by leading ladies STEM specialists, networking alternatives and social things to do.

Mitchell, a computer system science and figures double major, claimed her very first hackathon  designed her interested in attending extra. Although at Pearl Hacks, she and other Elon college students attended informational periods all around coding, web style and other technologies in addition to completing their assignments. Presenting their project to judges and other teams was the element she discovered most important.

“When an individual arrived to our table, we would stroll them as a result of our undertaking and make clear how the entrance-end and back again-conclusion labored. Hearing their feedback and staying grilled with issues was excellent experienced exercise for outlining and justifying your work to distinct teams of persons,” Mitchell said.

It was also Poeun’s very first hackathon. A finance and studies double key, she relished the obstacle and flexibility provided by the wide venture types, which allowed her workforce to be innovative in how they approached their job.

“Data analytics is my passion,” Poeun reported. “I like performing with a pile of figures that really do not make perception and applying machine understanding to comprehend them. It’s potent to have an understanding of that jumble of huge details.”

Both equally stated their time with Elon Ladies in STEM has been nicely-put in, and that they’ve made new connections and mates via the application.

“Elon Females in STEM has produced a community that wouldn’t exist or else,” Mitchell stated. “We have pupil golf equipment, but those people have a unique ambiance. This creates community by way of mentor-mentee associations and builds our self confidence through periods specific to our qualified enhancement, like interviewing skills, methods for negotiating and dealing with circumstances in the place of work. It is actually valuable and excellent data for us to have.”