ISACA’s Hackathon Competition: How AI Reduces Complexity for Customers

The A&M-Commerce College of Business recently partnered with the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), a professional association dedicated to IT governance, to hold its annual spring Hackathon competition from March 20 through 28 at the university’s Dallas site.

The competition brought together more than 30 students from both undergraduate and graduate programs competing for $2,000 in prizes, while providing them with a unique experiential learning opportunity to gain real-world experience in their field of study.

The Hackathon competition required participants to form groups and solve a case study by answering two critical questions: How can AI reduce complexity for customers, and what recommendations can be made to them? The students were given a data set about a real-world company and had one week to gather information, clean the data, and present their findings to a panel of judges, including Assistant Professor of Business Analytics Dr. Vinayaka Gude, AT&T IT Program Manager Susmita Bashir, and Senior Consultant for EY’s Financial Services and Tech Risk Practice Somto Obuzor.

Sukriti Khanal, one of the members of the winning team and a graduate assistant in the Department of Marketing and Business Analytics, expressed her enthusiasm for the event.

“This was an excellent opportunity for students from the College of Business to network across departments,” Khanal said. “This event brought together students from different backgrounds and disciplines to solve a unique problem that simulated today’s real business environments.”

Agreeing with Khanal, Hussein Shatnawi, one of the members of the winning team and a Master of Business Analytics candidate added: “Winning the Hackathon competition with my team is a testament to the power of collaboration and the impact that can be achieved with the right skills and mindset.”

He continued: “This achievement is a result of the hard work and dedication my team and I put into the project, and I am grateful for the education and support that Texas A&M University-Commerce has provided us. As a Jordanian student living in Texas, I am excited for what the future holds and the impact that we can make together.”

In addition to Khanal and Shatnawi, Farhan Munir was also on the winning team that received a $1,000 prize. The second-place team consisted of Tapasya Singh, Aathira Nair, Syed Darda and Thuan Nguyen, who won a cash prize of $500. The third-place team comprising Shivani Kandukuri, Florence Olinmah and Valerie Santos-Silva, as well as the fourth-place team comprising Anas Mohammad and Abu Muhammad Moinudden, each received a cash prize of $250.

Thanks to ISACA's sponsorship of the Hackathon competition, the event was a resounding success that provided students with valuable real-world experience and opportunities to network with peers and industry professionals. This event is just one of many that the College of Business hosts with its partners in the community to ensure it harnesses the enterprising spirit of students and the intellectual curiosity of entrepreneurs. Such events aim at unlocking the full promise of the student's potential to ensure they are at the forefront of the transformational business leaders of the future.