In November, I had the exciting opportunity to participate in Hack the Future 2024, a dynamic hackathon hosted by the Cronos Group in Antwerp. This annual event brings together people from various fields of computer science to tackle challenging problems and compete in teams. As it was my first hackathon, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. However, I joined forces with my friend Kemp Dewulf, and together we were ready to dive into the experience.

Choosing the Challenge

Hackathons are fast-paced events where participants are given specific challenges to solve within a limited time, often centered around coding, innovation, or problem-solving. For Hack the Future, we selected a Java-based challenge from a variety of topics, including AI, cybersecurity, low-code development, and programming. Although the exact details of the task were unknown beforehand, we were eager to tackle something in a language we both enjoy and understand well.

The challenge required us to create a bot equipped with an algorithm that could make decisions based on statistics and events. The goal was to ensure the bot could analyze its surroundings, make strategic choices, and execute actions to stay alive. It was an intense exercise in problem-solving and algorithm design, pushing us to think critically about how the bot could adapt and respond dynamically to changes in its environment.

This added an exciting layer of complexity to the event and made the experience even more rewarding as we saw our bot come to life through our code.

Getting Started

The event kicked off with a welcoming session filled with snacks and surprisingly good coffee, setting a relaxed tone for the day. After mingling for a bit, we were assigned to our mentors for the chosen project and headed to the classroom for a thorough explanation of our challenge. From there, we got to work.

Incorporating AI Tools

To add a fun twist, we decided to rely on AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot to assist with our coding. This decision brought an experimental element to our approach. We had a surprising victory in the first live game, but as the competition advanced, we found ourselves getting stuck in a loop with the AI. Despite this, it was an incredibly valuable learning experience, and we had a great time. The organizers and other participants seemed impressed by our innovative use of AI tools.

A Fun Break at the Zoo

A highlight of the day was a free visit to the Antwerp Zoo with some of my Howest friends. We took a 90-minute break, enjoying the sights and taking our minds off the challenge before returning to continue our work.

A Delicious Dinner and Final Thoughts

After the challenges were completed and we presented our results, we were treated to a fantastic dinner, which exceeded my expectations. The spread included a variety of dishes, from chicken to spicy satés to fries, all of which were delicious.

In the end, one of our university’s teams took home a prize, and I was incredibly proud to see Howest represented on the podium!