Halda.AI’s Post

Over the last two years, my team and I have scaled V1 @ Michigan from a scrappy events team to a vibrant community reaching thousands of students — it’s been the journey of a lifetime, and we’re still just scratching the surface in our mission to skew the University of Michigan's culture towards building. V1’s in an exciting place right now — as we bring back Startup Fair to connect top technical talent to fast-growing startups, scale up resources for our pre-idea incubator, and continue rallying builders at Ship-It — I find myself wishing I had another two years to spearhead this next chapter! Beyond hyped for our next generation of leadership. If you’re passionate about creating a world in which Michigan regularly produces top technical founders, find yourself drawn to solving challenging engineering problems, or have an insatiable urge to rally the most driven people to build and achieve great things — join us at v1michigan.com/team. PS: if you’re an undergrad looking to build something amazing this fall, keep an eye out for our Product Studio launch in September. We can’t wait to meet you :)

✨ 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲.𝗜𝗧 : 𝗔𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮-𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗧 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗖𝗞𝗩𝗜𝗘 ! ✨ I'm excited to share that my teammate ARGHA BISWAS and I secured the 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in a highly competitive 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 organized by the 𝗜𝗧 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗖𝗞𝗩𝗜𝗘 on 31st August 2024. With around 100 teams participating, the contest was a true test of our skills across three challenging rounds: 𝟭. 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟭: 𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗺 : 𝗔𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲, 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲   - 20 questions covering aptitude, technical knowledge, and general knowledge.   - Included a challenging level of Sudoku.   - All tasks had to be completed within 40 minutes.   - Only 10 teams qualified for the next round. 𝟮. 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟮: 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 : 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴   - Participants had to solve 2 easy-medium level coding questions with their screens hidden.   - The round was judged based on speed and accuracy.   - Only 5 teams advanced to the final round. [Blind Coding Questions : https://lnkd.in/geSQ52z6 ] 𝟯. 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝟯: 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗸 : 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻   - Teams had 30 minutes to brainstorm and submit an idea on the topic:  "𝙄𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙍𝙂 𝙆𝘼𝙍 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚?"   - Each team had 10 minutes to present their idea to the judges. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 : https://lnkd.in/gWhEJ-tT - 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬 : Bluetooth Neckband Earphones (x2) . . . Securing 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in such a demanding contest was a thrilling achievement, and I'm proud of the teamwork and dedication we displayed throughout the competition. Looking forward to more opportunities to challenge ourselves and grow! 🚀

I woke up today morning happy. Over 700 people RSVPd across NYC and SF IRLs ("in real life"). happening right now. Our goal is to flip the script. literally and figuratively. Instead of learning and then building "one day," let's build and the learning will happen. Our pedagogy: Build. Measure. Learn. In that order. Too many people get $150K job and quit their dream of "one day" building. I know software engineers who are millionaires still on "one day." IRLs are to give you that oomph, the push to get out there and build. Proximity is power. SUPER PUMPED for today. I woke up a happy day. I hope the day also ends on a happy note. lfg!! If you are an accepted fellow and hyped for your bros and sis in NYC/SF... show them love in the comments. come help me host events in your locale. Will send you merch if 50+ people show up!!! Not part of our software engineering fellowship? https://headstarter.co (apply only if you are someone's team mate, accepted or applied) Those who applied - we are going thru apps and will be getting back with a decision Monday. All the best.

I’ve always struggled with talking infront a crowd. At the same time, if you gave me whatever camera, infront of whatever crowd under whatever situation, I’ll do my thing perfectly! Being taught how to handle those nerves, in an IT training course is priceless to me because that counts! #professionaldevelopment #perscholas #ITsupport

Last week, 2U emerged from bankruptcy. Just 46 days in and out. That's impressive - regardless of industry, people, or situation. Today I'd like to congratulate 2U, it's leadership and new owners on the emergence and having a more stable financial position. Paul S. Lalljie , Matthew Norden, Andrew Hermalyn, Anant Agarwal, and now Brian Napack - nice work. You think I'm bring sarcastic? I'm not. 2U has been, is and seems now it will continue to be an important part of the ed tech ecosystem. While over the years, at times I've shared differences of opinion with their approach, I've always admired the high-quality online educational experiences they built. My first time teaching experience in higher education (13 years ago) was on the 2U platform, for UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. To this day I often point to UNC's global immersions as a hallmark of experiential learning in an online modality. 2U going away would not be good for higher education. Period. More than 20% of college students are now studying entirely online. We need more companies like 2U, and yes - 2u themselves, to continue pushing the frontier of possibilities, enabling online education to expand access and decrease cost for millions of learners. 

Winning hackathons isn’t just about ideas—it’s about solving real problems with a strong product and an effective pitch. I applied this strategy in health tech and agritech and won over 10 hackathons locally and globally . I talk about the importance of a good pitch and share tips on how to win hackathons .

Student Success | Listen: The Role of Mentorship on Student Success, Belonging In a new episode of Voices of Student Success, hear about how Elon University looks to support student thriving and engagement through intentional development of faculty and staff members to serve as mentors. https://bit.ly/3TRsgqm

Braven empowers underrepresented young people—first-generation students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color—by equipping them with the skills, networks, and confidence needed to secure a strong first job. Through partnerships with higher education institutions and employers, Braven provides a two-part program that combines a credit-bearing course with continued support until graduation. In this edition of T.E.A. with College Futures, Executive Director Diana Phuong reflects on Braven’s founding, shares insights on the organization’s success, and discusses plans for future growth.

Slightly nerve wracking week with the launch of our working prototype at Cambridge Tech Week - but it was amazing! Fab speakers too - my favourite takeouts from Ed Wood & Euan Smith: 🔍 Product-market fit & finding your first customers: It's all about identifying those early adopters who have an urgency for your product and will help shape your path forward. Think laterally here. 🛠️ Don’t rely solely on feedback from your first adopters: While their input is valuable, they won’t always represent your largest customer base. 🔄 Be ready to pivot: Sometimes, the path to success isn’t a straight line. The ability to adapt and refine is often the difference between success and failure. Thanks to massive team effort for getting us to this next critical milestone: Tony Steffert Peter Bonham Alex Stokoe Maria Carnarius Neha Bhutani, PhD Eliot Frazier & Amir Konigsberg And to Greg Dickens for his take on our mission 👇😊