Computer science students take on Amazon coding challenge

The Computer Science Graduate Professional Development Club recently organized a successful student coding challenge at the ATLAS institute, complete with prizes and networking opportunities. 

 Co-sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers, Women at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Association for Computing Machinery, the half-day long event featured team challenges to demonstrate how professionals use the cloud to solve problems in different industries.

Shakshi Parekh, a second-year computer science master's student at the event, said she appreciated the event's welcoming nature. "It's a good opportunity for newcomers to get to know more about AWS," she said. 

Ramya Mikkilineni, a mentor for the event from AWS, said she enjoyed being able to share with the new generation. "It's really good to show them all that they can do with this new technology and how they can be a part of building with it," she said.  

It was also an opportunity for students who attended to network, share resumes and get updates on internship and job opportunities.

Anirudh Kalghatkar, another computer science master's student, said he felt excited to learn new skills through the challenges, and make new connections through the event. 

Events that involve industry partners, busy graduate students and multiple organizers require a great deal of planning and persistence to pull off. The Computer Science Graduate Professional Development Club (CSGPDC), which is student-run, put many hours into helping the coding challenge happen. 

Sriranga Ramaswamy, a Technology, Cybersecurity and Policy Program master's student and the vice-chair of the organization, said it was fun to see the event come to life. 

"It's very rewarding, seeing so many people here participating," he said. Over 50 people attended the event. 

Amit Gupta, another mentor for the event from AWS said he appreciated seeing how students were approaching the challenges. 

"We are here to help them out with the challenge, but we also want to learn from the next generation. They are the future. We are here for them, and they are here for us." he said.