User story: Abhishek’s journey from hackathon winner to Red Hat Principal ML Engineer

What does it take to excel in hackathons and use them as a launchpad for professional growth? Abhishek Nandy, the Grand Prize winner of the Red Hat and Intel AI Hackathon, shares his insights and experiences. 

With 65+ hackathons under his belt and a new position at Red Hat, Abhishek's story highlights his recent win, innovation, and the power of community. Let’s dive into his journey!

We see you’ve participated in over 65 hackathons! What draws you to these events?

I thrive in fast-paced, problem-solving environments where innovation meets impact. Hackathons push me to rapidly prototype, learn new tools, and collaborate with brilliant minds.

“Hackathons turn 'what if' into 'let’s build it,’” said Abhishek.

Hackathons spark innovation by turning bold ideas into working prototypes—fast. They strip away barriers, fuel collaboration, and create space for rapid experimentation. Many breakthrough projects and startups begin this way because hackathons turn “what if” into “let’s build it.”

What makes a hackathon stand out to you?

A real-world problem, strong community, and opportunities to build beyond the weekend. I’m especially drawn to challenges where I can apply AI/ML to healthcare, sustainability, or enterprise automation—turning ideas into solutions that matter.

How have hackathons changed with the rise of generative AI?

They’ve become faster, more accessible, and more ambitious. Gen AI lowers the barrier to entry, allowing participants to prototype complex solutions, generate content, or write code in hours instead of days.

“Hackathons are less about building from scratch and more about orchestrating intelligence,” said Abhishek.

It’s also shifted the focus: hackathons are less about building from scratch and more about orchestrating intelligence—integrating models, refining prompts, and crafting smart workflows. This means more creativity, rapid iteration, and real-world-ready demos—often in record time.

What inspired you to join the Red Hat and Intel AI Hackathon, and what did you learn?

I was inspired by the exposure to explore OpenShift and use Pytorch, as well as IPEX, in a sandboxed environment. I’m doing my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics AI, and my major work with Drug Discovery allowed me to work on the challenge and explore avenues.

I learned how to balance speed and accuracy when deploying AI models, integrate low-latency RAG pipelines, and design user-centric interfaces for complex scientific workflows—all while scaling reliably on OpenShift.

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Can you describe any challenges you faced during the hackathon, and what innovative aspects of your project you’re most proud of?

These were my main challenges and how I overcame them:

• Data quality: Addressed missing labels by merging datasets, cleaning, and manual curation.
• OpenVINO optimization: Achieved fast inference via quantization, benchmarking, and Intel tool tuning.
• RAG pipeline: Ensured low-latency Qdrant retrieval through query optimization and caching.
• Gradio UI: Simplified complex workflow with iterative design, tooltips, and user feedback.
• OpenShift deployment: Enabled scalable real-time workloads by fine-tuning containerization and job handling.

I’m proud of using PyTorch with bfloat16 precision to optimize molecular prediction models, integrating a low-latency RAG pipeline with Qdrant, and deploying the system with OpenVINO and an intuitive Gradio UI—all scalable on OpenShift for real-world drug discovery.

Congrats on your new role! How did winning this hackathon contribute to your personal and professional growth?

Thank you! Winning this hackathon boosted my confidence in solving real-world problems with AI. It sharpened my skills in PyTorch, OpenVINO, and scalable deployment, directly contributing to my new role and fueling my passion for impactful innovation.

What advice would you give other developers looking to use hackathons to grow professionally?

Use hackathons to build fast and learn faster. Focus on solving real problems, experiment with new tools, and collaborate with others. Each project is a chance to grow your skills, network, and portfolio. Treat it like a launchpad.

How would you summarize your experience in the Red Hat and Intel AI Hackathon?

This hackathon pushed me to turn cutting-edge AI into a deployable solution—fast. It opened doors to new collaborations, deepened my expertise in PyTorch and OpenVINO, and directly contributed to my career growth. Grateful for the journey and the Devpost community!

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Feeling inspired to build something amazing? Check out our hackathons happening now!