Interviews
Interview - 1
Himanshi Yadav - 1st Year [Link]
Aditya : When was the last time you missed an event? What
happened?
Himanshi : I missed a coding workshop last semester because the
message was sent in a class WhatsApp group and got buried under
random chats ,
I saw it after the registrations closed
Aditya : How many different platforms do you check?
Himanshi : WhatsApp (3–4 groups), college email, Instagram pages of
clubs, and sometimes the college website. It’s honestly too much.
Aditya : When an event gets buried in chat messages, what do you do?
Himanshi : Usually I scroll a lot or ask a friend if they have the link. If I
can’t find it quickly, I just drop it.
Aditya : How do you keep track of deadlines?
Himanshi : I put important ones in Google Calendar, but mostly I rely
on reminders from friends.
Aditya : How many days before a deadline do you prefer to know?
Himanshi : At least 3–4 days before. I need time to decide and
prepare.
Aditya : How do you usually find teammates? Is it difficult?
Himanshi : Mostly classmates or people from my lab batch. It’s
difficult if it’s a big hackathon because everyone already has teams.
Aditya : How should that one platform be organized?
Himanshi : Filters like technical, cultural, sports; year-wise eligibility;
and a “last date soon” section.
Interview - 2
Priyanshu Sharma- 2nd Year [Link]
Yash : How do you usually track events happening in the next month?
Priyanshu : I don’t have a clear system. I just remember important
ones.
Yash : Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of announcements?
Priyanshu : Yes, so I ignore most of them.
Yash : When an event interests you, what is the next step you take?
Priyanshu : I open the link, but sometimes I forget to register later.
Yash : How many days in advance do you need to comfortably
prepare?
Priyanshu : At least 5 days.
Yash : Do you rely on friends to inform you about events?
Priyanshu : Yes, sometimes I only know because someone tells me.
Yash : Have you missed events because they were mixed with
irrelevant messages?
Priyanshu : Yes, that happens frequently.
Yash : If you had one place to see all events for the semester, would
that change how you participate?
Priyanshu : Yes, I would plan better instead of reacting last minute.
Interview - 3
Manvi - 2nd Year [Link]
Resmanth : When you are genuinely looking for a hackathon, where do you
start searching?
Manvi : I usually check WhatsApp groups first, then Devfolio. But I don’t
have one fixed place.
Resmanth : Do you feel the current system allows you to intentionally plan
participation, or is it mostly accidental discovery?
Manvi : Mostly accidental. I find events randomly.
Resmanth : How often do you discover events too late to prepare properly?
Manvi : Quite often. Sometimes I get to know just 1–2 days before.
Resmanth : What makes it difficult to align events with your academic
schedule?
Manvi : I don’t know event dates early enough to plan around labs and
assignments.
Resmanth : Do you check multiple platforms for the same information?
Manvi : Yes, because I’m not sure where it was posted first.
Resmanth : Have you ever missed something because it was posted in a
group you muted?
Manvi : Yes, that has happened.
Resmanth : What would help you intentionally plan participation instead of
discovering randomly?
Manvi : A single structured dashboard with all dates clearly visible.
Interview - 4
Kunal Dalal - 1st Year BBA Student
Gagandeep : So tell me honestly, how do you usually find out about events
in college?
Kunal : Mostly WhatsApp groups. Sometimes someone forwards in class
group or I randomly see it on Instagram.
Gagandeep :Do you actively check for events, or do you just see them when
they appear?
Kunal : I don’t actively check. I just notice if it comes in front of me. I don’t
have time to search everywhere.
Gagandeep : Have you ever missed something you actually wanted to
attend?
Kunal : Yes. There was a workshop related to startups. I found out about it
after two days when my friend posted photos from it.
Gagandeep :What happened there? Why did you miss it?
Kunal : It was shared in a group I had muted. Too many unnecessary
messages, so I don’t open it daily.
Gagandeep : When a lot of tech events are announced, what do you usually
do?
Kunal : I usually ignore them. I assume they’re only for engineering students.
I don’t open every poster to check details.
Gagandeep : Do you feel event details are clear when they’re shared?
Kunal : Not always. Sometimes the poster looks attractive but doesn’t
clearly say who can participate. I don’t want to message organizers every
time to ask.
Gagandeep : If everything was in one proper place, how would that help
you?
Kunal : It would save time. I’d just open one platform, filter business-related
events, check deadlines properly, and plan accordingly. Right now it feels
random.
Interview - 5
Suryanshu Tiwari - 1st Year Btech
Ajay : How do you normally hear about hackathons?
Suryanshu : Through coding club groups or friends.
Ajay :Have you ever realized about an event after it ended?
Suryanshu : Yes, twice. I don’t check every message because there’s too
much noise.
Ajay : Why don’t you check regularly?
Suryanshu : Most messages are irrelevant, so I stopped paying
attention.
Ajay :Do you track deadlines systematically?
Suryanshu : No. If I’m interested, I register immediately. Otherwise I
forget.
Ajay : What usually influences your decision to join?
Suryanshu : If my friends are joining and if it matches what I’m learning.
Ajay : Is forming a team easy?
Suryanshu : Not really. I don’t know everyone’s skills yet.
Ajay : What would improve participation for you?
Suryanshu : Reminders and maybe suggestions based on my interests.
Ajay : What frustrates you most about the current system?
Suryanshu : It feels like opportunities are there, but you only get them if
you’re lucky or very active in chats. I don’t want to depend on luck.