For the first time in QUEST history, student org QUESTech held its very own QCombinator. Spearheaded by Dan Selzer (Q28) and Akshay Guthal (Q27), the QCombinator was a design challenge that allowed for past or current “bits” projects from the 190H class to be brought to life. The 9-hour event was a success, with students filtering in and out of the various workshops offered. Beginners and seasoned veterans alike gathered to learn, as there were opportunities for both ends of the spectrum to enhance their technical ability.

The workshops held throughout the course of the day focused on fundamental coding skills and gave students the opportunity to chat with experienced alumni or current students. There were 5 workshops in total, covering user interface design, product design, and introductions to machine learning, artificial intelligence, and Firebase. At the end of the day, those who remained had the opportunity to demo their project and test the progress that they have made since the beginning of the day.

For QUESTech member Gesna Aggarwal (Q32), getting to work on the QCombinator despite having no past reference point to build on was a “challenge, but extremely rewarding.” Being that this was the first time an event like this was planned, it was expected that things might not be ideal. However, Gesna made it a point to mention that leader Dan Selzer “always kept team spirit up, really took the team’s input when bringing this idea to life, and worked extremely hard throughout the process.” A big thank you to Dan and Akshay for all of their help ensuring that the QCombinator kickoff went smoothly!

As a current 190H student, I can honestly say my team was able to get a lot done because of the event. Although we were only at the beginning of our bits project at the time, the creative and relaxed environment that the QCombinator had was helpful in that we were able to develop a strong foundation for the future of our project. I attended an HTML workshop, which was something I had little experience with before, and enjoyed a complimentary Chipotle burrito for lunch as my team brainstormed. Overall, I look forward to the next QCombinator and all the new learning that will come with it! Congrats to QUESTech for the wonderful event!