Abdurashid writes

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Asadbek was truly one of the earliest supporters of this channel.

I still clearly remember him reposting the first post about irrational spendings on weddings and other occasions in poor countries, when the channel had a 2-digit number of followers

First Economic Hackathon Organized by YESU at New Uzbekistan University

"Market Economy Enthusiasts" - what a strange name to name the team, but I couldn't come up with a better one because of the approaching deadline to submit a form.

It was an unforgettable experience. To say it was tough barely scratches the surface. Nevertheless, it was nice to meet so many familiar people and to get to know new ones.

It was a 48-hour hackathon with 34 teams competing. Every team was assigned an underdeveloped region in Uzbekistan with specific strengths and weaknesses. The task was to analyze the data and propose a feasible development plan taking into account the district's unique features. All teams had a chance to consult with experienced mentors to get valuable insights.

We were allowed to work on the project and stay at the university until 10 pm. Our team was the last to leave. Straight after that, we walked to KFC next to WIUT, since it was one of the few facilities that was said to work 24/7. After a hearty dinner there, we decided to continue analyzing the data. It was barely past midnight when we wanted to go home. But here's the thing: the metro was closed, no library worked after 11 pm, and Yandex was showing 4X the regular price (probably because of the first snow and consequent low supply of cabs). We had no choice but to stay there and continue working with the team.

When we went upstairs, I was impressed to see the other competing team from this hackathon, working on a different region. They were laser-focused on their laptops. Their determination impressed me, and I thought we were probably on the right path. Everything was smooth until we were told that KFC closes in 10 minutes. At 4 a.m., we and the guys from the other team were kicked out. It was freezing cold, and we had to urgently find a place to spend the rest of the night, preferably with a socket to plug in our gadgets.

We took an overpriced taxi to Caffee'issimo at Minor and worked there on polishing our presentations. Snow was gently falling on the street, and rare cars were passing when I looked out of the window during a small break. I finished working on my part of the draft at 7 am.

The next day, we worked on polishing the presentation and making better visuals. Despite minor disagreements in the team (probably because of increased irritation from lack of sleep), we reconciled, and everybody tried to do their best.

There were many promising proposals from the other teams, so I was pleased to find out that our proposal was in the top 10. But I was flabbergasted when our team was announced as the winner of this challenging competition.

I would like to thank the organizers, volunteers, my teammates (from left to right: Muhammad, Dilfuza, Dilshodbek, Xadyatillo, and Amirkhon), as well as the other teams for making these two days filled with a sense of true competition and curiosity.

@Abdurashid_writes