The level of commitment and entrepreneurship demonstrated by the teams of students that took part in the Classified Post Hackathon was certainly intense. The students worked so hard, notes Tony Wo, senior manager, learning and culture, human resources, AXA Hong Kong, that they could easily have been running AXA Hong Kong as their own company. The teams were tasked with solving real-world challenges in the insurance industry.
Wo says that many of the participants claimed they did not know a great deal about AXA, or the insurance industry in general, before the hackathon. So it was impressive to witness the resourceful way they conducted their research, and the way they crystallised their ideas to develop a prototype. Wo cites the example of a hackathon team which comprised of fresh law graduates, noting that they took a non-IT approach to resolve a business pain-point. “The creativity and innovative thinking that the students exhibited to combine different technologies into one solution to solve complex problems, was outstanding,” says Wo,
The high quality of the prototype project presentations were another highlight of the Hackathon weekend which took place November 17 to 19 at the Hong Kong Science Park (HKSTP), Sha Tin. Working in teams of three to five, Hong Kong undergraduate students, or graduates with a maximum of two years’ experience, were given 24 hours to build apps, tools and innovative solutions for use in the media and insurance industries.
Wo says the hackathon provided an ideal opportunity to promote the AXA brand, and present the insurance industry as a sector that offers diverse career possibilities. “We were not overly surprised that hackathon participants had little knowledge about the insurance sector,” says Wo. Over the years the industry, which is one of the oldest industries to use modeling and statistics, has not been doing as much as it could to promote the broad sweep of career possibilities, he adds. Wo says today’s customer-centric models and changing demographics, combined with technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and big data, is creating career-advancing opportunities that are not limited to tech-savvy individuals.
The industry, Wo says, is reaching out to young people who want to put their skills in innovation, and their entrepreneurial aspirations, to good use. “The insurance industry is on a transformational journey,” Wo says, noting that AXA is at the forefront of the journey. For example, AXA has digitalised its document-handling processes to allow customers to benefit from better engagement processes and simpler transaction procedures. The insurance provider also leverages AI-powered chatbots to enhance interaction with customers. “We continuously focus on improving customer experiences and business efficiencies,” says Wo.
As the main sponsor of the Classified Post Hackathon, Wo said AXA was in a prime position to observe the solutions the teams created. “It was hard for the judges to select five teams to advance from the preliminary round to the finals, and an even tougher task to pick a winner,” Wo says. AXA Hong Kong would take the time to further evaluate the prototype solutions the students created before deciding if it wanted to move forward with any of the projects.
Wo has experienced working under pressure to a tight deadline himself, and believes that the hackathon participants will have learned some useful skills and some practical lessons. These include the ability to adapt to situations that change as a project evolves. Teams had to negotiate, collaborate, brainstorm, and then develop a prototype. Problems can only be solved by looking at the issue from many different angles, Wo notes. “The saying ‘less is more’ is applicable in this increasingly complex world, where making things easy and simple for customers is often the most difficult thing to do,” says Wo.
