Our 2019 Ascend Hackathon was a huge success! We identified five finalist teams of data gurus and storytellers to help drive conversations around Pan-Asian empowerment in the workforce.
Our finalist teams competed through a qualifying and a final round of judging to showcase their insights on the Pan-Asian workforce, pitching their recommendations on how to further the career advancement of Pan-Asian business professionals across America to over 2000 attendees and esteemed judges.
Our finalists competed for a $10,000 grand prize at our Ascend National Convention on August 24, 2019. The winner was Team Guidehouse! Read on to learn more about the Hackathon and the winning team!
While Asian Americans are well-represented in the non-managerial workforce, they’re often significantly under-represented in the executive suite. A recent study by Ascend found that among five of the largest tech companies, Pan-Asians represent 27% of professionals, but only half that among executives. This is all despite the fact that Asian Americans outperform the average American when it comes to education, employment, and income, according to Pew Research.
The "model minority" stereotype paints Asian Americans in a positive light; however, the positive facade hides the insidious nature of the generalization, such as when Asian Americans are categorized as meek, submissive, and unqualified as leaders. These unique barriers comprise the "bamboo ceiling".
We’re capturing more data than ever before, and we’re doing it more precisely. But we’re still not using data to its full potential to understand and address the challenges facing the Asian American workforce.
How can we use recent data to highlight key trends and insights within the Pan-Asian workforce? How might we shatter the bamboo ceiling?
Our finalists demonstrated their analytical and data visualization skills as they tackled this question!
Mentor: KT Thomas
All Right Team consists of five George Washington University graduate students, who are currently enrolled in the Business Analytics Program. The team has a mixed background from auditing, finance, media and fashion industry. Members also have extensive experience and knowledge in real-world data analytics.
Mentor: Ann Thangada
The Data Ambassadors have over 25 years of combined experience in tech enabled audit, data analysis, audit assurance and automation across industries. Our unique talents and diverse backgrounds have allowed us to deliver the best client experiences and provide the insights to be able to reimagine the possible.
Mentor: Linda Nguyen
Team of 5 PwC professionals in the Washington DC area with extensive experience in Data Analytics in Forensics and Deals. The team is led by Liyao Wan, a Director, with over 10 years of experience as a business and technology leader. Besides creating compelling visualizations, Team DataHacker is passionate about Diversity and Inclusion.
Mentor: Dina Zhou
Mentor: Eric Wu
Deadline for registration and submission of the initial pitch deck was on Sunday, May 5th at 11:59PM EDT.
Submission guidelines for the initial pitch deck can be found HERE.
Download the judging criteria.
Finalists participated in a live 15-minute oral presentation at the Ascend National Convention in Washington, DC on Saturday, August 24, 2019. The winning team was announced live on that day and award presentations were during the Ascend Dinner on Monday, August 26, 2019.
Upon registration, you will receive an email containing additional information for preparing your submission.
For a detailed list of Pitch Deck Submission Guidelines, please view the PDF document located HERE.
Download the judging criteria HERE to understand the rubric.
See FAQ here
For any additional questions or comments, please email: GreaterWashington@ascendleadership.org
Teams may be comprised of a minimum of two (2) and no more than five (5) team members. Team members may be college students or working professionals from any industry or background, and can be located anywhere in North America. Team members must stay consistent throughout the Hackathon - no alternates or substitutions are allowed.
Teams that advance to the final round must have at least one (1) team member attend the mandatory pre-competition virtual prep session hosted 1-2 weeks prior to the final round. Team member(s) who attend are responsible for disseminating information from this session to fellow team members. In addition, teams that advance must all be or become Ascend members by the start of the convention and send at least two (2) representatives to attend the final round competition in-person at the 2019 Ascend National Convention on August 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. Grand prize winners must send at least one (1) representative to accept the prize at the dinner on August 26, 2019. Complimentary passes will be provided.
Ascend is the largest, non-profit Pan-Asian organization for business professionals in North America. Established in 2005, Ascend serves professionals and corporations across a multitude of industries. Ascend reaches 60,000 people with 34 student chapters and 17 professional chapters in the United States and Canada around major business hubs and educational institutions. We offer robust professional development and career enhancement programs designed to cultivate Pan-Asian talent.
Ascend Leadership is a thought leader that advocates for Pan-Asian professional development and career advancement. Ascend Foundation publishes numerous research articles and proposals to further advance Pan-Asian professionals in the workforce.
