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‘SevenTo11’

People of different ages, genders, professions, and personalities have come together with a common interest in “big data.” After participating in the AI Baeullanggyo education program of the Ulsan ICT Promotion Agency, some people formed a study group named “SevenTo11” and now take part in various big data contests where they are making remarkable achievements.
This interview was carried out with three of its leading members, Kim Ga-yeong, Ahn Hye-rim and Kim Jeong-hyeon, who are studying at the Department of Business Analysis at UNIST’s Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Management

Encountering a new world

It is hard to start anything new, but once you get started, you’re bound to do something. When they knocked at the door of “AI Baeullanggyo,” the three of them had different circumstances and reasons for coming. The things they had in common were that they were all more or less ignorant of AI, and they all had a vague idea that “Once I go, I’ll surely get something.”
“Hye-rim and I had quit our jobs, and Jeong-hyeon was looking for a job at that time. In particular, my career had been interrupted for a while as I was raising my child, so I didn’t know how to start working again. While I was thinking about what could be a competitive domain in the future, I became interested in artificial intelligence and big data, so I participated in the program.”
According to Kim Ga-yeong, the three people who participated in the AI Baeullanggyo education program threw themselves into an unfamiliar environment, and sometimes they struggled, but little by little they began to find it extremely interesting. As they found more like-minded people, they naturally formed a study group to help each other with their studies.
“All three of us majored in liberal arts, so we couldn’t understand anything about data and coding at first. At the time, someone who engaged in the related work helped us, while someone who understood faster than us gave us additional explanations. In this process, a study group was naturally established. So we chose a weekly assignment and gathered every Saturday to study it together.”
The reason they started preparing for a big data contest was to further activate the study group. The task was clear and the period was fixed, so if they were lucky, they felt they could win some prize money. These were perfect conditions for the challenge.
“Because some of us have a job, when we decided to enter the contest, those whose schedule allowed it took part. After deciding on the number of participants, we divided each role to prepare for the contest. For instance, Ga-yeong was in charge of overall control, Hye-rim led research searches and brainstorming, and I was responsible for arranging the gathered data and making a PPT file.”
These three laypersons in the fields of AI and big data strengthened their competitiveness and skills in an unfamiliar world by assisting and supporting each other. As a result, they won the “AI Contest for Sustainable Energy Utilization” in September 2022, and AI Baeullanggyo was selected as an excellent case for the 2022 ICT Innovation Square Promotion Project.

Always rising to the challenge!

The charm of the contest is that you can have an intensive experience by overcoming the difficulties and eventually achieving your goals. In particular, in the case of a big data contest, as the process of increasing your score while checking out other participants’ scores and ranks is similar to a game, which makes it very addictive.
“The host of a big data contest usually sets several correct answers. So the team that comes closest to giving those answers will get a high ranking. The score will be decided until the last day, and it can be checked in real time, so it is very similar to a game. In addition, if you use data that shouldn’t be used, which is called “data leakage,” you have to restore the data by reversing all the processes at the end. At this time, because the ranking is finalized by reflecting various cases, including in which the order or data value is incorrect, it’s quite thrilling and suspenseful as the contest is really not over until the very end.”
The three of them said that all these processes are so much fun that they don’t even notice the time flying or how difficult it is, and that they can only get such an experience from a contest. Meanwhile, they have entered the UNIST Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Management and begun their journey to becoming experts in earnest. So what kind of future are the three of them designing for themselves?

SevenTo11

“SevenTo11” has currently passed the preliminary contest and advanced to the final round of the 4th Big Star (Big Data & Start-up) Contest, which is hosted by the Korea Gas Corporation. In addition, the group is preparing to apply for a patent with an idea which won the Grand Prize at the AI Blockchain Idea Contest. Its members also aim to keep moving forward one by one towards their own goals while enjoying their studies and taking up new challenges.

  • Kim Ga-yeong

    “UNIST has many prominent professors working in the field of big data and artificial intelligence, so I have been getting a lot of help from them ever since I entered the graduate school. In fact, I have learned a lot of techniques that can be applied to contests and competitions, which has led to good results. At the moment I am considering starting a business to provide consulting for companies that want to apply data-based AI in the future. I have also set myself the goal of growing into an expert who can nurture talents in this domain.”

  • Ahn Hye-rim

    “I want to become a ‘data analyst” who can interpret data through statistical analysis, deep learning, and so on in order to derive insights and establish business strategies. I also wish to study the doctor’s course at UNIST, if possible, and a plan to study hard to become an expert.”

  • Kim Jeong-hyeon

    “Since I am still a jobseeker, I have to keep my options open while focusing on gaining employment. Ultimately, however, I want to become a ‘data scientist’ who provides customized targeting solutions through data analysis.”

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