Solving the data challenges of the pharmaceutical industry at the second Novartis in Slovenia hackathon

Novartis in Slovenia and Axiologo organized the Pharma DataHack online event between April 14 and May 13, where competitors from eight countries tackled four specific data challenges relating to Novartis in Slovenia. Participants had the opportunity to take on various challenges in the pharmaceutical industry, such as the development of an application to monitor the employee training process, the development of a tool for online data retrieval in pharmaceutical product development, and the collection, statistical processing and visualization of internal and external data. The winning team of the hackathon consisted of Eric Solinas and Isabella Dario, both from Italy, Anton Vladyka from Ukraine, and Tadej Magajna from Slovenia. They succeeded in solving a challenge in the field of  market research and capability monitoring. “Pharma DataHack 2.0 was a unique experience that helped us strengthen our data science knowledge, improve our team collaboration skills and get an understanding of real-world pharmaceutical industry problems. Unlike traditional hackathons, where attendees usually choose their own teams, teams at Pharma DataHack 2.0 were formed by the organizers. This ensured that participants came from diverse sets of backgrounds and offered diverse perspectives to problems. The challenges themselves appeared to be carefully thought through and each seemed to find the right tradeoff between solving theoretical problems and finding solutions to real-world problems. In our case, the problem we were given initially seemed like something we couldn’t possibly solve within the timeframe. But focus on team cooperation, great support from mentors and organizers and, admittedly, a good amount of luck, allowed us to deliver something that made us feel proud of what we built in the end," said Tadej Magajna in the name of the winning team.

In addition to the competition, the event also provided participants with the opportunity to network with key experts from Novartis in Slovenia and Axiologo, as well as to collaborate with data analytics experts from around the world. New knowledge was also gained through expert lectures and workshops on digitalization-related topics. "The participants in this year's Pharma DataHack have really delivered. Despite the complex data challenges, each solution was thoroughly worked out and ready to use. As a mentor of one of the teams, I was impressed by the enthusiasm, ingenuity, and commitment of the participants. We created a stimulating international environment where ideas flourished, and innovative solutions were implemented with efficiency. I would like to see more events like this, and I believe that in the coming years we will upgrade the event, said Klemen Kreft, Researcher at the Development Center Slovenia.

The DataHack is one of the ways in which Novartis in Slovenia stays in touch with promising experts in various fields and expands its network of partnerships: "Our ambition to be the world's leading pharmaceutical company is further strengthened through alliances with talented students and professionals, as well as through collaborations and exchanges with various companies. The pharmaceutical industry has become increasingly interdisciplinary, and our challenges usually require a certain level of digital literacy, technical skills and, last but not least, social sciences. Events like this allow us to expand our talent pool of people who may one day continue their careers at Novartis," said Dr. Darja Ferčej Temeljotov, Strategic Programs Project Lead at Novartis in Slovenia.