Starting ELTE's Data Science Club
Kumar and I started ELTE's Data Science Club in September 2025. We had no budget and didn't know how many students would come.
Some sessions in the first semester had only a handful of people. We continued meeting every week, and by July 2026, the club had more than 200 members.
Weekly sessions became project teams#
In the second semester, our core team grew to six and we started five project teams. The weekly sessions continued across both semesters.
At demo day, the teams presented their finished work in front of the Dean. Some students had joined with very little experience. That afternoon remains my favorite memory from ELTE.
Organizing without a sponsorship budget#
University procurement rules meant we couldn't accept outside sponsorship money. We had to plan the sessions without a budget for food or prizes.
For the hackathon, we approached potential partners with an opportunity to meet the participants. We co-organized the event with GDG, and 150 people attended. Morgan Stanley, Wise, and ElevenLabs joined as partners.
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