The Oxford dictionary defines plagiarism as, ‘The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.’
Besides being illegal, plagiarism is unfair to other candidates who participate in our challenges and hackathons by putting in immense amounts of time and effort. Because we value the hard work that is put in by our community, we have decided to take a stand against plagiarism and do everything we can to prevent it.
Types of plagiarism
- Outright plagiarism: Outright copying is when a candidate copies code that is exactly the same as somebody else’s.
- Partial plagiarism: Partial plagiarism is changing some parts of the code but leaving most of it the same as the other candidate’s or when a candidate adapts parts of somebody else’s code.
Consequences
- Academic reputation: Plagiarism allegations can cause a student to be suspended or expelled. Their academic record can reflect the ethics offence, possibly causing the student to be barred from entering another college. Schools, colleges, and universities take plagiarism very seriously.
- Professional reputation: A professional business person may find that the damage from plagiarism follows them during their entire career. Not only will they likely be fired or asked to step down from their present position, but they will find it difficult to obtain another respectable job.
- Legal repercussions: The legal repercussions of plagiarism can be quite serious. Copyright laws are absolute. One cannot use another person’s material without citing references. Some types of plagiarism may also be deemed a criminal offence.
Penalty
- First-time offenders: Suspension from HackerEarth for 3 months
- Second-time offenders: Suspension from HackerEarth for 6 months
- Third-time offenders: Permanent suspension from HackerEarth
Important
- Exceptions will not be made for any candidates who indulge in plagiarism
- All the respective stakeholders (companies and colleges) will be made aware of the plagiarism