SYDNEY, N.S. — The Cape Breton coding community will be asked to take on the effects and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the Hacking 2 Help virtual hack-a-thon that begins Friday.
“Hack-a-thons are a way for the technology community to tackle a problem, propose and develop a solution in a short amount of time,” said Todd Graham, manager of Navigate Startup House, in a news release.
“The challenge we are proposing is to develop a solution that helps people cope with the current effects or the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Graham said the COVID-19 pandemic is a life-changing event, but “challenging times like this are an opportunity for people to come together” and do remarkable things for their communities.
“This is an opportunity for the coding community to apply their talents and to help people at risk in our community.”
Most hack-a-thons are events held in a single physical location over a 24-hour period, bringing programmers together to develop a solution to a proposed problem or challenge.
Hacking 2 Help, however, gives participating online teams and individuals five days to brainstorm, design and develop an application that will be of use to the community during the pandemic and in the days that follow it.
MentorConnect, a network of local business advisers, will assist Navigate Startup House by providing advice to project teams.
The winning team will receive a $1,000 cash prize and will be featured in an upcoming “the10” (http://the10.network) presentation.
The hack-a-thon is open to residents of Cape Breton. Get specific details and register online at http://navigatestartup.com.
