eMerge Americas Techweek will host hundreds of developers, designers and technology enthusiasts vying for $30,000 in prizes at the eMerge Americas Techweek Hackathon. The hackathon will bring together competitors from across the Americas from May 2-4 at the University of Miami Life Science and Technology Park’s Miami Innovation Center.
More than 100 developers have already signed up to participate, and organizers are expecting up to 300 competitors, said Xavier Gonzalez, executive director of the Technology Foundation of the Americas.
The challenge for the hackathon will be Doing Social Good: Using Technology to Solve Problems in Communities in Emerging Markets. The applications developed by the teams of developers and designers will be judged based on:
- * Presentation - Ability to clearly articulate the functionality of the application
- * Sophistication - Difficulty of technical implementation
- * Functionality - How well the technology works
"The Hackathon is the ultimate event that will engage developers, designers, entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts in the overall eMerge Americas Techweek event,” said Brian Breslin, founder of Refresh Miami, South Florida’s largest tech organization. “This will be a truly unique opportunity for the top developers in South Florida to compete against peers from Latin America and the Caribbean. "
With support from Amazon Web Services (AWS), .CO and Wexford Science and Technology, a $20,000 cash prize will be awarded to the first place team, $7,500 to the second place team and $2,500 to third place team. In addition, $100 in AWS Activate Credits will be provided to each participant.
The Hackathon will kick off the evening of Friday, May 2, with an informational session and pizza for participants. Saturday, May 3, the teams will be provided with the APIs and directions for the challenge and the teams will present their applications for final judging on the afternoon of Sunday, May 4.
For more information on the hackathon, visit http://emergeamericas.org/experience/exhibitions/hackathon.