When it comes to STEM skills it is well known by now that they are the future for career success. In order to achieve that, hackathons are a great start. We were super excited to have been part of the Gift The Code Hackathon as mentors to participants in this meaningful event.
According to Capital One, the main sponsor of this event, “Innovation is driving change in sectors spanning finance, health, and business, with technologists pursuing the most transformative solutions to disrupt established industries. Around the world, entrepreneurs are applying their lenses not just to industry challenges but to issues of social interest. At home in Toronto, you would not be hard-pressed to find organizations that would benefit from the efficiencies of technology.”
Hackworks, the organization behind organizing of the entire event and other hackathons around Canada, has brought together over 300 people from Ontario including Toronto, Barrie and Windsor who are coders, data scientists, designers and other bright people, putting them together in a great space to come up to solutions to challenges faced by a total of 6 organizations. Many charities face a digital divide in their work. Working with vulnerable and marginalized populations means that resources are constantly constrained. The opportunity for education about the best digital solutions and tools available is often overlooked as time and efforts are prioritized to respond to the needs of the population their serving. Gift the Code gives charities an opportunity not just to learn about tools that exist to solve their challenges, but to have solutions designed that specifically meet their current needs.
This is something that we totally understand at hEr VOLUTION having had to be part of a hackathon in the past to help us with the challenge of transferring the Canadian Women in STEM that we originally featured on our Instagram account to our website. We definitely owe the gift of code to Sem Onyallo, a participant who attended the Hack For Good hackathon and took it upon himself to deliver the solution until completion.
The main motivator behind the participation of the Gift The Code hackathon has been as a way to give back to charities. Participants find that the hackathon gives them an opportunity to use their technical skills in a way that they typically aren’t able to in their regular work and allows them to have a social impact in Toronto.
Each hackathon is different however, the Gift The Code hackathon has come with many benefits for the charities involved besides having to choose one solution for their organization which comes with a $5000 grant to help ease the cost of setting up the system.
“Many charities face a digital divide in their work. Working with vulnerable and marginalized populations means that resources are constantly constrained. The opportunity for education about the best digital solutions and tools available is often overlooked as time and efforts are prioritized to respond to the needs of the population their serving. Gift the Code gives charities an opportunity not just to learn about tools that exist to solve their challenges, but to have solutions designed that specifically meet their current needs.” says Emily Krause, the Innovation Program Manager at Hackworks.
For us, we were very happy to have been part of a solution where the community has come together to #UseDigitalForGood.