Hackers, developers and coders from across the North West are set to take part in a 24-hour hackathon in Liverpool on 23 September.
Originating in Silicon Valley, the concept sees teams of tech-savvy problem solvers racing against the clock, and each other, to create inventive technology to crack a problem, or develop an idea; often in the form of mobile apps, web platforms or robots, with prizes for the winning team.
Facebook’s chat feature, and its ‘like’ button, were both famously developed during internal company hackathons, at the technology giant’s headquarters in California. The pay-per-minute venue on St Paul’s Square is hosting the event, called Sprint 24, which is backed by several of the North West’s top businesses, including digital kiosk design-manufacturer, Evoke Creative, and bookmaker, Bet Fred; and organised by Limelight Talent and Events.
Teams of four to six will take part in the collaborative coding contest, fuelled by complimentary hacker-fayre: energy drinks, pizza and beer.
Sleep is entirely optional, with many of the teams working through the night, and a variety of prizes on offer for the winner. In addition to sponsoring the event, Evoke Creative has entered a team of hardware and software developers. The Wirral-based company is currently growing its internal development team to add software expertise to the innovative hardware solutions it designs and manufactures for the likes of Google, JD Sports and McDonald’s.
Dean Ward, co-founder and chief technology officer at Evoke, explained the importance of supporting events like this: “Liverpool has a rich history of software and games development, with a buzzing community of coders. In the Baltic Triangle the city has one of the key digital tech hubs outside of London and that’s serving as a beacon to attract new talent.
“Hackathons can be the stage where novel ideas can become ideas into reality. They also prove a great forum for experienced developers to network with the industry’s fresh new faces. We’re really pleased to be supporting the event – may the best team win!”
Limited tickets are still available from the organiser’s website.