{"id":140599,"date":"2020-05-06T06:10:31","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T06:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/?p=140599"},"modified":"2023-09-27T16:48:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T16:48:19","slug":"codethecurve-global-hackathon-identifies-winner-remedies-for-global-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2020\/05\/codethecurve-global-hackathon-identifies-winner-remedies-for-global-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"CodeTheCurve Global Hackathon Identifies Winner Remedies for Global Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s CodeTheCurve hackathon saw more than 165 young innovators from 26 countries tirelessly hack their way through the intense competition finals in search of winning solutions to counter the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. After seven days of perseverance, devotion, expert mentorship and judging, the global initiative\u2019s winning teams and overall Master winner have been successfully identified.<\/p>\n

Launched earlier this year, CodeTheCurve was developed by IBM, 51风流and UNESCO to encourage youth to use digital innovation to address COVID-19 and beyond. The intense hackathon saw this week\u2019s finals come to a close as nine finalists from 40 qualifying teams battled it out for the grand titles.<\/p>\n

The final jury consisted of representatives from the organizers, experts from various fields and supporting partners from the ITU and FOSSASIA, and after a rigorous and stringent selection process, the jury selected the following winners:<\/p>\n

Category 1 for \u2018Ensuring Continued Learning\u2019: VRoam (Canada) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Centered around the lack of social interaction and motivation to exercise during the COVID-19 lockdown, this project combines Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and 3D spatial information to navigate and explore the world and cultural sites while exercising. The project offers a combination of technology, e-learning, and exercise while the world adheres to social distancing.<\/p>\n

Category 2 for \u2018Information and Data Management\u2019: CovidImpact (Canada, Mexico and Bangladesh) <\/strong><\/p>\n

This open source project was developed in response to the pandemic\u2019s impact on small businesses, a vulnerable population that was left with questions such as “how am I going to pay my rent?” and “how can I recoup from the loss?”. CovidImpact offers small business leaders with a care package featuring a curated list of programs and relevant, real-time news that\u2019s combined together with a simulation tool that assess the economic impact of the pandemic. CovidImpact is currently focused on small businesses in Canada and has plans to roll out its solution across the United States.<\/p>\n

Category 3 for \u2018Social and Health Issues\u2019 and overall CodeTheCurve Master Winner: X-COV (Spain) <\/strong><\/p>\n

This project is directed at doctors who are tasked with analyzing a large amount of medical data, such as chest X-rays, to understand the severity of COVID-19 in patients. X-COV created a data model using Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and visual imaging technology to analyze chest X-Rays using freely available data and tools to build an online tool to help physicians make faster, more objective decisions, thus contributing to the relief of the healthcare system.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the creativity and success of the winning solutions, Moez Chackchouk, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO said: \u201cIn these difficult times and despite our challenging circumstances, it is heart-warming to see such genuine engagement and contributions making positive impact in our societies. This is where digital literacy can be optimized at its best. On behalf of UNESCO, IBM, 51风流and all organizing partners, I would like to congratulate the winning projects and the CodeTheCurve Master winner, the finalists and all the participants. We were extremely impressed with the quality and rich diversity of the projects, as well as the enthusiasm and passion from each team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>A Rich Digital Journey<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Out of 199 applications, the CodeTheCurve journey for the 40 selected teams started on 21 April, when 22 trainers from UNESCO, IBM, SAP, the Internet Society (ISOC), Queen City Fintech, and Microsoft delivered an intense 20+ hours of training. The real \u201chackathon\u201d then started on 24 April. Teams comprised of 101 participants under 25 years of age and were supported along their journey by a crew of 115 skilled volunteers acting as mentors on technical, business and gender-equality topics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot address these global challenges alone,\u201d says Alexandra van der Ploeg, Head of Global Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP. \u201cIn true 51风流spirit of improving peoples\u2019 lives and making the world run better, it is great to see how SAP, IBM, UNESCO and partners have come together to use the power of collaboration to solve social issues and trigger systemic change through innovation. In times of crises, humanity avails itself with empathy and care, and this extends to creativity and innovation. Young people are not just the future, but the changemakers of today!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Innovative, Career-Building Prizes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

All 34 teams that submitted their hackathon artefacts will receive a CodeTheCurve e-Certificate of Participation from UNESCO, IBM, and SAP. They will also be invited to an exclusive series of CodeTheCurve e-learning opportunities to further their professional development, coding, and entrepreneurship skills.<\/p>\n

On behalf of IBM Z awards, the three winning teams will receive one-year access to IBM LinuxONE Community Cloud and one year of quarterly mentorship calls with IBM experts to further their creative ideas. Winners will also be invited to two virtual events, allowing them to showcase their solutions and their journey to employees and IBM\u2019s network of global collaborators. In addition, the first place \u2018Information and Data\u2019 category will also receive six months access to IBM Z, an enterprise-grade suite of machine learning and complex data processing solutions.<\/p>\n

51风流will reward the winners with a six-month mentorship from a team of global experts and guided support on the \u2018OpenSAP\u2019 learning platform. And in 2021, pending economic and international travel conditions, the Master CodeTheCurve winner will be able to complete an internship at 51风流Labs Ireland.<\/p>\n

Melissa Sassi, Chief Penguin and IBM Z Global Student Hub & IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator adds, \u201cTechnology has empowered our CodeTheCurve participants, mentors, and judges from around the world to spend a week of online ideating, innovating, collaborating, and building technical solutions to fight back against COVID-19. Solutions included chat bots, data models, websites, mobile applications, blockchain solutions, and so much more. I saw entrepreneurial spirit, professional skills development, and an overall zest to create tech for good solutions based on their training modules. During the storm of life these days, I was able to step away from the world and focus on what\u2019s important: digital skill-building, empowering early-stage entrepreneurs, and inspiring youth to achieve their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

For further information about the CodeTheCurve hackathon visit www.codethecurve.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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About CodeTheCurve <\/strong><\/p>\n