THE Ministry of Public Telecommunications will be hosting its second Hackathon on November 17-19 at Pegasus Hotel, under the theme “Hack to the Future”.
Advisor on Information Communication Technologies (ICT) to the Ministry of Public Telecommunication, Lance Hinds, said the 48 hour (non-stop) event has 12 positions to be filled, which includes a team from Suriname.

He said the first prize is $300,000, second prize is $200,000 and the third prize is $150,000. The panel of judges will meet in the new week and decide what products the participants will be asked to develop within the 48-hour period.
He explained that the participating teams must consist of two to four persons per team in addition to a team leader, and at no time can a full team take a break at the same time.
Hinds said registration closes on November 16, 2017. However, it should be noted that applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis, with the first 12 teams selected.

The advisor explained that the selection process will be handled by a highly qualified panel of judges from government, private sector and academia.
The judges will review team presentations with reference to judging criteria.
The judging criteria will include: usefulness / practicality, business potential, UI/UX Design / functionality, ability to present and pitch the creation.

Teams of app developers, graphic designers and other ICT-skilled registrants for the 48-consecutive-hour competition will again be required to spontaneously create IT applications to resolve specially identified social and economic problems.