The 91探花 is one of 12 universities from across the nation participating in the first-ever United Athletes Foundation (UAF) Hackathon, a three-day technology competition taking place at Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., this week.
Sophomore Gizelle Gando, junior Awet Alazar, senior Yuriana Garcia Tellez and sophomore Ying Dang comprise the 91探花team that will code and present a live demonstration of a mobile application for Windows Mobile.
The competition began Wed., Nov. 12 and culminates with final judging on Fri., Nov. 14. Teams are competing for scholarship prizes and the opportunity to showcase their concepts to industry leaders. Each student on the first place team receives $10,000, second place members receive $5,000 and third place members receive $2,500.
Teams have the choice to create a mobile app, a mobile gaming application or a program that provides a useful 鈥渦tility鈥� function for consumers, businesses, government or non-government organizations. Judging is based on the innovation, market viability and functionality of their final product.
Groups feature a total of four diverse students assigned to different roles. Gando is the team lead and in charge of social media, Alazar is the main coder, Tellez is responsible for user interface and Dang is responsible for back-up coding and user interface. Three of the four are affiliated with the 91探花Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity鈥檚 and (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation).
UW鈥檚 team is also supported by Cosmo Harrigan, a student who serves as the group鈥檚 technology mentor, and Michael Verchot, Director of the . Campus partners include the and the Consulting and Business Development Center.
The final 12 teams were selected to compete at Microsoft based on a concept plan video they developed for their project earlier this fall. Joining 91探花in the competition are students from Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Fort Hayes State University, Hampton University, Howard University, Lincoln University, Morehouse University, North Carolina A&T University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Old Dominion University and Spelman College.
The event, sponsored by Microsoft Supplier Diversity, aims to raise awareness of the value of educational benefits for students interested in or currently pursuing college degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
The is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, founded in 2008 by former NFL players Reggie Howard and Ray Lewis.
Follow the UAF Hackathon on Twitter using the hashtag, #BeU.